Hannah Hernandez, a Master of Social Work (MSW) intern from Azusa Pacific University (APU), specializing in Community Leadership and Program Administration, completed her practicum at Social Model Recovery Systems. She served as the president of the MSW Student Association and will be celebrating her graduation next month.
This past week, Hannah presented her MSW Capstone Research Project at APU’s Capstone Research Showcase titled “Virtual Reality Exploration: An Innovative Treatment Intervention for Alcohol Use Disorder.” Among the eighty-one Capstone Projects, Hannah was awarded second place for her project.
The goal of Hannah’s project was to determine the effectiveness of virtual reality as a treatment intervention for someone with alcohol use disorder. Virtual reality is a unique intervention due to its ability to create highly realistic, interactive, and immersive environments that users can control. This project used virtual reality relapse prevention environments that focused on alcohol, cultivating a social environment that could replicate a real-world situation. Participants also interacted with virtual reality mindfulness to help ground themselves before transitioning out of the virtual world. Through using the virtual reality headset and the alcohol-focused environments, participants have the opportunity to build their relapse prevention skills with direct access to support from a counselor.
This project discovered the value of the participants feeling fully in control of their experience in the virtual world. Through those efforts, virtual reality can expand communication between the participant and their counselor, providing a safe space for unique conversations and a deeper understanding of one’s thoughts and feelings. This virtual space also provides an environment where they can practice coping skills when they experience cravings and refusal skills if offered substances in the future.
Hannah shared her appreciation for the opportunity to contribute the insights from her project to Social Model Recovery Systems and the social work field, going beyond traditional forms of clinical assessment and intervention approaches.
