The first “cyberdelic incubator” is now open in Merbourne with the support of Australian Psychedelic Society. In this place, artists and scientists use VR to explore new states of consciousness.
VR exposure therapy is even starting to be used to treat trauma, such as in the case of those who have experienced car accidents and who will be intentionally triggered – in a controlled environment – by a scene such as driving down a similar-looking road. “They have to be very careful that the patient isn’t outside the window of tolerance so as not to retraumatise them,” Warner says, “so to do that they might collect biofeedback from the patient through heart-rate monitors so that the psychologist or doctor can tell if the patient is becoming hyperaroused.”