Transforming Alcohol Use Disorder with VR Wearables and Community

Guest:  Amanda Wilson, MD, CEO, Founder

In this episode, we learned about emerging, research-based treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) that pair well with functional medicine values. 

Traditional 12-step programs have startlingly low success rates (8% for Alcoholics Anonymous) and teach some principles that are not supported by scientific literature—for example, that patients must abstain and avoid exposure indefinitely to stay in recovery.  

James’ guest, Amanda Wilson, MD, is an addiction physician who cofounded NorthStar Care, an alcohol treatment center that approaches AUD as a medical issue and offers a year-long, physician-monitored, at-home program. They incorporate functional medicine elements, including nutrition therapy, genomics for personalized medication selection, social support groups, and several technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and wearables. 

NorthStar Care is partnering with a company developing a wearable device to continuously track not only blood alcohol levels but also glucose and sleep patterns. For their peer support group meetings, they use VR headsets so patients can participate remotely using anonymous avatars, virtual backgrounds and even voice changers for privacy. 

Download and listen to the full conversation to learn about:

• A genetic factor that makes naltrexone ineffective for a portion of the population
• The shortcomings of rapid-detox, inpatient rehabilitation and 12-step programs
• The importance of medical support throughout the recovery process
• The benefits of using VR for peer support networks
• And much more!