Improving Empathy for Addictions Clients using a Trauma-informed Immersive Experience

In collaboration with local musician, Leeroy Stagger and award-winning playwright, Camille Pavlenko this project combines virtual reality technology, music, art, and a story about the role trauma often plays in opioid addiction. Some participants of this research project will immerse themselves in different visual and auditory narrative experiences using a VR headset, while others will watch the story unfold in a traditional cinematic experience or while reading about it in a news article. The researchers want to know if one particular narrative experience is more effective at improving empathy toward those that access the Lethbridge Supervised Consumption Site.