By combining the ability of ketamine to release neural connections with the use of VR-guided therapy, we have been able to achieve unprecedented results for our patients. At ARK, we use VR Assisted Ketamine Therapy to maximize the effectiveness of ketamine in opening up neural connections by delivering it when your brain would be most receptive to its advantages. We have attained exceptional success in treating depression and anxiety for our patients by combining with the concurrent implementation of Virtual Reality guided therapy.

FireflyVR contributes to the creation of virtual experiences that improve physical health, mental well-being, education, and research. The FireflyVR team works with some of the top innovators in the healthcare sector to develop cutting-edge new technologies with health and technology partners. They combine their vast experience and science-focused development methods to create these new solutions.

The Sanctuary is a Virtual Reality experience designed to prepare patients for a transformative ketamine therapy. It  established techniques utilized by leading experts in order to produce a safe, enjoyable, and comfortable experience in preparation for a successful therapy. The Sanctuary is a clinically designed treatment that combines cognitive behavioral therapy to lessen pre-procedure anxiety and encourage positive feeling when the medication is provided, thereby enhancing outcomes. The Sanctuary was designed with modularity in mind, as more dissociative medications beyond ketamine become recognized and acknowledged.

For the past 15 years, virtual reality therapy has been used alone to treat a variety of emotional problems. Wearing a VR headset and sound-isolating headphones allows you to fully immerse yourself in a 3-D virtual reality world during VR therapy. The setting selected for your therapy will be based on your unique circumstances and be geared toward assisting you in overcoming your personal struggle.  We utilize the effectiveness of ketamine during VR sessions to increase the brain’s immersion in the virtual environment, where we can introduce mindfulness and relaxation techniques to help rewire and mend the brain.

Your brain will be more receptive to the introduction of mindfulness and relaxation practices once you are immersed in virtual reality. Treatments under these conditions have the potential to provoke feelings and behaviors that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of a variety of illnesses, including PTSD, diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and more.

The idea of plasticity states that even if you are aware that you are in a virtual reality environment, your brain will “fill in the gaps” of any information that is missing. Because of the significant increase in brain plasticity that occurs during ketamine therapy, we can immerse ourselves in the virtual world even more deeply, potentially amplifying the effects of both ketamine and VR therapy.

Imagine yourself watching an incredibly sad, emotionally charged movie on a large screen. Your mind makes you believe that the events in the movie are genuinely taking place as you view them. During the movie, many individuals experience sadness, and some may even cry. Although we are aware that it is only a film and not reality, our brains are nevertheless capable of perceiving and interpreting it in a way that influences our mood and emotions. The same idea can be used to describe Ketamine-assisted VR therapy, which gives patients the impression that they are going through real-life experiences. Even though you may be aware that the virtual world is not real, your brain is compelled to respond to it.

Combining a VR experience with ketamine therapy has proven to be a natural pairing for the development of a technology that improves treatment availability and efficacy. To improve the delivery of mental healthcare, we must redefine behavioral health and digital therapies using wearable biosensor technology and immersive virtual worlds. At ARK, our  objective is to use innovation to increase accessibility and boost the effectiveness of mental health therapies.