There is an important phenomenon of alcohol as well as social pressure induced craving in the patients with alcohol dependence. Coping-skills training is a very useful psychotherapeutic intervention in all addictions.
Another interventions could be cue-exposure therapy (CET) and an exposure to the social pressure. These techniques are performed in a safe environment or imagination.
Virtual reality (VR) is an alternative option for these techniques. In our department we have started to develop a specific and unique CET program based on a VR application.
The particular issues of the predefined interactions between the patients and avatars as well as the technical parameters of the device will be discussed.