Season 3 Episode 8: Inside the Retreat: Virtual Reality for Behavioral Health

In this episode of The NOCE Dose, Bianca McCall sits down with Mark Lambert, co-founder of Lighthouse XR, to explore how virtual reality can support recovery, reflection, and human connection.Mark shares how his career in Hollywood visual design and immersive storytelling eventually led him into the recovery space after his son’s experience with opioid addiction. From building worlds for major films to developing virtual recovery environments, Mark brings a deeply personal and creative lens to behavioral health innovation.Together, Bianca and Mark discuss The Retreat, Lighthouse XR’s virtual reality platform designed to help people engage with recovery concepts like core values, anxiety, anger, grief, community, passion, and purpose. Rather than replacing clinicians or peers, Mark emphasizes that VR works best as a tool that creates space for reflection and then strengthens real-world connection through guided conversation.This episode explores the promise and limitations of digital health technology, the importance of human-centered design, and how immersive storytelling may help people stay engaged through the “long middle” of recovery.