“It was like walking a path through a forest.”
For more than three decades, Vibeke Andersen lived with a constant chorus of voices in her head—voices that told her she wasn’t worth anything, that her life had no meaning, that the world would be better off without her.
Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, she spent years in and out of hospitals, heavily medicated and isolated. “In psychosis, nobody understood me,” Vibeke recalls. “The voices told me I was not worth anything as a human being. They said I should kill myself. I used to think: ‘What’s the purpose of my life if my whole life is a mental system?’”
Then, in 2020, she signed up for a clinical research project that would combine medication and virtual reality (VR) therapy. “I had everything to win and nothing to lose,” she says.
“I had everything to win and nothing to lose.” – Vibeke Andersen
The treatment invited her to confront her illness in a completely new way by giving her most dominant inner voice a face.
Through VR, Vibeke created an avatar that represented the voice in her head. With the guidance of her therapist, she spoke to it directly, confronting the tormentor that had haunted her for years.
“It was scary because I was seeing my voice in front of me,” she says. “Other therapists said that it was too much and I needed to stop. But I said no. It felt like walking a path through a forest. I had to keep going.”
The day the voices stopped
After eight VR sessions, Vibeke began to feel something shift.
“I was shouting at the top of my lungs,” she remembers, smiling. “It had been such a huge pressure on my life, and it’s amazing to be free.”
Since then, the voices have gone silent. Vibeke now takes only a small dose of medication, and her psychiatrist visits have dropped from weekly to once or twice a year. “Living with the voices took everything from me—and from my loved ones—every single day, all year round. It was a constant battle that never let up.”
“But now, after five years without the voices, I finally feel free,” says Vibeke. “I’m studying, giving talks, and creating a life that’s truly mine. For the first time in decades, I’m not just surviving—I’m living, and I’m shaping my own future.”
“For the first time in decades, I’m not just surviving—I’m living, and I’m shaping my own future.” – Vibeke Andersen
From research to real-world impact
Vibeke’s story began as part of a pioneering research collaboration called The Challenge Project (Challenge-VRT): a large scale RCT project in collaboration between three Danish healthcare regions, led by Virtu Research Group in Copenhagen.
Running from 2020 to 2024, the project explored how VR could help people with schizophrenia who hear voices and the results were remarkable.
Across 140 patients, seven out of ten experienced fewer and less distressing voices, and eleven participants became completely free from auditory hallucinations after completing the program.
For many, it was the first time a treatment had gone beyond managing symptoms, offering genuine relief and control.
The startup behind the science
The technology that powered Vibeke’s transformation is developed by HekaVR, a Danish healthtech startup that emerged from the original Challenge Project.
HekaVR’s therapy platform allows patients to create animated avatars that represent the voices in their heads. In guided VR sessions, patients converse with these avatars—an immersive form of “avatar therapy” that helps them detach from and ultimately control their hallucinations.
“HekaVR is at the forefront of integrating technology and compassion.” – Sara Leander-Pehrson
Built on years of research and supported by the Innovation Fund Denmark and the BioInnovation Institute, HekaVR has since spun out from Khora Virtual Reality, one of Copenhagen’s leading immersive tech companies.
“HekaVR is at the forefront of integrating technology and compassion,” says Sara Leander-Pehrson, CEO of Heka VR. “It has made a great difference for us and now it is going to make a great difference for others, reducing mental distress and health inequality.”
A glimpse of the future in VR
By combining real-time voice modulation, advanced avatar generation, and immersive VR environments, HekaVR’s approach offers something traditional treatments rarely can: direct confrontation and empowerment. For patients who have spent years defined by their illness, that can be life-changing.
And as mental health challenges continue to rise globally, this kind of technology-driven care is becoming more critical than ever. Yet, for innovations like HekaVR’s to reach more patients, startups need something beyond great science—they need collaboration, investment, and belief.
Where ideas meet impact
This is where the HealthTech Investor Summit comes in, connecting European healthtech entrepreneurs and investors. The Summit is taking place on 8-10 December in Utrecht, The Netherlands, where it will bring together founders, researchers, and investors who share a vision for transforming healthcare through innovation.
HekaVR itself pitched at the event last year, sharing its vision with an audience of investors and healthcare innovators. “The HealthTech Investor Summit represents a unique opportunity for startups to meet investors with a focus on healthtech and a understanding of the specific opportunities and challenges for our sector,” says Leander-Pehrson.
For many entrepreneurs, it’s not just about funding. It’s about purpose—helping more patients like Vibeke find peace after decades of struggle. Because in the end, healthtech innovation isn’t just about algorithms, hardware, or clinical trials. It’s about people and the courage to imagine a better future for them.
As Vibeke says: “I have a good life today. I got my life back.”
“The HealthTech Investor Summit represents a unique opportunity for startups to meet investors with a focus on healthtech.” – Sara Leander-Pehrson
Register now for the HealthTech Investor Summit on 8-10 December in Utrecht, The Netherlands—the only event connecting European healthtech entrepreneurs with the investors, clusters and mentors they need to succeed!
