From Exhibit to Intervention: The Evolution of Survival Story

Survival Story began with a bold idea—could art and narrative move the needle on harm reduction? Launched as a series of community-based exhibits in partnership with TLC Family Resource Center and the HIV/HCV Resource Center, the project combined visual storytelling with practical opioid overdose response training. four installations, 110 people were trained in the use of Narcan and 177 kits were distributed. But the impact went far deeper than numbers.

A woman in recovery found the confidence to pursue her dream of becoming a treatment counselor, while clinicians shared that the experience reframed how they viewed opioid use disorder—not as a clinical issue, but as a human condition deserving compassion and connection.

This response confirmed our belief: storytelling isn’t just powerful—it’s essential. To scale this impact further, we founded SocialTheory—a mission-driven venture blending technology, narrative, and public health strategy.

Scaling the Impact

To take this approach further, we founded SocialTheory—a mission-driven venture blending technology, narrative, and public health strategy. In partnership with Dartmouth’s DALI Lab, we translated the exhibit into an interactive, web-based platform that supports:

Shared Decision-Making (SDM)
Opioid Risk Mitigation Training
REMS and MATE Act Compliance

The platform uses immersive storytelling and clinical decision-support tools to reframe how providers engage with OUD care—centering on empathy, trust, and evidence.

What We've Seen So Far

In our early digital pilot:

100% of clinicians reported increased confidence in OUD-related decision-making
Many cited storytelling as a key factor in that shift
Emotional engagement and behavioral insight were consistently noted as differentiators from traditional CME

What Comes Next

We’re now preparing a Phase I efficacy study in collaboration with the Play2Prevent Lab at Dartmouth’s Center for Behavioral Health and Technology. This next step will formally evaluate the platform’s impact on:

Empathy toward individuals with OUD
Understanding of harm reduction strategies
Confidence in clinical engagement

A New Standard for Risk Mitigation

Survival Story is not just another training module. It’s a scalable clinical intervention built for the realities of modern care—where providers need tools that meet regulatory demands and rebuild trust in a fractured system.