MDMA-Assisted Couples Therapy Pilot Trial
MDMA and cognitive behavioural conjoint therapy (CBCT) have been known to produce impressive PTSD results in the past. Unfortunately, in today’s legalized environment government regulations regarding dosage and duration of use have hindered their use for counseling purposes.
With an FDA-approved dose of 75-100mg MDMA, we conducted a 6-week experiment to assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of CBCT on six couples over 6 weeks. Each experimental session lasted 8 hours with a light meal provided to participants and their support person (i.e. spouse) arriving overnight at the study site. Following this intensive 8-hour session, there was 90 minutes for integration before two more 90-min integration sessions were scheduled one month after each experimental session for follow up monitoring or maintenance treatments as necessary.
We observed the most promising clinical effects from CBCT sessions, even with a limited sample size. Notable improvements included reduced anxiety levels, improved sleep quality and greater satisfaction with the treatment’s outcome. Unfortunately, we were unable to follow-up after one year; for our next trial we hope to test CBCT efficacy on a larger and longer-term population.
