For years, scientists have been looking into turning so-called “magic mushrooms” as a treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other health problems.
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The key ingredient in the illicit drug known as Ecstasy or Molly may offer profound relief from post-traumatic stress disorder. When paired with intense talk therapy, MDMA drastically eased symptoms in people who had struggled with severe PTSD for years, a new study reports.
“This is a big deal,” says Steven Gold, a clinical psychologist in Fort Lauderdale and professor emeritus at Nova Southeastern University in Plantation, Fla. “All other things being equal, the use of psychedelic medication can significantly improve the outcome.”
The results, published May 10 in
Nature Medicine, are preliminary. But the findings offer hope to the millions of people worldwide who have PTSD, for whom new treatments are desperately needed. Antidepressants such as Zoloft and Paxil are often prescribed, but the drugs don’t work for an estimated 40 to 60 percent of people with PTSD.
Illustration by Texas Monthly; Getty
On the day it opened in early May, Field Trip Health’s therapeutic facility in Houston’s uptown neighborhood looked a little like a high-end strip-mall spa. Dressed in a floral shirt, Matt Emmer, the company’s director of operations and business development, showed me the clinic’s amenities. He led me down a hallway, around a narrow Zen rock garden, past eight therapy rooms with white-leather zero-gravity chairs and headphones, and into a spacious, sunlight-filled gathering area outfitted with gray couches and a plush white carpet. A few light pink, brown, and gray pillows and throw blankets were scattered about. He sat down on the couch and asked, “Are you familiar with psychedelics?”
Friday, 14 May 2021, 10:14 am
U.S. researchers have found that MDMA-assisted therapy
significantly reduced symptoms of severe PTSD in
patients.
Ninety people with severe PTSD were
randomly assigned to have therapy sessions either with MDMA
or placebo. The group that took MDMA under clinical
supervision had a greater reduction in symptoms over the
course of 18 weeks. The researchers also found the
experimental treatment was “safe and
well-tolerated.”
The study is available here.
The
SMC asked experts to comment on the
research.
Professor Paul Glue, University of Otago,
comments:
“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is
a type of anxiety disorder that’s triggered by a traumatic