MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD: Current Research with Veterans, Firefighters, and Police Officers
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Michael Mithoefer, MD and Annie Mithoefer, BSN
Abstract: We will present a brief description of the chronology and results of the first completed clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), followed by the protocol design and preliminary results of our current ongoing study with military veterans, firefighters, and police officers suffering from chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. The nature of the therapeutic process will be illustrated with clinical vignettes and quotes from study sessions.
Desired Outcomes for : At the conclusion of the activity, learners will be able to:
- Inform their patients about research into treatments for treatment-resistant PTSD
- Develop strategies for conducting their own research into this experimental method
- Evaluate research on PTSD treatments as new literature becomes available
- Develop strategies for treating combat veterans with PTSD, an underserved population
- Apply aspects of the therapeutic methods developed in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research to other methods of therapy
Michael Mithoefer, MD, is a psychiatrist who practices in Charleston, S.C., where he divides his time between clinical research and outpatient clinical practice specializing in treating posttraumatic stress disorder with an emphasis on experiential methods of psychotherapy. He is Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina and is a Grof-certified Holotropic Breathwork Facilitator, a Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist, and is trained in EMDR. He and his wife, Annie Mithoefer, completed a MAPS-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial testing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and are currently conducting a second trial with military veterans, firefighters, and police officers as well as trainings for therapists in other MAPS-sponsored studies. Dr. Mithoefer is medical monitor for MAPS-sponsored clinical trials in Europe, the Middle East, Canada, and the US. Before going into psychiatry in 1995, he practiced emergency medicine for ten years and is currently board certified in Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Internal Medicine.
Annie Mithoefer, BSN, is a psychiatric nurse, Grof-certified Holotropic Breathwork Practitioner, and is trained in Hakomi Therapy. She and her husband, Dr. Michael Mithoefer, divide their time between Clinical Research with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and work with individual psychotherapy clients in their private practice. They are co-therapists for MAPS-sponsored clinical trials including a completed Phase 2 study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and an ongoing study with military veterans, firefighters, and police officers with PTSD unresponsive to previous treatment. They also conduct training programs for other MAPS-sponsored research teams.
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