Social Workers' Attitudes and Beliefs about MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Adolescents with PTSD.
Social work – April 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
While MDMA shows promise for treating PTSD in adults, social workers express greater confidence in traditional medications for adolescent patients. A survey of 222 social workers revealed they favored selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors over MDMA therapy for treating teen PTSD. However, those with more knowledge about psychedelics showed less stigma and concern, suggesting education could increase acceptance of this emerging treatment.
Abstract
Given the widespread interest and ongoing study on MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for PTSD, its implications for unique populations-such as adolescents-require further understanding. Social workers will likely play a crucial role in the potential implementation of this intervention, but their perspectives remain unknown. The study includes 222 social workers randomized to read one of two vignettes about MDMA-AT or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-assisted therapy (SSRI-AT) for treating adolescent treatment-resistant PTSD. Participants rated each treatment's acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, followed by drug stigma, perceptions of drug risk, and psychedelic knowledge. Participants in the SSRI-AT condition reported significantly higher mean ratings of treatment acceptability (p < .001; d = .72), appropriateness (p < .001; d = .72), and feasibility (p < .001; d =. 64). In the MDMA-AT condition, perceptions of MDMA risk were greater (p < .001; d = .59) and psychedelic stigma positively correlated with perceived risk of MDMA (r = .46, p < .001). Moreover, greater psychedelic knowledge was significantly related to less stigma (r = -.33, p < .001) and less perceived risk of MDMA (r = -.21, p < .001). Concerns among social workers about the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of MDMA-AT for adolescents with PTSD may limit clinical trial recruitment, engagement, and future implementation.