A randomized controlled trial tested MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety in people with life-threatening illnesses. Participants received either MDMA (125 mg) or placebo during two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions. At one month after the second session, the MDMA group showed a greater average reduction in anxiety scores (23.5 points) compared to the placebo group (8.8 points), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The treatment was well tolerated. After the trial, all participants received open-label MDMA sessions. These preliminary results suggest MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may be a promising approach, but larger trials are needed to confirm its effectiveness.
Richard Yensen, a research fellow at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center from 1972 to 1976, studied psychedelic psychotherapy with Stanislav Grof and treated patients with substance abuse disorders, cancer, neurosis, and health professionals seeking training. His Ph.D. dissertation examined MDA use in psychotherapy with neurotic outpatients. After years of government-sanctioned psychedelic research, he developed a non-drug shamanistic psychotherapy called Perceptual Affective Therapy. He held an FDA investigational new drug permit for LSD and psychotherapy until 2006. Yensen is now a licensed psychologist, director of the Orenda Institute, and president of the Salvador Roquet Psychosynthesis Association.