MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of a Participant of Color From an Open-Label Trial
Journal of humanistic psychology February 10, 2022 Terence H. W. Ching, Monnica T. Williams, S. Reed et al. 10 citations
A mixed-methods case study examined whether a person of color with treatment-resistant PTSD would benefit from MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) as much as participants in earlier, less diverse trials. The participant showed quantitative improvement in PTSD symptoms. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of therapy session transcripts revealed recurrent themes related to psychological mechanisms of symptom change, reduced PTSD symptoms, and additional positive and negative effects beyond symptom reduction. The authors discuss these themes and offer recommendations for addressing culturally relevant material during MDMA-AT.