There’s buzz about MDMA – yes, the same ingredient in the street drug known as Ecstasy – being a game changer in the treatment of PTSD. A psychiatrist who treats PTSD says, “Not so fast.”
Research over the last decade has shown MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to be effective in treating PTSD from military combat, sexual assault and childhood abuse. Now researchers are trialing MDMA with couples and finding promising results.
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MDMA is better known as the party psychedelic Ecstasy or Molly. Used clinically, together with psychotherapy, it reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and shows promise with couples.
Psychedelic drugs have inspired great songs and works of art. But they may also have potential for treating disease like depression and PTSD by helping to regrow damaged regions of the brain.
“Bath salts,” or synthetic street drugs with amphetamines. Via DEA.
DEA
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‘It’s peculiar the way in which viewers of my vintage judged the first part of Seven’s miniseries on its authenticity.’
Image courtesy of Channel 7.
‘I suppose that, as I’m 50, Molly is absolutely my demographic: I was nine when Countdown began and 23 when it ended, and I was a devotee for most of that time – a devotee who was often disgusted …’
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine; Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis