Abstract

Cognitive-behavioural conjoint therapy (CBCT) for PTSD has been shown to improve PTSD, relationship adjustment, and the health and well-being of partners. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) has been used to facilitate an individual therapy for PTSD. This study was an initial test of the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of MDMA-facilitated CBCT. Six couples with varying levels of baseline relationship satisfaction in which one partner was diagnosed with PTSD participated in a condensed version of the 15-session CBCT protocol delivered over 7 weeks. There were two sessions in which both members of the couple were administered MDMA. All couples completed the treatment protocol, and there were no serious adverse events in either partner. There were significant improvements in clinician-assessed, patient-rated, and partner-rated PTSD symptoms (pre- to post-treatment/follow-up effect sizes ranged from d = 1.85–3.59), as well as patient depression, sleep, emotion regulation, and trauma-related beliefs. In addition, there were significant improvements in patient and partner-rated relationship adjustment and happiness (d =.64–2.79). These results are contextualized in relation to prior results from individual MDMA-facilitated psychotherapy and CBCT for PTSD alone. MDMA holds promise as a facilitator of CBCT to achieve more robust and broad effects on individual and relational functioning in those with PTSD and their partners.

Details

Title
MDMA-facilitated cognitive-behavioural conjoint therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: an uncontrolled trial
Author
Monson, Candice M 1 ; Wagner, Anne C 2 ; Mithoefer, Ann T 3 ; Liebman, Rachel E 1 ; Feduccia, Allison A 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Jerome, Lisa 4 ; Berra Yazar-Klosinski 4 ; Emerson, Amy 4 ; Doblin, Rick 4 ; Mithoefer, Michael C 3 

 Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada 
 Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Remedy, Toronto, ON, Canada 
 Private Practice, Asheville, NC, USA 
 Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, Santa Cruz, CA, USA 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
Dec 2020
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
20008066
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2492472861
Copyright
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution – Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.