MDMA-assisted psychotherapy: History, techniques and mechanisms of action - Torsten Passie

Promising research results on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy have recently gained widespread publicity. The history of the therapeutic use of MDMA is less frequently discussed. Even though MDMA was already invented in 1912, its psychotherapeutic potential only became known in the 1970s as chemist Alexander Shulgin experimented with the substance with his circle of friends, including veteran psychotherapist Leo Zeff. Zeff is believed to have introduced the drug to hundreds of his colleagues.
Torsten Passie, German professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy from Hannover Medical School, has been looking into the subject for decades. Here, he lectures on the history, psychotherapeutic techniques and mechanisms of action of MDMA.
Drawing from his broad, encyclopedic knowledge of the topic, Passie describes many of the less known aspects of MDMA assisted psychotherapy. One example is psychotherapist Phil Wolfson, also involved in current MDMA research, who in the eighties, before the criminalization of the drug, treated people suffering from psychosis with MDMA in a setting where the family members of the patients also received MDMA. The sessions were aimed to help with problems of communication and treat wounds related to the psychotic illness. The trail of MDMA therapy that includes family members has recently been followed up with new research where a person suffering from PTSD and their partner or other family member receive the treatment jointly.
The lecture also covers the judicial process leading to the criminalization of MDMA, the spread of the drug in party contexts, how mormons relate to a seminal MDMA research project, and the pharmacology and toxicology of the drug.
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In October 2019, the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research (Psykedeelitutkimusyhdistys ry, Psyty) organized a seminar on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. The event featured three international guest speakers. Professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy Torsten Passie from Hannover Medical School presented on the history and mechanisms of action of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Professor of psychiatry, colonel Eric Vermetten from Leiden University Medical Center and the Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group discussed the application of MDMA and psychedelics in the treatment of trauma-related disorders. Adjunct professor in psychology Anne Wagner from Ryerson University talked about MDMA-assisted therapy in the context of interpersonal relations and couples therapy.
Finnish subtitles are available from the UA-cam menu.
Video production: Kasakka Media, www.kasakka.fi
A playlist with all the lectures and the panel discussion from the event: • Psykedeelinäkymiä 2019...
The Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research is a multidisciplinary association founded in December 2016 with the goals of promoting scientific research related to psychedelics and the availability of accessible information based on such research.
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