A therapist that my therapist works with is currently leading a MDMA clinical trial. He actually travels a long distance just to be a part of the trial in another state because he is so excited and interested in the possibilities of MDMA assisted psychotherapy.
MDMA is being studied for MDMA assisted psychotherapy, not as a stand alone medication treatment. The idea is that the MDMA allows for more effective
somatic processing of trauma and thus long term relief from PTSD.
It is true that the MDMA assisted psychotherapy sessions are done only 4-5 times, but that is not because it only takes 4-5 one hour therapy sessions. Those 4-5 sessions last
all day every day for a few days each time while the person is taking MDMA. It is grueling work for both the client and therapist.
This is done in 4-5 sessions that last all day for several days on end because of the well known and documented fact that repeated on-going exposure to MDMA can damage the brain in many ways that can cause a whole host of new mental health problems. The idea is to take it just a few times and then cram as much processing work in as possible while the drug lasts in the body.
Street grade MDMA aka Ecstasy, is not the same thing as medical grade MDMA. The youtuber who was taking "illegal MDMA" was likely taking Ecstasy (or managed to commit theft of one of the highly controlled clinical trial centers.)
I suggest not relying on the "data" of one person on youtube who thinks the drug they are using is an amazing cure all. The fact that he says it made him feel "human" is actually a red flag. Most people under the influence of Ecstasy and/or a drug addiction think the drug is amazing. That's why it is called Ecstasy. It's not the same as a clinical professional evaluating if the symptoms are actually improved. Its not the same as using medical grade MDMA which doesn't really make people feel great.
My therapist's partner, a big fan of MDMA, leading a clinical trial for MDMA no less, and a big fan of self administered trauma treatment, told people in a seminar on new advancements in therapy techniques, "It extremely dangerous to take street grade Ecstasy and is absolutely not the same substance as medical grade MDMA that we are using in our trials."
Ecstasy does sometimes contain MDMA, but more often contains Ketamine which tends to cause a euphoric dissociative state where someone feels like all symptoms are gone, but they are not actually gone just medically dissociated for a short time frame (days to a few years.) Ecstasy also tends to contain a lot of other stuff narcotics, caffeine, etc.
You can go to therapy while on Ecstasy or stolen medical grade MDMA. Whether your therapist will approve of doing so is another matter. You could try to go to therapy without telling your therapist, but Ecstasy really changes people, much more than the person who takes it realizes. Your therapist will likely notice the lack of fear and anxiety and etc and actually not want to process trauma because you might seem like you are ok about the trauma but off kilter in other ways.
Unless you are in a clinical trial, or commit theft, you can't legally obtain or posses medical grade MDMA in the US. It is a felony in the US to have it or consume it, and grounds for a therapist to lose their license in a hurry to knowingly encourage or participate in promotion of it. My therapist's partner can't even teach the therapeutic procedure used for MDMA assisted psychotherapy without losing his license and risking criminal prosecution. He can only speak of the possible benefits, risks, and seek people for the clinical trial. Risking jail is way to increase stress and thus increase PTSD symptoms. Ending up in jail for having or consuming MDMA could be a source of new trauma.
Your best bet is to find a clinical trial.
http://www.maps.org/research/mdma
My therapists partner thinks there is great promise in MDMA, but there are already some problems coming to light about it in the study that indicate more work has to done. I think MDMA is an amazing possibility.
I have been in a clinical study once for short term use of a well known street drug that seemed like an amazing cure for a medical condition as well as PTSD. I regret taking it deeply. It did cause remission of my medical condition and PTSD go away, for a few years. Then it came back with a vengeance and it caused the development of a new medical condition that I now have to treat with on-going low dose chemotherapy or I will go permanently blind. No joke. Though the drug was widely used as a street drug before this study, and researchers thought they knew all the risks for it's use in a clinical setting and they thought it was safe - but no one knew it had the possibility to cause this horrible disease blinding eye condition. Now there are a large number of us fighting this damn new condition.
They thought it would cure or resolve PTSD just like they now think MDMA can. It actually made my dissociation much worse, to a degree that my therapist thinks I may never fully recover from because it's a chemical alteration in my brain from the drug, rather than a 100% trauma induced condition - and I'm not the only one who experienced this unexpected side effect of the drug making PTSD worse.
I regret ever being a part of the trial. I know what I do know about about the MDMA trial because finding out about my therapist's partner's involvement in it was confusing for me. Almost triggering.
The drug cure that I tried was touted as a wonder drug for PTSD in almost the exact same ways MDMA is now being touted. So my therapist set up a means to watch a clinical seminar about it and to talk to the therapist leading the trial via Skype.
MDMA is actually slightly more promising than the previous drug, but not by much. If the studies are completed and shows the clinical use of MDMA is indeed as safe as they hope it is, I would seriously consider MDMA assisted psychotherapy.
I would not risk my physical health and PTSD recovery ever again on latest new possible drug treatment for PTSD prior to the completion of studies being done so that I would at least know the risks better. I have had a pretty bad experience already... I know this won't happen for others. But it's still highly illegal in the US, and I wouldn't risk even trying to ask my therapist to put themselves in the position of losing their license over any possible cure.
I also wouldn't judge anyone for trying it. I totally get it. At one point in time, I was willing to try almost ANYTHING that was a possible solution for PTSD, at almost any risk. In the end, the choice to pursue MDMA use prior to study completion is yours. It's not an easy path, even if you do get into the clinical trial. Please make the choice very carefully and with a lot of thought and consideration. I do hope that the latest proposal for MDMA assisted psychotherapy turns out to be as good in treating PTSD as they believe it might be.
Ok, I will end my soapbox now.
