MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety of different doses of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy administered in a psychotherapeutic setting to women with chronic PTSD secondary to a sexual assault, and also to obtain preliminary data regarding efficacy. Although this study was originally planned to include 29 subjects, political pressures led to the closing of the study before it could be finished, at which time only six subjects had been treated. Preliminary results from those six subjects are presented here. We found that low doses of MDMA (between 50 and 75 mg) were both psychologically and physiologically safe for all the subjects. Future studies in larger samples and using larger doses are needed in order to further clarify the safety and efficacy of MDMA in the clinical setting in subjects with PTSD.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for 2 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: MDMA and psychedelic-assisted therapy ↑Supports

  Low doses of MDMA (50-75 mg) were psychologically and physiologically safe in all six women, with preliminary efficacy data reported.

  Synthesized October 22, 2026

• State of the evidence: MDMA for PTSD ↑Supports

  Low doses of MDMA (50-75 mg) were psychologically and physiologically safe in all six women, with preliminary efficacy data; the study was closed early.

  Synthesized October 22, 2026

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on MDMA and psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.