MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy Decreases PTSD Symptoms, Dissociation, Functional Disability, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Warwick M. Green, Sanket B Raut, F.l.j. James, David M. Benedek, Robert J Ursano, L.r. Johnson
medRxiv preprint DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.17.23293955 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized |
|---|---|
| Population | People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) |
| Intervention | MDMA-assisted psychotherapy |
| Topics | Depression MDMA Psychedelic-assisted therapy PTSD |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | MDMA-assisted psychotherapy significantly improves dissociation, depression, and functional impairment compared to controls, but not sleep quality. |
Abstract
Abstract Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) causes broad impairments affecting quality of life. However, despite current treatment many people with PTSD do not fully recover. MDMA assisted psychotherapy has emerged as a new therapy for PTSD and its comorbidities. We aimed to analyse the current evidence for MDMA assisted psychotherapy in PTSD and associated quality of life, and physiological effects, by conducting a systematic review and metanalysis of randomised controlled trials. ClinicalTrials.gov, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Cochrane Library database were searched from inception to July 2022. We included both published and unpublished randomized control trials comparing MDMA assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) with control. Meta-analysis of primary and secondary outcome measures was performed using Review-Manager software. Effect sizes were calculated using Standardised Mean Difference for CAPS scores and Mean Difference for secondary measures. MDMA-AP significantly improves dissociation, depression, and functional impairment, compared to controls, but not sleep quality. This data supports the use of MDMA-AP for PTSD with an improvement found in PTSD core symptoms and quality of life measures. While these findings are limited by small samples sizes in currently available clinical trials, this study provides empirical evidence to support development of MDMA-AP in PTSD.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on MDMA for depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Safety and efficacy of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy in post-traumatic stress disorder: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry April 1, 2025
- Survival, Attachment, and Healing: An Evolutionary Lens on Interventions for Trauma-Related Dissociation Psychology Research and Behavior Management June 1, 2024
Cites 17
- MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Nature Medicine June 1, 2021
- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, firefighters, and police officers: a randomised, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial. The Lancet Psychiatry May 1, 2018
- MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: study design and rationale for phase 3 trials based on pooled analysis of six phase 2 randomized controlled trials. Psychopharmacology September 1, 2019
- 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized phase 2 controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology December 1, 2018
- MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: Are memory reconsolidation and fear extinction underlying mechanisms? Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry June 8, 2018
and 12 more in the library