Rick Doblin

Track: Psychedelics – Science, Spirituality and Therapeutic Potential

Results of MAPS' pilot studies of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people suffering PTSD

The talk will discuss the results of MAPS' international series of Phase 2 pilot studies into the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people suffering from chronic, treatmentresistant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the design and implementation of our pivotal Phase 3 studies, with one of the sites hopefully in Prague. In addition, the talk will also outline a set of regulations that would be implemented to ensure that the prescription use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy would be safe and efficacious including training requirements for therapists, minimal standards for treatment facilities, etc. The talk will conclude with a discussion of how the therapeutic use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and the creation of psychedelic psychotherapy treatment centers can evolve over 10-15 years into the legalization of MDMA for use in a wide range of contexts in addition to medical use.

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master's thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary's Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and one of three children (two in college).