For decades, the empathogenic drug known as MDMA, or 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine, has been a subject often associated with the early 2000′s rave culture, far extended from association with therapy and other medicinal applications. Unfortunately, being that MDMA is a heavily controlled drug in many countries, proper research for therapeutic applications has been extremely limited, until recently.
MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) broke news this year of the preliminary steps of a ground-breaking new study which is looking at treating autistic patients who suffer from social anxiety with MDMA.
Autistic Therapeutic Interventions
Conventional medication and therapy interventions fail to help treat Autistic patients with social anxiety, could MDMA-assisted therapy be a possible solution?
Although the complex set of distinctions between autistic and non-autistic neurology is not fully understood, we do know that the subjective experience of autistic people tends to bemore intense and chaotic than that of non-autistic individuals, as the impact of information processing tends to be both stronger and less predictable on both the sensorimotor and cognitive levels.
According to MAPS, “the early lives of autistic individuals often involve repeated traumatic experiences of social rejection and abuse (by family, professionals, peers, and others). As a result, many autistic individuals suffer from diagnosed conditions such as anxiety (particularly social anxiety), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression, as well as difficulties with interpersonal connection and social adaptability.”
For the most part, conventional medications are ineffective in treating stress related issues among autistic people, and because autistic people have difficulties building rapport with therapists, traditional psychotherapy also fails to treat the issue. Therefore, new treatment options are being explored in order to provide autistic individuals with an improved quality of life.
Why MDMA?
MDMA has a unique set of psychoactive properties which makes it a viable adjunct to conventional psychotherapy.
First synthesized in 1912, MDMA has been a popular topic of discussion due to its unique psychoactive properties. It is considered an entheogen, a substance which produces spiritual, transcendent experiences for its users.“Its unique pharmacological properties make it a viable adjunct as a therapy for social anxiety in autistic patients”, states the MAPS official study website. Some of these properties include:
- Decreased feelings of fear
- Increased feelings of well-being
- Increased sociability
- Increased interpersonal trust
- Alert state of consciousness
- Increased awareness of some domains of empathy
MDMA-assisted therapy combines the techniques of traditional psychotherapy along with the controlled administration of MDMA in order to enhance the therapy’s effectiveness.
The therapeutic method will be adapted from therapy techniques that have shown clinical effectiveness in adults with an Autism Spectrum diagnosis. Best practices from clinical research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD also will be applied.
MAPS states that the method will focus on developing a therapeutic relationship with the subjects that will provide a permissive setting in which to learn and practice social skills.
A Determined Team of Researchers
Alicia Danforth, Ph.D., co-investigator of the study. Alicia has been studying psychedelic assisted therapy since 2006.
Charles S. Grobs, M.D., will be heading the study looking at MDMA assisted therapy in treating social anxiety among autistic patients.
The study is headed by Charles S. Grob, M.D., Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, as well as Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Grob’s co-investigator is Alicia Danforth Ph.D, research associate at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
“The question is: ‘Can we re-engage this area in a responsible, objective way to explore methods of a treatment?’ ” Grob said to the Daily News. “But to do so in a responsible way, unlike what happened in the ’60s.”
Each study participant (who are all adults) who receives the active drug will be given a small dose of 75 to 125 milligrams, and a male and female researcher will sit with them throughout the six to eight hour process, during which they will be closely monitored.
“We try to optimize ‘set and setting’ in order to ensure strong, safe parameters,” Grob said. “I suppose that is ultimately derived from the shamanic model.”
Grobs is one of the growing number of scientists and researchers who believe that psychedelics such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and MDMA hold the answers for treatment of various mental illnesses and addictions. His resume definitely isn’t shy of psychedelic research- since the 1990′s Grobs has been involved with rare studies examining the benefits of ayahusaca, and psilocybin. In both of his studies, Grobs found that psychedelics are helpful in ways that conventional medicine is not.
“We’re looking for something to facilitate positive, ongoing change,” Grob said. “You can’t take an autistic person and make them un-autistic, but you can treat the overwhelming social anxiety.”
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