--- title: "Therapists Are Now Giving Patients *Checks Notes* MDMA" description: "From the dance floor to the clinical trial, Molly is clearly moving on up in the world — and the therapists who work with it have a lot to say about its apparently incredible efficacy. In interviews with Scientific American's \"Science, Quickly\" podcast, researchers who study the potential therapeutic effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, better known as \"MDMA\" […]" date: "2023-06-12" modified: "2023-06-12" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/therapists-mdma-trials-ptsd" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "ecstasy" - "mdma" - "PTSD" --- # Therapists Are Now Giving Patients \*Checks Notes\* MDMA ![]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* A long way from the dance floor, MDMA has caught the attention of researchers who believe it could be a powerful way to treat a wide variety of conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In [interviews with *Scientific American*'s "Science, Quickly" podcast](), researchers who study the potential therapeutic effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, better known as "MDMA" or "ecstasy," describe how it could help treat these conditions by flooding the brain with the neurotransmitter serotonin. As *Scientific American* notes, the drug was [initially synthesized more than 100 years ago]() by pharmaceutical company Merck, which was originally trying to make a blood clotting agent. It was shelved after animal tests because it was too expensive, but years later, when it was given to humans, its euphoria-inducing properties quickly turned it into a popular party drug. But it was also used by therapists as early as the 1970s and 1980s before being [banned]() by the US Drug Enforcement Agency in 1985. In spite of being banned, researchers [have remained intrigued]() by whether it has any therapeutic potential. Michael Mithoefer, a psychiatrist who's been studying MDMA's therapeutic effects for more than 20 years, told *Scientific American* that the drug showed huge promise when paired with psychotherapy, in a [trial]() involving 90 patients with PTSD. "88 percent of people receiving MDMA plus the therapy had meaningful improvement in their PTSD symptoms," Mithoefer said, "versus 60 percent who had improvement with the therapy alone." "In terms of losing the PTSD diagnosis, the therapy plus MDMA was 67 percent of people no longer meeting the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis versus 32 percent in the therapy-only group," he added. Other [similar]() [studies]() also found that MDMA, along with therapy, could be an effective way to treat PTSD. As of right now, the substance is still considered a [Schedule I drug](), which means that the US government sees it as a dangerous drug that has no accepted medical use. That, however, could soon change. The Food and Drug Administration is [considering legalizing MDMA therapy]() based on these kinds of therapeutic findings. And given the promising results, it's clearly a psychoactive drug with huge potential. **More on MDMA:** [*Doctors Fascinated by Man Who Took 40,000 Ecstasy Pills and Experienced Years of Terrible Symptoms*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()