Symposium: Opening Up – Shaping the future: therapeutic applications of MDMA

April 16, 2019 / Events / By

This symposium discusses research into the therapeutic use of MDMA, both historically and presently. In the period following its rediscovery in the 1970s, MDMA soon gained a reputation as a powerful adjunct for psychotherapy. In 1985 in the US (and 1988 in the Netherlands), MDMA was scheduled as a controlled substance, effectively stemming all research and most therapeutic use.
Since the mid 2000s, research and clinical interest into the therapeutic potential of MDMA has increased significantly and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is on track to become a licensed treatment in several years. What do we know about the therapeutic use of this substance? Who may benefit from treatment, and what would such treatment look like? How can MDMA-assisted psychotherapy be integrated into mental health care? These questions, and others, will be addressed by several international experts in the field.
 
Date & time: Tuesday 7 May 2019, 16:00 – 21:00
Location: OBA Oosterdok, Theaterzaal, Oosterdokskade 143, 1011 DL Amsterdam
This event is hosted by the OPEN Foundation, the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA), MAPS Europe, the Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum (LUMC), and Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group.

Speakers:

  • Prof. Gemma Blok, PhD, professor of Modern History, Open Universiteit – Legal therapeutic use of MDMA in the 70s and 80s
  • Torsten Passie, MD, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School – Observations on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in clinical practice
  • Rick Doblin, PhD, founder and executive director of MAPS – Positioning MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in mainstream health care
  • Tijmen Bostoen, MD, psychiatrist specialised in trauma treatment – Therapeutic applications of MDMA for the treatment of PTSD
  • Prof. Eric Vermetten, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical-Biological and Psychiatric Aspects of Psychotrauma, Universiteit Leiden – Educating and training licensed MDMA therapists
  • Discussion with Rick Doblin and Torsten Passie on the past and future of MDMA

A buffet dinner with sandwiches, fruit, and soft drinks is included in the ticket price.
Tickets: ticketkantoor.nl