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B. Sessa

Making a medicine out of MDMA

January 5, 2015 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, MDMA, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / ,

Abstract

From its first use 3,4,-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been recognised as a drug with therapeutic potential. Research on its clinical utility stopped when it entered the recreational drug scene but has slowly resurrected in the past decade. Currently there is enough evidence for MDMA to be removed from its Schedule 1 status of ‘no medical use’ and moved into Schedule 2 (alongside other misused but useful medicines such as heroin and amphetamine). Such a regulatory move would liberate its use as a medicine for patients experiencing severe mental illnesses such as treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sessa, B., & Nutt, D. (2015). Making a medicine out of MDMA. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206, 4-6. https://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.152751

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Can psychedelic compounds play a part in drug dependence therapy?

January 5, 2015 / Ayahuasca, Iboga / Ibogaine, Ketamine, LSD, Mescaline / Cacti, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / By / ,

Abstract

After a 40-year hiatus there is now a revisiting of psychedelic drug therapy throughout psychiatry, with studies examining the drugs psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of drug dependence. Limitations to these therapies are both clinical and legal, but the possibility of improving outcomes for patients with substance dependency imposes an obligation to research this area.

Sessa, B., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Can psychedelic compounds play a part in drug dependence therapy? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206, 1-3. https://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.148031

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Why Psychiatry Needs Psychedelics and Psychedelics Need Psychiatry

March 11, 2014 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Depressive Disorders, LSD, MDMA, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / By /

Abstract

Without researching psychedelic drugs for medical therapy, psychiatry is turning its back on a group of compounds that could have great potential. Without the validation of the medical profession, the psychedelic drugs, and those who take them off-license, remain archaic sentiments of the past, with the users maligned as recreational drug abusers and subject to continued negative opinion. These two disparate groups—psychiatrists and recreational psychedelic drug users—are united by their shared recognition of the healing potential of these compounds. A resolution of this conflict is essential for the future of psychiatric medicine and psychedelic culture alike. Progression will come from professionals working in the field adapting to fit a conservative paradigm. In this way, they can provide the public with important treatments and also raise the profile of expanded consciousness in mainstream society.

Sessa, B. (2014). Why Psychiatry Needs Psychedelics and Psychedelics Need Psychiatry. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 46(1), 57–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2014.877322
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Self-Medication of LSD and MDMA to Treat Mental Disorders: A Case Series

September 18, 2013 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Depressive Disorders, LSD, MDMA, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

50 years ago LSD was prescribed to treat a variety of mental illnesses. More recently LSD and MDMA (ecstasy) have become widely used outside medicine as both recreational drugs and by some patients as ‘self-medication’. These brief reports gather together five patients’ experiences using psychedelic drugs to treat their mental disorders. They are discussed in relation to the medical profession’s current growing interest in re-visiting psychedelic drugs as therapeutic treatments in psychiatry. The first case describes the successful self-treatment for depression using LSD, followed by a case in which doctors administered LSD in the 1960s and 1970s to successfully treat a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic fatigue syndrome. The third and fourth cases describe the successful self-treatment of OCD using respectively MDMA and then LSD and the final case describes a self-treatment with LSD to manage Anorexia Nervosa. All the participants describing their use of these drugs give a positive report of self-treatment with minimal adverse effects. They also all support a resumption of more research into the therapeutic use of hallucinogens/psychedelic drugs as potential clinical therapies.

Sessa, B. (2010). Self-medication of LSD and MDMA to treat mental disorders: A case series. The Journal of Alternative Medicine Research, 2(2), 245-249.
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Could MDMA be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder?

December 15, 2011 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, MDMA, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

In recent studies, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) has shown promise in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an adjunct to post-trauma psychological therapy. However, because of historical associations with its use as the recreational drug ecstasy, MDMA research remains a controversial subject. Dr Sessa discusses these controversies and describes a UK-based MDMA/PTSD currently in development.

Sessa, B. (2011). Could MDMA be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder? Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, 15(6), 4–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pnp.216
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