To understand a little more about how psychedelics like MDMA can assist in psychotherapy, I spoke with Saj Razvi, a clinical investigator in MAPS’ MDMA trials and Director of Education at PSI.  “One of the key points to understand about stress and trauma is that they are fundamentally non-cognitive phenomena,” Razvi shares. “This is somewhat of a controversial statement because most models in psychotherapy are cognitive in nature, but what we’re learning from the field of neuroscience is that stressful, and traumatic experiences in particular, and their symptoms, are primarily housed in t ..read more

by Rick Doblin, Founder of MAPS https://www.ted.com/talks/rick_doblin_the_future_of_psychedelic_assisted_psychotherapy ..read more

by Andrea Dukakis, Colorado Public Radio https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/loud-clear-listener-feedback-about-ecstasy-for-ptsd-frontier-airlines-and-stapletons-potential-name-change ..read more

by Saj Razvi, Director of Education at Innate Path https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/407-bulletin-spring-2016/6099-psychedelic-education,-new-modalities,-and-coming-opportunities-in-mental-health-%E2%80%94-spring-2016 Many readers of this Bulletin may already know or have heard how powerful the MDMA experience can be. To use the phrase “game-changer” in describing how MDMA-assisted psychotherapy will alter the field of mental health is not hyperbole; it is backed by the quantitative data as well as the qualitative reports we have seen in the clinical research trials sponsored by the Mult ..read more

The first thing to say here is that psilocybin is an incredible medicine. What it asks of the person using it and what it provides is beyond anything I’ve experienced in the MDMA, cannabis and ketamine therapy world. That being said, it is absolutely an advanced medicine that will not reveal its true potential unless external and internal conditions allow for it. There are factors that will cause psilocybin to have very little effect regardless of dose.  The observations I’m about to make are from our experience in our Amsterdam psilocybin therapy program and from interviews with clinicia ..read more

by Saj Razvi, Director of Education at Innate Path As much as we have already described how useful and complimentary psychedelic medicines can be in mental health, this does not, however, mean a positive outcome is guaranteed. One of the most significant and yet invisible factors in a person's psychedelic therapy session is their capacity for dissociation. We have discussed this topic from a nervous system perspective; we will now look at it more specifically in relation to psychedelic processing. What is dissociation? You might recall that dissociation is a biological reaction we all have to ..read more