The MDMA Therapy Training Program has launched a series of trainings to prepare therapy providers to become eligible to work on an MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD protocol. In January 2019, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) submitted an MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD protocol to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of an application to participate in the FDA Expanded Access (EA) program. We’ve received and responded to several rounds of comments from FDA and will hear from FDA by the middle of July. The Expanded Access program’s purpose is to grant access to potentially beneficial investigational treatments for individuals or populations facing a serious or immediately life-threatening condition for which there is no satisfactory treatment currently available. If approved, Expanded Access would allow additional qualified sites to provide MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for participants with treatment-resistant PTSD under a MAPS protocol.
Sites in the U.S. and U.S. territories interested in being considered to participate in an MDMA/PTSD protocol may now apply with MAPS PBC to assess eligibility and obtain the prerequisite training to administer MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. The basic requirements of a qualified site are 1) treatment facility conducive to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, 2) therapy team, qualified and able to complete MDMA Therapy Training Program, and 3) prescribing physician who can obtain a DEA Schedule I license for MDMA.
Site and practitioner application procedures are posted on our website. Each site must submit one site questionnaire. Additionally, each therapy provider must submit an MDMA Therapy Training Application for Therapy Providers. Only applicants affiliated with a qualifying site can be considered for training at this time. MAPS PBC will review applications on an ongoing basis, as they are received.
The MDMA Therapy Training Program is working in collaboration with the California Institute of Integral Studies’ Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR) program to support a June training retreat in northern California. This retreat will be for the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapies and Research 2019 cohort and will include a select number of MDMA Therapy Training Program trainees. This six-and-a-half-day training retreat focused on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD will be led by Annie Mithoefer, B.S.N., and Michael Mithoefer, M.D.
An additional training retreat with Annie Mithoefer and Michael Mithoefer is scheduled for September 29 – October 6, 2019, in Asheville, North Carolina. Eligible therapy providers interested in this event can submit the MDMA Therapy Training Application and respond ”yes” to the question about interest in this event. For those who have already completed applications, you will be automatically considered for this fall event and do not need to re-apply. Future training retreats will be announced through the training newsletter as they are scheduled.
Applications remain open for the MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color event, taking place August 10-17, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky, led by Marcela Ot’alora M.A., L.P.C., and Monnica Williams, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., with support from additional trainers. There are two parts to this event: a 1 ½ day Psychedelic Medicine and Cultural Trauma Community Workshop (guest presenters will be added to this website as they are announced) and a week-long MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training Retreat with a focus on making this treatment accessible and relevant to communities of color. The workshop is open to the public; the MDMA Therapy Training is for eligible therapy providers who have been accepted into the training program, with a focus on providers from and serving communities of color, with priority registration for providers who are affiliated with a potential Expanded Access site. Eligible therapy providers interested in this event can submit the MDMA Therapy Training application for providers, and respond “yes” to the question about interest in the August MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color, as well as the associated questions about scholarship. More details for this event, including exact location, schedule, scholarship, and registration fees will be available as they are updated on the workshop website.
Scholarships and tiered tuition rates, for both therapy providers and affiliated community organizers who work with communities of color, are currently available for this event through generous funding from the Open Society Foundation (OSF), Libra Foundation, Riverstyx Foundation, Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative (PSFC), and Dr. Bronner’s. Applicants who applied for this event will receive more information about the scholarship process. Additional scholarship programs are under development. For questions about this event, please email training@mapsbcorp.com
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