Study: MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Will Be Cost-Effective in the Treatment of PTSD

PRESS RELEASE: Study: MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Will Be Cost-Effective in the Treatment of PTSD
Healthcare cost savings of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD estimated to be greater than $103.2 million with a return of 5,553 Quality of Life Years per 1,000 patients
Santa Cruz, CA, October 14, 2020 - A peer-reviewed study published today in the research journal PLOS ONE demonstrates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is remarkably cost-effective when compared to currently available treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is estimated that a public healthcare payer or private insurer making MDMA-assisted psychotherapy available to 1,000 patients with PTSD would reduce general and mental health care costs by $103.2 million over 30 years.
Lead author Elliot Marseille, Dr.P.H., M.P.P., elaborates, “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is conducted by a licensed psychologist and trained clinician over the course of twelve sessions with three sessions lasting six or more hours. The cost of that time is not inconsiderable, but in just over three years, healthcare providers will break even on the costs of mental health and general medical care. These estimates are promising yet likely too conservative: the study did not measure the value of increased productivity or lower disability payments as patients recover from PTSD and is constrained by the limited availability of data on the long-term trajectory of PTSD. Further research will be needed to determine the full financial, personal, and societal benefits of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.”
Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Head of Research Development and Regulatory Affairs for MAPS Public Benefit Corporation and co-author, developed the protocols studying MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. She notes, “A growing body of evidence suggests that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may be more effective than currently available treatments for PTSD, a notoriously difficult-to-treat condition. Previous research has focused on safety and efficacy and indicates statistically significant improvements over psychotherapy with a control, demonstrating reduction in symptoms for 82% of participants. This study should compel healthcare providers to include MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a covered treatment for PTSD following FDA approval.”
Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Executive Director of MAPS and a study co-author, states, “The profound personal toll of PTSD can include deterioration in physical health, relationships, and ability to participate in social activities along with the anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal ideation that mark the condition. By demonstrating a return of an average of 5.5 quality-adjusted life-years over 30 years, we have shown that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has the potential to reduce more than the personal burden of PTSD, contributing to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare burdens for payers and providers.”
The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy from the U.S. healthcare payers’ perspective was constructed with a decision-analytic Markov model to portray the costs and health benefits of treating patients with chronic, severe, or extreme, treatment-resistant PTSD. Efficacy was based on the pooled results of six randomized controlled trials with the 105 subjects who participated in Phase 2 trials and a four-year follow-up of 19 of those subjects. Other inputs were based on published literature and on assumptions when data were unavailable. Results are modeled over a 30-year analytic horizon and conducted extensive sensitivity analyses. The model calculates expected medical costs, mortality, quality-adjusted life-years, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.
NOTE:
The safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is currently under investigation. This treatment has not yet been approved by the FDA, does not work for everyone, and carries risks even in therapeutic settings. To learn more, please visit mdmaptsd.org.
Full Publication
journals.plos....
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
maps.org
MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC)
mapspublicbene...
MAPS-Sponsored Research: MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD
maps.org/mdma
Participate in Research: MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD
mdmaptsd.org

[@greenspand]

So glad to see MAPS is moving forward with MDMA

[@nunisthathigh4825]

If ecstasy, actual ecstasy, ecstasy in its clinical state, is not only a psychedelic but so incredibly therapeutic, why is there so much animosity against ecstasy? A lot of people react to ecstasy like it's bath salts.

[@201Pete]

have PTSD...can't wait to try MDMA as a viable treatment plan-thanks for all of your hard work to getting it FDA approved

[@whoareyou4382]

It is very exciting to see this moving along! Please keep up the good work! Humanity will thank you for eternity.

[@santana-dr7hp]

Excited for the future!!!!

[@lorigreenleaf9013]

Excellent news!.... and thank you MAPS for an interesting, informative forum...

[@psychedelicbookworm]

This is very exciting

[@DarkMoonDroid]

World's most patient man. 📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅📅...

[@DarkMoonDroid]

@Carol Rushing Hi, Carol! 👋 I don't know who Elliot Mareilli is. And I don't follow any Q stuff. I was referring to Rick Doblin, on this video. He's been working on this for... I don't even know how long. I remember hearing that this would happen in 5 years way over 5 years ago. So, I suspect we'll be waiting for a while more. I am in California and I'm not doing well right now. The current schools of thot in Psychology and Therapy _that I can actually access on public assistance_ is actually making things worse for me. I have Complex PTSD, not just PTSD. So there is developmental damage along with sporadic, unreliable high cognitive functioning. The current school of thot for Therapy right now is to "Be Positive" and don't talk about the Trauma. This is exactly the opposite of what I need and makes things far worse for me. I just fired my 2nd Therapist in 2 months because even tho I explained very carefully what I needed and didn't need, they didn't seem to either believe me or understand me and did the very things I asked them not to do. One, after over a year of wasting my time. So, I seem to be in the Liminal Space (again/still) between Effective Therapy that I can't pay for and Anti-Therapy that the tax-payers pay for. Centralization is useful for a few things. Healing individuals of Complex PTSD is not one of them. But then, maybe that's the plan, huh? Or maybe not. Having this kind of Brain Damage means I will be far more attentive to narratives that are malevolent than either neutral or benevolent ones. So, I have to keep that in mind. It's impossible to know _for sure_ what "They" are doing and why, so I have to have a plan for how I want to behave regardless. I'm currently doing Chemo for this Stupid Cancer and it's messing up my brain even worse, so it's very difficult to think clearly. If this wasn't an issue, I'd be working on creating my own Healing System which would offer several modalities not currently considered _"Standard of Care"_ to use, not use, combine, etc. according to what folks need. My ideas about Human Psychological function and Dysfunction are very different than the current view. I hope we can hold out until Doblin and Co. get this past the finish line and we can actually access this. I might be dead before it happens. Either way my suffering will be over.

[@frankdoherty8999]

Wow this is so exciting to see MDMA makes its way into the mainstream 🤠

[@jLeeSym]

Thx for posting

[@georgecost4644]

I think the full public benefit will only really be realized and calculated when you start looking at the new creation (fulfilling ones own unique potential) side of the ledger 📈

[@mercyshaver5264]

Thank you

[@mercyshaver5264]

Thank you 🙂

[@ferndawg1111]

i would be interested to learn of outcomes from daily mdma microdosing.

[@tbates7053]

I need help. My son is suicidal. He is an adult and resistant to getting traditional help. Where can I find a place to get him treatment using psychedelic medicine?

[@DarkMoonDroid]

BTW, is there a reason you're not working with Complex PTSD? Or are you? 🤔

[@DarkMoonDroid]

@Anthony Vincent Hi! I'm only now seeing this comment. Questions: 1. If you are someone with CPTSD, can you detect your own developmental damage? 2. If so, can you detect the change in its status as a result of the Therapy? 3. Does MAPS differentiate between PTSD & CPTSD? 4. Can they tell if the Therapy is helping or not? I can detect my own d-damage and I can tell when something is helping, doing nothing or making it worse. Traditional Therapists don't seem to be able to tell if something is helping or not. Like if they run over me in their Therapy car, they back up and run over me a few more times so that I have to literally run away crying in order to make it stop. 😕

[@imkharn]

Wonder if the VA will still pay for it when they find out it turns their killers into quitters

[@a.schwartz7075]

im trying to use the treatment im from Netherlands please help here thanks

[@trentp151]

SWIM says it worked for him.

[@jjjjj6424]

Mdma 175$ a 8ball

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

Only problem with mdma therapy is if drug addicted people get on it, like if they for example got raped at burning man 2018, with drug use, lending them mdma might enable risky behaviors again.