Q & A with MAPS
learn more about the Altruist November nonprofit
As we honor our servicemen and women this November for Veterans Day, we decided to support an organization that is working to cure one of the most chronic conditions affecting our troops. One in three returning troops are being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder — a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event. PTSD effects not only our soldiers but also their families and loved ones. Military suicides reached a record high in 2012 as many struggle to adjust to civilian life. MAPS, Our November nonprofit, is conducting cutting-edge research with psychedelic therapy to help those with PTSD and other mental health conditions return to their normal lives. We asked them a few questions to learn more about their work in this promising field of study.
Q: How do you combat the damaging misconceptions about your work with psychedelics?
We strive to make sure that we are doing research that meets the highest government and scientific standards. We then go beyond those standards to meet the guidelines of those who have practiced psychedelic therapy. We are really working for two goals. One is to fulfill FDA and DEA regulations to get MDMA-therapy approved. The other is to find the best way to heal the greatest number of people. We then always strive to tell the truth about what we find. Sometimes the government regulations and the path to healing are synchronistic. Other times, we do things we believe will be better for the healing process. For example, our male/female co-therapist team is not part of any government regulation, but we have found it to be helpful for the healing process. We have listened to the experiences of people doing successful psychedelic therapy over many years, and this is just one of the things we have tested and found to be useful.
Q: What has been one of your most promising or exciting findings from a recent study?
In a recent study, 83 percent of the subjects with treatment-resistant PTSD no longer had PTSD after a few drug assisted therapy sessions. These positive results last an average of 3.8 years.
Q: As an organization, what are you most looking forward to in the coming years?
We are looking forward to the end of our Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in 2016, where they will hopefully approve us to move forward with Phase 3 multi-site studies. By 2021 we believe MDMA-assisted psychotherapy will be approved for the treatment of PTSD. Tens of thousands of people will be able to be healed from chronic PTSD and from other off label uses of MDMA.
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