Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards MDMA-Assisted Therapy: An Exploratory Survey-Based Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Our objective is to explore the attitudes, opinions, and self-rated knowledge of German mental health professionals (MHP) regarding MDMA and MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT). This will provide insights into the biases and the overall perception of MDMA-AT. Introduction: Based on promising, preliminary results from clinical trials, it seems likely that certain classical psychedelics, like psilocybin, and atypical psychedelics, like MDMA, will be implemented in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Following a period of scarcity in research and the public perception being shaped by media portrayal it remains unclear how MHPs perceive this upcoming medicalization. This survey aims to address this knowledge gap in giving a broad overview of MHPs’ viewpoints towards MDMA and MDMA-AT. Inclusion criteria: Requirement for study participation is an age of at least 18 years and an advanced education in the mental health professions (population). The survey questions their attitudes, opinions, and self-rated knowledge (concept) regarding MDMA and MDMA-AT in relation to sociodemographic criteria, substance use and breathwork techniques (context). Methods: The study investigates German MHPs’ attitudes on MDMA and MDMA-AT using a quantitative survey adapted from Meyer and colleagues’ questionnaire (2022). A sample of 1200 participants will be recruited through email contacts sourced from public health databases, with incentives provided through an anonymized token-system. The survey will be conducted through Humboldt universities Limesurvey tool which uses SSL-encryption and IP-address anonymization. Data analysis will include t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and regression models. Data collection will occur during the month of April 2025. Data preprocessing and analysis will be conducted in R. Results will be published as a thesis and in paper format.

Topics & conditions

Detected automatically by Psychedelic Commons from the title and abstract, not labels from the source. They may be incomplete.

Keywords