MDMA and the Inner Healer
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories | Psychotherapy, Trauma, and Psychedelics
03/01/20
•78m
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After a nightmarish sexual assault at age 15, Mitch's life felt over. Wracked by daily dread, panic, and a desperate longing to die, he eventually found his way 22 years later to the MAPS trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for severe PTSD.
In this astonishing account, Mitch describes how MDMA was able to reactivate his innate healing intelligence to allow him to go directly into the hottest fires of his trauma with a powerful shield of openness, safety, self-compassion, and trust. Mitch describes the actual "how" behind MDMA-assisted therapy and why it shows such promise for the future of trauma treatment.
MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
https://maps.org
Dr. H interview on Therapy Chat podcast about working with MDMA
https://baltimoreannapolispsychotherapypodcast.libsyn.com/218-understanding-the-research-on-psychedelics-with-trauma-survivors-with-dr-craig-heacock
BFTA in the top psychedelic podcasts of 2020!!
https://blog.feedspot.com/psychedelic_podcasts/
MDMA and inner healing intelligence
https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/383-bulletin-winter-2014/5427-a-conversation-with-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-researchers-winter-2014
https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/435-maps-bulletin-winter-2018-vol-28-no-3/7515-cultivating-inner-growth-the-inner-healing-intelligence-in-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-winter-2018
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Previous Episode
When a tree falls twice-- OCD, emotional neglect, and resilience
February 17, 2020
•38m
The root system of a tree is its hidden protection against the harsh realities of wind and drought and disease. For people, loving and healthy childhood attachments are our central hidden protection against the inevitable losses and tragedies of life. But what happens when these early attachments aren't safe and secure?
Jami's childhood emotional neglect and abuse and profound loneliness left her attachment roots shallow and damaged, yet her inner fire and natural resilience helped her to grow up strong and healthy despite the childhood challenges. When the winds of loss and grief started to blow, she came toppling down, twice. This led to a long list of failed treatments, benzodiazepine dependence and its horrors, and even a brief course of ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) when seemingly all other options had failed.
And today, she again stands strong and tall, a testament to her refusal to give up and to relationships that have helped to scaffold her and compensate for those early traumas.
Adverse childhood experiences and effects on long-term resilience and risk of chronic illness
https://www.acesconnection.com/blog/got-your-ace-resilience-scores
Major depressive episode vs "nervous breakdown"
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-everyone-became-depressed/201309/bring-back-the-nervous-breakdown
Ketamine vs ECT
https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/home/topics/mood-disorders/depressive-disorder/short-term-treatments-for-depression-ketamine-vs-ect/
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Next Episode
The two loves of her life-- Alcohol, self harm, and the path of recovery
March 17, 2020
•59m
If only swimming or meditation were as good as vodka. Unfortunately, the most powerful and rapid-acting coping strategies also tend to be the most damaging and addictive.
Annie learned this the hard way. After her father's death when she just 9 years old, she eventually found two of the most alluring and effective coping strategies, and they made day to day life possible, even manageable. They worked fantastically well, until they didn't. Annie found healing through 12 step groups and also through DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and now works as a clinical psychologist, sharing her hard-earned wisdom and relentless hope with others.
Dialectical behavior therapy
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/dialectical-behavior-therapy
Effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous vs other modalities
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012880.pub2/full
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
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