Browsing by Author "Rodrigues, Carolina Morais Correia Cordeiro"
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- MDMA as an enhancer of psychotherapy for PTSDPublication . Rodrigues, Carolina Morais Correia Cordeiro; Mendes, João Paulo de Sousa Campos; Pérez, Francisco José AlvarezIntroduction: PTSD is an increasingly prevalent psychiatric disorder that manifests after severe personal or expositional trauma, and gravely negatively impacts the lives of those who are diagnosed with it. Though there is approved psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of this disease, they often are not well tolerated or not effective in the treatment of the disease. MDMA, most known for its recreative use as ecstacy, is a psychoactive compound, with a short half-life, that induces brief states of altered perception and openness, which can be used to improve psychotherapeutic interventions, with enduring impact. Objective: Identify and assess the possible use of MDMA as an enhancer for psychotherapy treatments in patients diagnosed with PTSD. Methods: Collection of data using Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS, National Library of Medicine, and Elsevier, from July 2022 to January 2024. Criteria for the choice of articles included publishing date before 2017 (allowing for contextually needed exceptions), written in English and with focus on the use of MDMA in association with psychotherapy in patients diagnosed with PTSD. Results: The studies and articles analyzed show promising results of the use of MDMA as an enhancer of psychotherapy for PTSD patients, with several studies noting significant decreases in their measures of symptomology and diagnostic criteria. There were several limitations in the populations studied, blinding techniques, measures of outcomes and methods, which further justifies ongoing research on the subject. Conclusion: This thesis has found that the positive outcomes of the studies assessed justify further investigation into this potencial boost of psychotherapy, in order to establish set protocols and dose-dependent effects of the administration of MDMA.