ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2021
Relational and Growth Outcomes Following Couples Therapy With MDMA for PTSD.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Couples' therapies can improve clinical outcomes of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder: meta-analysis of eighteen clinical studies.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- MDMA for the treatment of misophonia, a proposal.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy-A Systematic Review of Associated Psychological Interventions.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Preliminary evidence for the importance of therapeutic alliance in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Trial
- Investigating the impact of serotonergic psychedelic drugs, MDMA and ketamine on social cognition in psychiatric disorders: A scoping review.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Making a case for using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder and complex PTSD: a descriptive systematic review of the literature.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Approaches to ketamine-assisted couple therapy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- A biopsychosocial model of MDMA-assisted therapy in application: Dyadic One Session Treatment for specific phobia.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- MDMA-assisted brief cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD: Study protocol for a pilot study.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2024Article
- Article
- Partners' experiences of their loved ones' trauma and PTSD: An ongoing journey of loss and gain.PloS one · 2024Article
- The conceptual framework for the therapeutic approach used in phase 3 trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Examining the Rationale for Studying Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Caregiver Distress.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Review
- Therapeutic role of psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in trauma: A literature review.World journal of psychiatry · 2023Review
- MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2022Review
- Couple Therapy With MDMA-Proposed Pathways of Action.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Healing from trauma occurs in a relational context, and the impacts of traumatic experiences that result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) go beyond the diagnosis itself. To fully understand a treatment for PTSD, understanding its impact on interpersonal, relational, and growth outcomes yields a more fulsome picture of the effects of the treatment. The current paper examines these secondary outcomes of a pilot trial of Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) for PTSD with MDMA. Six romantic dyads, where one partner had PTSD, undertook a course of treatment combining CBCT for PTSD with two MDMA psychotherapy sessions. Outcomes were assessed at mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 3- and 6-month follow-up. Both partners reported improvements in post-traumatic growth, relational support, and social intimacy. Partners reported reduced behavioral accommodation and conflict in the relationship, and patients with PTSD reported improved psychosocial functioning and empathic concern. These improvements were maintained throughout the follow-up period. These findings suggest that CBCT for PTSD with MDMA has significant effect on relational and growth outcomes in this pilot sample. Improvements in these domains is central to a holistic recovery from traumatic experiences, and lends support to the utility of treating PTSD dyadically.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.