Social Workers' Attitudes and Beliefs about MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Adolescents with PTSD.
Maha N Mian, Jordan Horan, Taweh Hunter, Alan K Davis, Stacey B Armstrong
Social work April 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1093/sw/swaf005 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractSocial workers rated SSRI-assisted therapy as significantly more acceptable, appropriate, and feasible than MDMA-assisted therapy for treating adolescents with treatment-resistant PTSD, with medium-to-large effect sizes. Perceptions of MDMA risk were higher among those who read about MDMA-assisted therapy, and greater psychedelic stigma correlated with higher perceived risk of MDMA. However, more psychedelic knowledge was linked to less stigma and lower perceived risk. These findings suggest that social workers' concerns about MDMA-assisted therapy for adolescents may hinder clinical trial recruitment and future implementation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 222 |
| Population | Social workers |
| Interventions | MDMA-assisted therapy selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-assisted therapy |
| Topics | MDMA PTSD |
| Keywords | Adolescents Psychedelics Mental health treatment Psychedelic Therapy MDMA |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Social workers rated SSRI-assisted therapy as significantly more acceptable, appropriate, and feasible than MDMA-assisted therapy for treating adolescent treatment-resistant PTSD. |
Abstract
Given the widespread interest and ongoing study on MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for PTSD, its implications for unique populations-such as adolescents-require further understanding. Social workers will likely play a crucial role in the potential implementation of this intervention, but their perspectives remain unknown. The study includes 222 social workers randomized to read one of two vignettes about MDMA-AT or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-assisted therapy (SSRI-AT) for treating adolescent treatment-resistant PTSD. Participants rated each treatment's acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, followed by drug stigma, perceptions of drug risk, and psychedelic knowledge. Participants in the SSRI-AT condition reported significantly higher mean ratings of treatment acceptability (p < .001; d = .72), appropriateness (p < .001; d = .72), and feasibility (p < .001; d =. 64). In the MDMA-AT condition, perceptions of MDMA risk were greater (p < .001; d = .59) and psychedelic stigma positively correlated with perceived risk of MDMA (r = .46, p < .001). Moreover, greater psychedelic knowledge was significantly related to less stigma (r = -.33, p < .001) and less perceived risk of MDMA (r = -.21, p < .001). Concerns among social workers about the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of MDMA-AT for adolescents with PTSD may limit clinical trial recruitment, engagement, and future implementation.