The occurrence and potential role of mystical experiences in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD: A secondary…

Randomized trialJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)· Aug 2026

The occurrence and potential role of mystical experiences in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD: A secondary analysis.

Tijmen P L Bostoen, Erwin Krediet, Annette M van Schagen … Erik J Giltay

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Anxiety, OCD & TraumaRandomized trialQ1IF 5.7

Mystical Experience Questionnaire scores far higher with MDMA than with placebo sessions

The occurrence and potential role of mystical experiences in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD: A secondary analysis.

Tijmen P L Bostoen … Erik J Giltay

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Psychiatry

Background

The potential safety and efficacy of the psychedelic 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy) for post-traumatic stress disorder (post-traumatic stress disorder) has been researched in phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials.

Methods

Data were sourced from two phase 2 randomized trials of methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, in which participants received two sessions with either MDMA or active placebo, in conjunction with psychotherapy.

n = 39

Results

MDMA sessions produced far more mystical-type experiences than placebo sessions

MDMA

42.1%

Active placebo

16.4%

More results

Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of the MEQ30 Positive Mood subscale on symptom reduction ( b = -0.170, 95% CI (-0.353, -0.007)), while the MEQ total score and other subscales showed smaller, non-significant indirect effects on CAPS-IV scores.

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Conclusion · 1 of 3

MEQ30 scores were significantly higher for MDMA sessions than for active placebo sessions in patients undergoing MDMA-assisted therapy for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

Among mystical-type experiences, the positive mood subscale, rather than full mystical-type states, appeared to contribute most to the mitigation of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size and secondary nature of the analysis.

The occurrence and potential role of mystical experiences in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD: A secondary analysis.

The occurrence and potential role of mystical experiences in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD: A secondary analysis.

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