Jesus said, “Let anyone with ears, listen!” – Matthew 11:15 (NRSV)
Sometime in the second half of 2024, the drug known as Ecstasy or MDMA will become legal for prescribers to use in treating people with PTSD—veterans of war, but asurvivors of child sexual abuse and other traumas.
In clinical trials, two therapists worked together using a specific protocol: 2-3 preparation sessions to get to know the participant and their trauma; a day-long session in which the participant was administered either drug or placebo, then invited to reexperience their trauma within the safe therapeutic container; followed by several integration sessions. This arc was repeated over several months.
As a student learning how to use psychedelics and other medicines to help people heal from PTSD and a variety of other mental health challenges, I’ve been privileged to watch videos of active medicine sessions. One of the most touching moments? When a participant was in distress, and—instead of intervening, minimizing, rushing to fix or change something—the two therapists got off their chairs, quietly got on their knees right next to the sofa where the participant was lying, leaned in to ask a brief question or two, then sat back to listen well.
The results from the clinical trials have been stunning. Over ⅔ of participants lost their PTSD diagnosis entirely, and even more received significant relief from symptoms.
But just as surprising: even the participants who got the placebo benefited immensely from the therapy protocol. It turns out just having someone listen closely and well, in a carefully crafted safe space, can free us from scourge of trauma. Two humans, over and over, can listen another human being back into living in the present, feeling and free.
Jesus said: those with ears, listen.
#prayer: God, may we find the listeners we most need—and be the listeners others need.
