Keynote Address 2 - Barbara O. Rothbaum, Ph.D (Virtual from USA)
Tracks
Stream A
Stream B
Stream C
Stream D
| Saturday, September 19, 2026 |
| 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM |
| Federation Ballroom |
Overview
The Promise of MDMA Combined with Massed Exposure Therapy for PTSD
Presenter
Professor (dr.) Barbara Rothbaum
Emory University School Of Medicine
The Promise of MDMA Combined with Massed Exposure Therapy for PTSD
9:00 AM - 10:00 PMAbstract
The pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy literatures for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be succinctly reviewed and discussed, focusing on cognitive behavioral treatments (CBT), and the various CBT techniques will be briefly described, including virtual reality exposure therapy. Pharmacotherapy and combination pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments for PTSD will be discussed. Innovations in the treatment of PTSD, including medium of delivery and novel combination treatment will be presented. An intensive outpatient treatment model and will be presented. In two phase 3 trials, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy, a non-directive therapeutic approach, resulted in significantly greater reductions in PTSD compared to placebo (Mitchell et al., 2021; Mitchell et al., 2023). Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a gold standard PTSD intervention. Translational evidence indicates prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) could represent the optimal psychotherapy to be combined with MDMA for PTSD intervention.
We have developed The METEMP Protocol for Massed Exposure Therapy Enhanced with MDMA for PTSD. We are piloting the combination of a two-week intensive PE protocol for treatment of PTSD with the addition of a 100 mg MDMA dose on Day 2, in which two imaginal exposure sessions are conducted during the MDMA session. Primary outcome is PTSD symptom reduction as assessed by independent raters via the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5-Revised (CAPS-5-R) from pre-treatment compared to one month follow up. MDMA enhanced massed exposure therapy for PTSD shows preliminary safety, feasibility, and efficacy, with a large decrease in CAPS-5-R symptoms.
We have developed The METEMP Protocol for Massed Exposure Therapy Enhanced with MDMA for PTSD. We are piloting the combination of a two-week intensive PE protocol for treatment of PTSD with the addition of a 100 mg MDMA dose on Day 2, in which two imaginal exposure sessions are conducted during the MDMA session. Primary outcome is PTSD symptom reduction as assessed by independent raters via the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5-Revised (CAPS-5-R) from pre-treatment compared to one month follow up. MDMA enhanced massed exposure therapy for PTSD shows preliminary safety, feasibility, and efficacy, with a large decrease in CAPS-5-R symptoms.
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Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, PhD is Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She is a professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program and holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmcology. She specializes in research on the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD. Dr. Rothbaum has been studying PTSD treatments since 1986, served on the DSM-IV PTSD subcommittee, and has developed, tested, and disseminated some of the most innovative and effective treatments available for PTSD. She is an inventor of virtual reality exposure therapy. She was a pioneer in applying it in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans. Dr. Rothbaum has been conducting translational research on MDMA for about a decade. She has authored over 400 scientific papers and chapters, has published 11 books on the treatment of PTSD and edited 4 others on anxiety, and received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). She is a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychophamacology (ACNP), the National
Academy of Inventors, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and American Psychological Association’s Division 56. Dr. Rothbaum was awarded the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) in 2010, the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology for APA Division 56 in 2010, the 2021 ISTSS Lifetime Achievement Award, and was just made a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her recent books on PTSD for the general public include: PTSD: What Everyone Needs to Know and Making Meaning of Difficult Experiences.