A JUNGIAN PERSPECTIVE ON WORKING WITH PTSD SURVIVORS IN MDMA-ASSISTED THERAPY
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2018
9:30AM – 4:30PM
The C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco

FACULTY: ANNIE MITHOEFER, BSN; MICHAEL MITHOEFER, MD; AMY WESTON, PHD
EVAN SOLA, PSYD candidate as discussant
6 Possible Continuing Education Credits Approved for MD, PhD, LCSW, MFT & RN
TUITION: $175/$200 (INCLUDES CEUS)
Can MDMA-assisted therapy help constellate trauma patients’ inner wisdom and assist in healing?
A Jungian, or archetypal, understanding of the accelerated processing and extinction of fear responses under 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can be invaluable in holding the experiences patients revisit in their healing. Donald Kalsched, in his work on trauma, contends that the spirit world is real and, following trauma, is recruited for defensive purposes. The course will review the context of MDMA clinical research with treatment-resistant sufferers of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the rationale for its use as a catalyst to psychotherapy, and possible therapeutic mechanisms of action. The therapeutic approach will be discussed and illustrated with video of research sessions, which emphasize the emergence of the individual’s inner healing intelligence and include examples of powerful archetypal imagery that often arise spontaneously as part of the healing process. The Mithoefers theorize that it is the experience itself, rather than simply the pharmacologic effects of the drug, that may lead to sustained remission of severe PTSD, resistant to more traditional treatment methods.



