Dr. Carolina L. Haass-Koffler, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and Dr. Erica Eaton, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior, have been awarded seed funding from Brown University's Office of the Vice President for Research for a project testing the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of MDMA-assisted therapy for combat veterans with co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder.

Haass-Koffler and Eaton, who have appointments in the department of behavioral and social sciences, are two of thirty-one Brown researchers leading twenty-one funded projects in public health and the physical, life, and medical sciences. Haass-Koffler, principal investigator, is a member of the core faculty of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Dr. Eaton, co-principal investigator, is a clinical psychologist in the Trauma Recovery Service at the Providence VA Medical Center. This interdisciplinary collaboration "will help to position Brown at the forefront of psychedelic research for common and impairing mental health problems," according to a release from OVPR earlier this year. 

More about the project: 

Safety, feasibility, and acceptability of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders in combat veterans
Co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder (PTSD-AUD) is common following combat and associated with more severe symptomatology, increased suicidality, and poorer response to treatment than either disorder alone. Available PTSD-AUD treatments effectively treat only a fraction of people who engage in them for adequate dose and duration, leading to growing interest in alternative medications, including psychedelics. The combined neurobiological effects of MDMA increase compassion, reduce defenses and fear of emotional injury, and enhance communication and introspection, making MDMA-AT especially useful for treating PTSD-AUD. This pilot trial will be the first to assess feasibility and acceptability of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AT) in veterans with combat-related PTSD and AUD (N=20) and will result in a new interdisciplinary collaboration at Brown. Participants will be recruited via social media and clinician referrals and will complete an initial screen and baseline appointment including informed consent. Eligible participants will receive MDMA-AT, including three Experimental Sessions with MDMA administration that will be conducted under established protocols. Follow-up data will be collected at post-treatment and at one-month. This project will allow us to: 1) assemble a research team including the training of two MDMA-AT clinicians, 2) determine the feasibility of recruitment, 3) determine the acceptability of and safety of MDMA-AT, 4) provide preliminary evidence of the effects of MDMA-AT, and 5) refine study procedures in preparation for a fully powered RCT to test the effectiveness of MDMA-AT for PTSD-AUD.