How MDMA Therapy and Other Psychedelics Are Revolutionizing Mental Health Care
Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby is a licensed psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified coach, AAMFT clinical supervisor, host of the Love, Happiness, and Success Podcast and founder of Growing Self.
As therapists, we’ve all sat with clients who feel stuck -repeating the same painful patterns, aware of their wounds but unable to move past them. We do good work. We hold space. But sometimes, even with all our tools, the healing doesn’t quite reach the root.
That’s why conversations about MDMA therapy and other forms of psychedelic treatment are so important right now.
I sat down with Dr. Scott Shannon, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who’s been at the forefront of integrative and psychedelic-assisted therapies for decades. A lifelong student of consciousness since studying under Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona in the 1970s, Dr. Shannon is a founding member of the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI), principal investigator in Phase III MDMA trials for PTSD, and author of the first textbook on holistic psychiatry.
He also founded the Wholeness Center in Colorado – one of the largest integrative mental health clinics in the U.S.
Beyond Managing Symptoms: Moving Toward Transformation
Dr. Shannon’s take on psychiatry is refreshingly honest. Too often, he says, mental health care focuses on “managing misery” – medicating symptoms so people can function, without touching the root cause.
MDMA therapy and other psychedelic-assisted treatments aim for something deeper. Through carefully guided, evidence-based sessions using medicines like MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD, clients can quiet their defenses and access emotions long buried by trauma or shame. In that expanded state, they often feel safety, love, and connection – the ingredients for true healing.
When Dr. Shannon first used MDMA in couples therapy in the 1980s, he witnessed how quickly walls of fear and defensiveness could fall. Couples began reconnecting with compassion, curiosity, and empathy – not because of the medicine alone, but because it helped them return to their core self. This process echoes what we now understand about attachment repair and emotional attunement in therapy, as explored in Attachment Style Therapy Reinvented: Dr. Dan Siegel’s Latest Breakthrough.
For related insights on ethical dynamics, see Power Dynamics Can Ruin Therapy: Avoid These Pitfalls! and Therapeutic Boundaries for Therapists: Why Your Therapy Clients Think You’re Weird.
Safety, Ethics, and the Framework for Healing
Dr. Shannon describes psychedelic-assisted therapy as a model built on three essential elements:
- The Container – the therapeutic relationship built on safety, trust, and attunement
- The Catalyst – the medicine or method that shifts consciousness
- The Carrier – the environment that supports integration (music, intention, and follow-up work)
Together they create the conditions for transformation — but they demand exceptional ethical care. In psychedelic states, clients are deeply open and suggestible. Therapists must bring humility, integrity, and self-awareness to every session.
For more on protecting both client and clinician, read Therapist Survival Guide: How to Dodge Ethical Landmines and Keep Your License Safe and Therapist Scope of Competence: Recognizing When You’re Out of Your Depth.
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What the Research Shows About MDMA Therapy
At the Wholeness Center, Dr. Shannon has participated in multiple FDA-regulated phase 2/3 trials on MDMA and LSD. The results are striking: after only a few sessions, many clients show lasting improvement in trauma symptoms. The difference isn’t numbing pain – it’s helping people metabolize and integrate it.
Clinical evidence continues to validate what Dr. Shannon and his peers have seen for decades. Recent research, such as the Nature Medicine study on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, found that participants experienced significant and sustained reductions in trauma symptoms compared to placebo. Similarly, a JAMA clinical trial on lysergide (MM120) for generalized anxiety disorder reported rapid, lasting symptom relief after just a single session.
And beyond trauma and anxiety, a Journal of Psychopharmacology study on psilocybin and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer demonstrated profound improvements in both mood and outlook – effects that persisted for months after treatment.
Together, these studies affirm what many clinicians already sense: psychedelic-assisted therapy can unlock deeper healing when delivered within a safe, structured, and ethically grounded framework.
For ongoing evaluation best practices, visit The Essential Role of Ongoing Assessment in Therapy.
Paths for Therapists: Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training and Integrity
As legalization and medicalization progress, therapists have an ethical duty to understand this field. Clients are already experimenting with psychedelics and turning to their clinicians for support or integration.
If you’ve wondered how to become a psychedelic therapist or where to pursue psychedelic-assisted therapy training, Dr. Shannon’s PRATI offers experiential and didactic programs for licensed professionals. His clinic’s Sequence program provides psilocybin intensives – structured, legal experiences conducted under expert supervision.
Even if you’re not ready to facilitate, learning about these models can help you guide clients responsibly and make informed referrals to vetted programs. For context on client relationships and timing, explore When to Let Therapy Clients Go and Why Therapy Clients Ghost.
The Call to Evolve Together
Therapy is changing. Psychedelic-assisted approaches remind us that healing is not just biochemical but deeply human – integrating mind, body, and spirit.
Dr. Shannon’s decades of work call us to expand our lens. The goal of therapy isn’t simply to reduce symptoms; it’s to awaken wholeness, connection, and meaning.
To reflect on your own professional growth, read How Being a Therapist Changes You — The Pros, Cons, and What to Expect and Help! My Client Says “Therapy Isn’t Working” — Now What?.
Ready to Learn More?
Listen to the full conversation on the Love, Happiness, and Success For Therapists podcast, or visit Dr. Shannon’s websites:
If this conversation about MDMA therapy and psychedelic-assisted healing sparked a curiosity, a calling, or even a sense of possibility, I’d love to help you continue that growth.
Come join me inside The Growth Collective for Therapists, a professional home for therapists who want to deepen their craft without burning out in the process. It’s a space for meaningful consultation, honest conversations, and ongoing education that supports both your clinical work and your own evolution as a human being.
Because doing this work well isn’t just about building skills but also about staying connected to your purpose, your people, and your heart.
xoxo,
Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby
Resources:
Mitchell, J. M., Bogenschutz, M. P., Lilienstein, A., Harrison, C., Kleiman, S., Parker-Guilbert, K., Ot’alora G., M. G., Garas, W., Paleos, C., Gorman, I., Nicholas, C. R., Mithoefer, M. C., Carlin, S., Poulter, B., Mithoefer, A. T., Quevedo, S., Emerson, A., Feduccia, A. A., Jerome, L., … Doblin, R. (2023). MDMA-assisted therapy for moderate to severe PTSD: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Nature Medicine, 29(10), 2468–2477. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02565-4
Robison, R. A., Barrow, R., Conant, C., Young, A. H., Carhart-Harris, R., & Nichols, D. E. (2025). Single treatment with MM120 (lysergide) in generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 333(8), 706–716. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2838505
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., Cosimano, M. P., & Klinedinst, M. A. (2016). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1181–1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675513
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