Jennifer Bires about FDA’s recent decision on MDMA

Jennifer Bires, Executive Director of Life with Cancer and Patient Experience at Inova Schar Cancer Institute, shared on LinkedIn:

“I’m disappointed by the FDA’s recent decision on MDMA. I can understand the reasoning behind their decision while still feeling a deep despair for those who have gone without access to effective treatments for their PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other mental health issues for far too long.

I am concerned about what this means for the ‘therapy-assisted’ part of psychedelic treatment. As a therapist who has been involved in clinical research with MDMA for PTSD and couples affected by cancer, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of therapeutic support and integration as key to a psychedelic experience.

Far too often, we look for a magic pill, when mental health care requires a nuanced approach rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Future trials might sideline the integration of psychedelics with therapy in favor of a simpler approval pathway.

I’m encouraged to see experts in the field such as Manish Agrawal, as quoted in the New York Times ‘…the fact that we are even having this conversation and the FDA is considering this medication and asking hard questions is a good thing’ and Mason Marks on NPR, ‘I don’t think there’s any sign that progress is going to be slowed.

If anything, it might intensify because the other companies might see an opportunity to really get in there and compete,’.  But patients in need now need more than encouragement. They need access.”

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Source: Jennifer Bires/LinkedIn