Lismore to host clinical trial using MDMA, nature to treat disaster-induced PTSD
MDMA and nature-based therapy will be used in a groundbreaking clinical trial to assist people suffering natural-disaster-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in northern New South Wales.
The federal government will spend $3.8 million on the trial involving about 200 survivors of the record-breaking floods that hit the region in 2022.
Lead researcher James Bennett-Levy, from Lismore's Southern Cross University, said the use of MDMA-assisted therapy in a post-disaster context was a world first.
"Our aim with this project is that we can be leaders in climate-related mental health and wellbeing research," he said.
Southern Cross University Professor James Bennett-Levy will lead the clinical trial. (ABC North Coast; Hannah Ross)
Professor Bennett-Levy said the trial would provide a "stepped care" model of recovery, involving arts and nature-based group therapy, followed by MDMA-assisted therapy for people who needed it.
MDMA is the active ingredient in the recreational drug ecstasy.
"It's not only about our community … it's also about other Australian communities that are inevitably going to be, and are already, being affected by climate change," Professor Bennett-Levy said.
"Our aim here is to develop better ways to enable people to recover from the trauma of climate-induced disasters."
Professor Bennett-Levy said the project was informed by research done by the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore after another major flood in 2017, and by the National Disaster and Mental Health Wellbeing Framework released in 2023.
He said it was clear from the 2017 research that PTSD was compounded if people were self-critical and blamed themselves, so the trial would focus on self-compassion, aided by the clinical use of MDMA.
"Prior research has shown that MDMA-assisted therapy is an effective evidence-based treatment for PTSD and enhances self-compassion," Professor Bennett-Levy said.
Thousands still traumatised
Researchers estimate thousands of people in Lismore still suffer from PTSD following the floods.
Researchers say many people in Lismore are still affected by PTSD after the 2022 floods. (ABC News: Matt Coble)
Lismore MP Janelle Saffin, who herself had to swim for her life through raging floodwaters, said the city was well-placed to conduct the research, which could assist other communities affected by natural disasters.
"If you were trapped in a roof with your children and had no way of getting out, it is normal to be traumatised," she said.
"They are some of the people we hope will be part of the trial.
"We had internally displaced people — it was a humanitarian disaster.
"This type of language we associate with events offshore … but I have used that language from day one to try to communicate how catastrophic it was [here in 2022]."
Ms Saffin said she expected the research project would be a big part of the region's recovery.
Professor James Bennett-Levy, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and SCU vice chancellor Tyrone Carlin. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)
"I can't stop smiling, even though there is trauma and we've all been through it," she said.
Southern Cross University vice chancellor Tyrone Carlin said the clinical trial's broader relevance was particularly exciting.
"Isn't it wonderful to be able to be involved in work that is so relevant and important to us, but is so scalable and capable of being harnessed elsewhere?"
The project will be assessed for its ethical standards before participants are selected by the end of the year.