Underground MDMA-, LSD-and 2-CB-assisted individual and group psychotherapy in Zurich: Outcomes, implications and commentary
Fischer, F. M., Sessa, B.
This case report of Friederike Meckel Fisher contextualizes her underground practice MDMA-, LSD-and 2-CB-assisted individual and group psychotherapy in Zurich up until 2009 before she was arrested. It highlights that only a small percentage of her clients received these drugs, as part of psycholytic group therapy, and outlines the practical schedule of their sessions. Her arrest was occasioned by an ex-client, who had attributed her husband's decision to end their marriage in response to therapy as 'brainwashing', and reported her to the police. The commentary provides a wider discussion of ethical considerations with respect to this case study, and in regard to future developments in psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Abstract
Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has persisted in Europe despite the banning of the substances LSD and MDMA in the 1960s and 1980s, respectively. This article describes the work of a Zurich-based psychotherapist providing individual and group psycholytic psychotherapy, whose practice persisted for several years before she was arrested in 2009. The article provides commentary on the psychopharmacological, moral, ethical and legal issues of this case and discusses these issues in the context of the growing medical research of psychedelic substances as mainstream treatments for psychiatry.