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Home/Research/MDMA/Anxiety Disorders

MDMA for Anxiety Disorders

104 papers and 8 clinical trials exploring mdma as a treatment for anxiety disorders.

Compoundempathogen

MDMA

MDMA is a synthetic empathogen that enhances monoamine release, producing prosocial and anxiolytic effects without frank hallucinosis. Two Phase III trials demonstrated significant PTSD symptom reductions, though FDA review raised concerns about blinding, durability, and safety characterisation.

Full MDMA profile
IndicationThe most common mental disorders, about 301 million people worldwide

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the world, yet for primary anxiety (generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic) the psychedelic evidence is surprisingly thin. The clear front-runner is LSD: MindMed’s MM120 met its Phase 2b endpoint in generalised anxiety disorder and is now in two Phase 3 trials. Most other psychedelic anxiety data comes from cancer and end-of-life distress, a different problem covered on our palliative page, or is measured as a side effect of treating depression.

Full Anxiety Disorders profile

Academic Research

104 papers
Open Accessindividual

MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized, Open-label, Wait-list Controlled Trial

This randomised, open-label, wait-list-controlled trial (n=20) found that MDMA-assisted therapy reduced social anxiety symptoms more than waiting for treatment and improved functioning in adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Published
June 4, 2026
Journal
Psyarxiv
Authors
Luoma, J. B., Lear, M. K., Pilecki, B., Lejeune, J., Yi, K., Chwyl, C., Mehr, S., Sarparast, A., Kennedy, L., Lucas, W., Spata, A., Stauffer, C.
Open Accessindividual

Psychedelic-assisted therapy: a survey on the clinical methods of Swiss physicians

This survey study (n=41) examined how Swiss physicians provide psychedelic-assisted therapy under legal exemptions, mainly for depression, anxiety, PTSD and chronic pain. It found wide variation in practice, with psilocybin, MDMA and LSD commonly used, music often played during sessions, and adverse effects usually including disorientation, feeling cold, anxiety and nausea.

Published
May 20, 2026
Journal
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
Authors
Beichmann, K., Catzeflis, P., Aicher, H. D., Seragnoli, F., Calder, A., Amrani, A., Hasler, G.
Open Accessindividual

Age moderates the relationship between psychedelics use and mental health in naturalistic settings

This cross-sectional survey (n=1,088) found that age significantly moderates the relationship between lifetime psychedelic use and mental health, with classic psychedelics such as psilocybin being associated with lower depression and anxiety in younger adults, but these benefits diminish with age and even reverse for anxiety in older participants.

Published
March 10, 2026
Journal
Research Square
Authors
Gregorio, G. D., Basset, S., Manmohan, H., Nixon, W. C., Pogaku, A., Zhou, J., Sanderson, D. J., Lengieza, M. L., Bocchio, M.
Open Accessmeta

Psychedelic medicine: mechanisms, evidence, and translation to practice

This review (2026) summarises the rapidly growing evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapies, finding the strongest support for psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and MDMA in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It also highlights that while these treatments are generally well tolerated in controlled settings, major challenges remain around unclear mechanisms, trial limitations, scalability, and translation into routine practice.

Published
February 23, 2026
Journal
BMJ
Authors
Jacobs, E., Zahid, Z., Hinkle, J., Nayak, S., Yaden, D. B.
Open Accessindividual

Efficacy and Safety of the Neuroplastogen TSND-201 for the Treatment of PTSD A Randomized Clinical Trial

In a multicentre, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled phase 2 trial of 65 adults with chronic PTSD, once‑weekly oral TSND‑201 produced significantly greater reductions in clinician‑rated PTSD severity (CAPS‑5; LS mean difference 9.64, P = .01) and improvements in self‑reported symptoms, functioning and depression versus placebo. TSND‑201 was generally well tolerated — common adverse events included headache, decreased appetite, nausea, dizziness and transient blood‑pressure increases — supporting its potential as a rapid‑acting, durable treatment for PTSD.

Published
February 18, 2026
Journal
JAMA Psychiatry
Authors
Jones, A., Warner-Schmidt, J., Kwak, H., Stogniew, M., Mandell, B., Ching, T. H., Stein, M. B., Kelmendi, B.
Open Accessindividual

Naturalistic psychedelic use and changes in depressive symptoms

This longitudinal observational study (n=12,345) of U.S. residents found that naturalistic psychedelic use (n=505, 4.1% of participants) was associated with modest increases in depressive symptoms, particularly when occurring in 'risk contexts' characterised by negative mindset and lack of psychological support, with challenging psychedelic experiences mediating this relationship and suggesting that unsupervised psychedelic use may not be generally therapeutic and could worsen depression under certain circumstances.

Published
December 1, 2025
Journal
Journal of Affective Disorders
Authors
Simonsson, O., Hendricks, P. S., Swords, C. M., Osika, W., Goldberg, S. B.

Clinical Trials

8 trials
CompletedPhase II

A Study to Assess the Use of Methylone in the Treatment of PTSD (IMPACT-1)

This Phase II, two-part, multicentre trial (n=64) will assess methylone as a treatment for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is designed to evaluate the drug’s safety, tolerability, and efficacy in participants aged 18–65 years in the UK, including people who have previously tried at least one PTSD treatment without sufficient benefit.

Type
interventional
Blinding
double
Randomized
Yes
Not yet recruitingPhase III

PAPAYA: Pharmacologically-Assisted Psychotherapy for social Anxiety in Young people with Autism

This randomised, blinded, Phase III trial (n=156) will investigate MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (weight-based dosing with supplemental doses) versus dexamfetamine-, lorazepam-, diphenhydramine-, or placebo-assisted psychotherapy for social anxiety in autistic young people.

Started
January 15, 2025
Type
interventional
Blinding
single
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
ACTRN12624001474549p
RecruitingPhase II

A double-blind, randomised trial of methylphenidate-assisted versus MDMA-assisted therapy for mood and anxiety symptoms in advanced-stage cancer patients

This double-blind, randomised, parallel Phase II trial (n=32) compares single-dose MDMA-assisted therapy (120 mg, optional 60 mg supplemental) versus methylphenidate-assisted therapy (20 mg, optional 10 mg supplemental) for depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with advanced-stage cancer.

Started
July 31, 2023
Type
interventional
Blinding
single
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
ACTRN12619001334190
CompletedPhase II

Social Anxiety MDMA-Assisted Therapy Investigation (SAMATI)

This randomised, open-label delayed-treatment Phase 2 study (n=20) assessed two MDMA-assisted therapy sessions (80 mg initial ±40 mg supplemental; second session may be 120 mg initial ±40 mg) plus preparatory/integrative psychotherapy for adults with generalized social anxiety disorder (GAD).

Started
February 2, 2022
Type
interventional
Blinding
none
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
NCT05138068
CompletedPhase II

MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With a Life-threatening Illness

This Phase II pilot study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 18 participants comparing the effects of MDMA-assisted therapy vs. placebo with therapy.

Started
January 4, 2015
Type
interventional
Blinding
quadruple
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
NCT02427568
CompletedPhase II

Phase 2 Pilot Safety Study of MDMA-assisted Therapy for Social Anxiety in Autistic Adults

This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled exploratory pilot study assessed the safety and feasibility of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy for social anxiety in MDMA-naïve adults on the autism spectrum.

Started
January 2, 2014
Type
interventional
Blinding
triple
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
NCT02008396

Explore further

Search all MDMA papers Search all Anxiety Disorders trials Full MDMA profile Full Anxiety Disorders profile