Abstract

BACKGROUND:
MDMA assisted therapy carries forth the hope of relief for the many refugees around the globe, suffering from PTSD and C-PTSD. Despite the obvious potential of the treatment modality, first generation refugees with PTSD have not yet been included in clinical trials or pilot studies, and as such, knowledge concerning the actual treatment application for this target group is sparse.

AIM:
This qualitative project sought to explore cultural biases and ethical dilemmas to be taken into consideration, before refugees with PTSD and C-PTSD are included in research projects with MDMA-assisted therapy.

METHODS:
Applied methods have been litterature search, interviews with knowledge-holders, focus-group interviews with interpreters and cultural communicators as well as examination of current inclusion and exclusion criteria in research designs with MDMA assisted therapy.

CONCLUSIONS:
Among the conclusions are that specific attention to the framing and applied language when recruiting and informing refugees would be crucial. Professional interpreters should be trained for assisting therapy. The often highly unstable socio-economic situation for refugees represent the biggest challenge and ethical hindrance for including refugees in the treatment.