Willa Hall, PhD: MDMA, A New Frontier in Treating PTSD

Montare Media presents Season 2, episode 12 of the Discover U Podcast: MDMA, A New Frontier in Treating PTSD, with Willa Hall, PhD

Learn More about Montare Behavioral Health: https://montarebehavioralhealth.com/about/digital-library/

JD Kalmenson interviews Willa Hall, PhD, who is a facilitator and trainer in the MAPS phase 3 clinical trials being done with MDMA to treat severe PTSD. Learn about the exciting new breakthroughs possible with the assistance of MDMA, and how each session is conducted. 

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Hall has dedicated herself to working in community mental health and private practice in New York City. She has a particular interest in understanding the ways in which the therapeutic relationship and, in particular, the therapist’s authenticity facilitates a client’s deepening appreciation of their own authentic self. In 2017 she began work on the MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) NYC site as a co-therapist on the Phase III trials assessing the efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for severe PTSD. More recently, Dr. Hall’s attention has turned to understanding the therapist’s role in treatments that utilize non-ordinary states of consciousness in order to maximize growth and healing.  She is a Clinical Adjunct at the New School in NYC, a MAPS-trained certified supervisor of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and founding member and President of Nautilus Sanctuary, a non-profit in New York City dedicated to increasing accessibility of psychedelic treatments to disadvantaged populations. One of Nautilus’s first projects is a research study that will offer MDMA-assisted therapy to healthcare and hospital workers having difficulty recovering from their experiences on the frontlines of the Covid Pandemic. The study protocol will be submitted for FDA approval this Spring, 2022, with plans to begin recruitment later this year.

Host Kalmenson is the CEO/Founder of Renewal Health Group, a family of addiction treatment centers, and Montare Behavioral Health, a comprehensive brand of mental health treatment facilities in Southern California. Kalmenson is a Yale Chabad Scholar, a skilled facilitator, teacher, counselor, and speaker, who has provided chaplain services to prisons, local groups and remote villages throughout the world. His diverse experience as a rabbi, chaplain, and CEO has inspired his passion and deep understanding of the necessity for effective mental health treatment and long-term sobriety.

Follow JD at JDKalmenson.com