Andrew Kaminsky, Alexandra Kreitman, and Craig Lavin
Columbia University School of Nursing, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care
Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) affects around 7.7 million
Americans across the lifespan and
costs society over 42 billion dollars
annually. Notably, according to the
US Department of Defense in 2012,
more US soldiers committed suicide
due to PTSD related symptoms than
were killed in combat operations.
Currently, there are only two
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) indicated medications
for PTSD, Paxil (paroxetine) and
Zoloft (sertraline). For treatmentresistant
PTSD, clinical guidelines
are inadequate and not up to
date with current research. In
recent years, new research and
alternative interventions for
treatment-resistant PTSD have
included 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA)-
assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.
The present contribution aims
to synthesize this new body of
evidence, expand on treatment
guidelines for treatment-resistant
PTSD and consider its impact
on the psychiatric-mental
health nurse practitioner role.
Comprehensive literature searches
will be completed using PubMed,
PsycINFO, and PsycArticles. We
plan to review the literature and
propose a conceptual framework
and procedure for adapting
the current guidelines. In the
combined analysis, MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy appears a promising
modality for treatment-resistant
PTSD. It is recommended that
clinical guidelines be updated to
consider MDMA as a treatment
approach to PTSD, in the event
that treatment with psychotherapy
and selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRI) fail to show an
adequate response. As nurses, we
often approach treatment from a
holistic perspective, treating the
whole person. MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy is a combined
holistic approach to treatment
that uses both psychotherapy
and psychopharmacology. If
treatment guidelines are updated,
psychiatric-mental health nurse
practitioners will be instrumental in
implementing this innovative care
in the future.
Objectives: (a) To search the
literature for evidence of the
efficacy, safety, and feasibility of
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
for PMHNP and their patients
with treatment-resistant PTSD.
(b) To encourage PMHNPs to
advocate for the expansion on
treatment guidelines when new
evidence supports promising
treatments such as MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy for patients with
treatment-resistant PTSD on the
ethical principle of beneficence.
(c) For PMHNPs to aid in mitigating
the harmful psychological, social
and economic effects of treatmentresistant
PTSD on individuals and
society by implementing new and
effective promising treatments such
as MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Alexandra and Craig have completed their BSN at NYU College of Nursing prior to enrolling in Columbia’s psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner doctorate program in 2017. Andrew completed his MSN at Columbia and continued into the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program also in 2017. Alexandra, Andrew & Craig are currently in their second and last year of the PHMNP program and have completed various courses in evidence-based practice (EBP).
E-mail: aek2179@cumc.columbia.edu
Journal of Nursing & Care received 4230 citations as per Google Scholar report
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