Marcela Ot’alora worked as the lead co-therapist and principal investigator for all of the MAPS — which stands for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — MDMA-assisted psychotherapy studies. She has also been designing curriculum and training therapists associated with MAPS.
In this conversation, which we recorded together in our home here in Boulder Colorado, we explored how she found her way into this work over three decades ago, possible tension I perceived between the clinical aspect of these studies and the sacredness of the work, how she trains therapists in the rare art of being able to hold space for deep transformation, and what she believes is happening that has led to the extraordinary results that the MAPS trials have created — a 71% reduction in otherwise untreatable symptoms of PTSD.
Official Links
👨🔬 MAPS MDMA Research and Resources (link)
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Curious Humans with Jonny Miller