Music from MAPS clinical trials and the researchers shaping MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions are longer than ketamine sessions (5–8 hours including a supplemental booster dose) and the music plays a different role. MDMA sessions include periods of active verbal processing between patient and therapist, with music serving as a container during the internal-focus portions. The playlists follow the same general arc — onset, intensification, peak, return — but tend to include more ethnic, world, and new-age music alongside the neo-classical and ambient tracks common to psilocybin playlists.
MAPS published official music lists for their Phase 2 and Phase 3 PTSD trials (2015 and 2021 versions). Shannon Clare Carlin, who served as co-therapist on MAPS clinical trials and as Associate Director of MAPS Therapist Training, maintains session-stage playlists that break the music down by therapeutic function.
For ketamine-specific playlists, see the KAP playlists page. For psilocybin, see the psilocybin playlists page.
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies published two sets of playlists used in their MDMA-assisted psychotherapy clinical trials for PTSD. Set A and Set B offer different musical selections following the same session arc. Both are available in 2015 and 2021 versions reflecting refinements over the course of the trials.
The primary playlist from the MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy trials. Ethnic, world, new-age, and neo-classical selections. Designed for a full session including booster dose.
The alternate set. Same arc, different selections. Having two sets prevents habituation across multiple sessions.
Shannon Clare Carlin, LMFT, served as co-therapist on MAPS-sponsored clinical trials researching MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and anxiety associated with life-threatening illness, and as Associate Director of MAPS Therapist Training. She graduated from the CIIS Integral Counseling Psychology program. Her Spotify profile includes playlists broken down by session stage — Active, Returning, Inner Exploration, Joy Peace — which are especially useful for clinicians building their own session playlists and wanting to understand how music functions differently at each phase.
A full MDMA session playlist. Neo-classical, ambient, and indigenous music including drumming and traditional instruments. Follows the arc of a session with booster dose.
Shannon's Spotify profile also includes stage-specific collections (Active, Returning, Inner Exploration, Joy Peace) useful for building custom session playlists.
Kaelen's third playlist was designed for use in both psilocybin and MDMA-assisted sessions. More gentle than his first two (which were created specifically for the Imperial College psilocybin depression study). Kaelen's research at Imperial College was the first to demonstrate that music quality significantly predicted therapeutic outcomes in psychedelic therapy — more than drug intensity.
Designed for MDMA and psilocybin sessions. More gentle than Playlists 1 and 2. Ambient and neo-classical.
Playlists curated for other substances and therapeutic modalities.
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