Footage of therapists spooning and pinning down patient in B.C. trial for MDMA therapy prompts review

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

Newly released videos that show two B.C. therapists cuddling, spooning, blindfolding and pinning down a distressed PTSD patient during clinical trials using MDMA have prompted a review of their work and fresh concerns about public safety.

The 2015 footage shows psychiatrist Dr. Donna Dryer and unlicensed therapist Richard Yensen, a married couple who were then sub-investigators for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), during their second experimental session in a Health Canada-approved Phase II clinical trial with patient Meaghan Buisson in Vancouver.

The videos were released last week through New York magazine's podcast Cover Story: Power Trip, which explores the growing field of psychedelic therapy.

Buisson, a hiking guide based on Vancouver Island, told CBC she hasn't been able to watch the videos because even hearing her former therapists' voices triggers her post-traumatic stress disorder. 

But she has seen screen shots of the footage and has had the content described to her, including intimate physical contact and a scene where Yensen is lying on top of her and holding her down as she moans in obvious anguish. 

She believes the public needs to know what happened in these sessions.

"This is horrific. This happened in a Health Canada-approved clinical safety trial," she said. "For that to happen in this environment, under far more scrutiny than the substance will ever again be under, is extremely troubling."

The footage is being made public at a time when psychedelic drugs are becoming increasingly mainstream, and substances like MDMA  — a laboratory-made party drug often called ecstasy or molly — are being hailed as miracle drugs for serious psychiatric conditions.

Buisson believes the videos should serve as a warning that if these drugs are legalized for use in psychotherapy, there needs to be a strong system in place to keep patients safe while they're under the influence of powerful mind-altering substances.

"I just want people to realize, this is not against MDMA. This is not against psychedelics," she said.

"I'm just saying that if this drug is going to be legalized and medicalized in this way, then there is a certain degree of safety and fiduciary responsibility and credibility that goes into being part of the medical system — and especially with vulnerable subjects."

The footage comes from multiple video cameras placed in the treatment room by MAPS to ensure patients were safe and therapists were following the treatment protocol.

But MAPS spokesperson Betty Aldworth acknowledged last week that the organization's staff did not actually view the videos until November 2021, six years after they were filmed.