An experimental Israeli study is reporting promising results from MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder, with roughly 80% of participants experiencing a significant reduction in symptoms.

Most soldiers who completed the treatment at Clalit’s HaEmek Medical Center in Afula no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD afterward. The participants had previously undergone conventional treatments and were admitted only after extensive medical and psychological screening.

The treatment is far more extensive than simply administering MDMA. Patients complete 13 intensive psychotherapy sessions, including three medically supervised MDMA sessions lasting up to eight hours. Two specially trained therapists remain with each patient throughout the process.

Researchers believe MDMA can temporarily reduce fear and defensiveness, helping patients confront traumatic memories and process emotions including guilt, shame and helplessness. Study leaders stressed that the drug is a therapeutic tool rather than the treatment itself.

The trial comes as Israel confronts a sharp rise in combat-related trauma following the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war. PTSD diagnoses have reportedly climbed approximately 70%, while researchers estimate that about 15% of soldiers exposed to severe battlefield trauma could develop chronic PTSD.

Doctors cautioned that the results remain preliminary. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is still experimental and is not approved as a standard treatment in Israel or the United States. The hospital warned that unsupervised use can be dangerous and that MDMA remains illegal outside authorized research.

“It is not a miracle cure,” clinical psychologist Ronen Sidi said. But under strict supervision, the study suggests it could offer new hope to soldiers who have struggled for years to escape the invisible wounds of war.