I am speaking from experience doing sessions with 15 plus people featuring a psychedelic (various - Morning Glory, 25i, LSD specifically - shrooms or mescaline or others would do the trick, do your research though) teamed with MDMA. All of these have been safe and immensely constructive (noticeably life-enhancing experiences with usually only a single session). These sessions transpired with not-specifically-PTSD persons, but the topics of past rape, abuse, depression, trauma have surfaced and been absorbed. Please research anything you can regarding the specifics of anything you might be handling. We administer the MDMA to coincide with approximately the peak of the psychedelic, which will give the experience its positive dimension and ability to work things out with the one-of-a-kind ego softening (read: you can deal with things without getting caught up in them, you have a kind and loving approach to yourself and others) within the mind-blowing, brain-rewiring framework of a psychedelic. An often described sensation is how while speaking about something (and speaking is deeply healing with MDMA, silence - unless meditating - significantly reduces the benefits, people get caught up and stew in a problem without moving forward), one realizes that there is more to what one is saying, mid-sentence, that there is a whole world of other possibilities or an unrealized depth to the topic at hand. You find yourself making excuses for this or that, yet before uttering the sentence you realize the emptiness of the words, and toss away whatever you were constricting yourself with like an empty egg carton (no litter please).

Look into the meditation and spirituality aspect of MDMA - there are a number of texts available for googling. There is no need for the meditative aspect to be tied together with a spiritual framework, think mindfulness at Facebook. Probably the most fundamental realization I have made about MDMA is that its default state, the one it brings you to is one of profound peace, calm, enlightenment [knowing that there is nothing you can do to make yourself feel better - contentment] and meditation. With only a little guidance [preferably in a good physical posture for meditation - lotus or related, the feeling of sitting proud, lively, the energy coursing through the spine - usual discomfort felt will be minimal once meditating] anyone can enter deep states of meditation usually known to those practicing regularly for a long amount of time. This does not at all guarantee a permanent ability to do so, but you will know the feeling and you will see where to go in the future. This is an amazing opportunity and if you start a meditation practice without being too hard on yourself, the MDMA experience will give you a head start. Regarding the trip itself, if one settles into a meditative state at some point during the peak and doesn't get too distracted, there is no comedown. I speak utterly confidently from personal experience. I have felt like during my peak hours and hours after "chemical comedown", you can notice a certain drop while meditating but since you are in a headspace unaffected by emotions, that hardly gets to you. It's near impossible to hold onto this enlightened state for long, serotonin depletion has caught up with me on the day after, regardless.

What's more important is the fact that since the default state of MDMA is one of profound peace, any excessive stimuli or stimuli one generally reacts to produce exacerbated responses. Which is why, and I'm not sure if I have pioneered this train of thought, if people are under the influence of MDMA in a situation with loud music, tons of people and flashing lights, they will react, and they react thusly: jaw clenching, tooth grinding and any other physical symptoms. I have found MDMA to be undeniably and profoundly psychosomatic. If someone is working through a heavy subject, their stomach will start churning, once it is resolved, the churning stops and they feel physically lighter. With any amount of mental agitation, jaw clenching and bruxism are default reactions. Test this, see for yourselves, share your observations. There is more to this chemical than imagined.

The following is a natural reaction to these observations: I recommend, very much, a calm natural setting. There is a lot of healing that can be done by just this environment itself. There is nothing that breathes as slowly and fluidly as plants or trees, it is deeply comforting to realize the life present on our planet in this most innocent state.

Speaking of innocent, I think it is very important to point out how natural the experience is. Now, if you don't believe that the MDMA state is an innocent, loving, almost true state, you won't be saying this to anyone, but please consider the reality of such a view when looking at participants or yourself. There is a reason people have taken to calling it Adam. There is something about the unspoiled way people rolling approach the world, social interactions, their hangups, their trauma. It is as if the conditioning, the ruts of habit and coping with things are lifted and people get to see who they are without this baggage, who they can be, what their unaffected nature is like. The soul, if that concept turns you on. If you find any of this convincing or true, or if you see it in their faces when in the situation - please let participants know that what they see here, themselves unburdened by their tons of baggage, this is not an illusion, this is not hallucination, this is not just a drug. This is them, this is their body, their mind, their experience of who they can be, who they are. This fundamental reality is not going away just because a phenethylamine leaves their system.

As for activities, there's not that much to say. Any of the pleasurable activities commonly associated with MDMA can be engaged in for some time, reminding participants of the beauty of one thing or other, music, dancing… But there is more to be done, more this state has to offer. Conversation. What you as a guide can do is be present, attentive, responsive, empathic (listen and see how they feel). Don't force topics, don't force your opinions, but offer yourself. Speak from experience and let them speak, mainly. If they pause, something might be coming. A prime specialty of MDMA is the ability to focus on what's important. Is the fact that your aunt was married twice deeply linked to your existence and trauma or are you just wandering, reveling in the openness of the state… Try to get participants to speak mainly of themselves, now, or the cause of trauma. What is lingering today? Which situations are triggers? It is, if you are present and let go of your agenda, surprisingly "easy" to do all of this. You will be dealing with someone dealing with their deepest fears, anxieties, history, feelings, responses and it's unlikely that these will not be deeply captivating, mainly if you know the participant.

Once the MDMA kicks in, we have had fruitful experiences doing rounds of gratitude, possibly manifesting the gratitude by placing incense on a hot coal, if that's what you're into. Regardless, seeing you professing gratitude [for life, the sun, your mother, MDMA, your cat, the carpet you bought, the present moment, anything you're grateful for] can inspire and touch participants, making them realize the ease of talking, the healthiness of it, what they are grateful for (i.e. people who rag on their families, suddenly realizing how much they matter to them none the less) even the depth and meaning gratitude itself has. They will often be overflowing with things they are grateful for, possibly to the extent that they will be disoriented and slightly upset (as far as that's a thing on MDMA) about not being able to choose, they might want to flee the opportunity by saying "everything", but there's a virtue to picking a specific thing, large or small. It's up to you and participants to determine when this activity has been 'spent', there comes a point (sooner or later, be attentive) where freeform conversation is a thousand times more constructive.

Depending on your relationship to participants, hugs can be very powerful. People can often recognize the value of connection and physical connection. There is an unexplored realm, scientifically, (as far as empiric study is concerned, the cuddle puddle speaks volume) of the meaning of touch on MDMA. I have found that in sexual interaction, it takes away most all of the conditioning we are used to - objectification, focus on own pleasure, maniacal focus on direct genital stimulation, penetration and orgasm etc. This is why I think there is a distinction between sexual and sensual often made in regard to MDMA. What does this say about the way we are taught to have sex? What is sex like without this conditioning and what can MDMA teach us? I myself learned, with a single sexual experience on MDMA, the value, the richness of just touching, reveling in the sparkling shivers of another's skin on one's own. There is more to this than just fun sexytime. There are people who have trauma directly linked to sex. No. No, this is not an opportunity to even consider laying a hand on participants, regardless of consent. It's absolutely unlikely that is the most important or even an important thing you could do. But there is more to this than nothing.

There is, unless full-on meditating, a likelihood of a full-on energy plunge with the comedown. Don't force the expectation though, there is a good likelihood of participants having resolved deep, long-standing issues which leave them relieved in ways previously unknown to them and a little serotonin deprivation isn't swaying that. Be sure to let them know that there can be a distinct emotional drop somewhere in the following week, that this is not a reason for suicide or reevaluating one's experience.

Recap: Be attentive, listen, listen, listen, give all of yourself (to the extent of losing awareness of self), be reassuring, give input where appropriate and have a good set of own experience with the administered substances, not to mention a firm knowledge of their legitimacy.