Episode 30: Jonathan Robinson - Marriage and Family Therapy | MDMA Facilitation | Ecstasy as Medicine

In this episode, I talk with Jonathan Robinson, the author of 14 books and a marriage and family therapist located in California.

In our conversation, Jonathan tells us about his work in bringing together MDMA experiences and therapy. He discusses how his protocol is unique to other work being done with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy by emphasizing therapeutic modalities.

We also talk about Jonathan’s online course on MDMA facilitation and how he created it for anyone passionate about helping others heal. Additionally, we talk about Jonathan’s newest book,  Ecstasy as Medicine, a valuable resource filled with 40 years of knowledge and experience to aid others in healing and self-discovery.

We cover Jonathan’s journey to finding meditation and psychedelics in pursuit of healing his trauma from growing up in a dysfunctional family and his masters thesis research on MDMA therapy in the 1980s.

Throughout our conversation, we highlight valuable advice from Jonathan, like 5 second methods for gratitude and happiness and finding supportive communities to help ourselves strengthen our weaknesses.

Finally, Jonathan reflects on the future of psychedelics and how he plans to continue to provide accessible knowledge and education to those interested in helping others.

Time Stamps:

(4:44) Jonathan’s work as a marriage and family therapist and how he integrates MDMA into his practice and how he keeps his work legal

(8:46) The value of doing MDMA therapy over zoom and how to manage safety and challenging experiences in a virtual therapy session

(17:51) What makes Jonathan’s protocol of MDMA therapy different from the MAPS protocol

(24:04) Jonathan’s online MDMA facilitation course - what is it and who is it for?

(32:21) Perspectives on therapists and sitters having experience with psychedelics when working with patients or clients

(34:58) Jonathan’s newest book - Ecstasy as Medicine

(44:10) The beauty of Jonathan’s parents trying MDMA

(47:04) How Jonathan found psychedelics - healing trauma from a dysfunctional family to studying psychology at the University of California Santa Barbara

(51:23) A 5 second method  for gratitude

(59:02) Jonathan’s master's thesis on MDMA therapy 

(1:00:18) Additional education and the value of experiential learning - undergraduate degree in Psychology and a non-accredited PhD in recreational pharmacology

(1:03:30) Advice on finding a balance between experiential knowledge and formal education - finding supportive communities to strengthen your weaknesses

(1:09:05) The future of psychedelics and Jonathan’s desire to continue educating others

(1:16:55) Jonathan’s last advice - keep exploring

Links:

Healing with MDMA Course: https://dandelion.events/e/mdmacourse

Book Ecstasy as Medicine: https://ecstasyasmedicine.com/

Website: XTCasmedicine.com

Podcast - Awareness Explorers: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

Website: https://findinghappiness.com/

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Music by: https://www.alexkahnmusic.com/

Presented by Psychedelic Grad.