Ivar Goksøyr - Wounded Healers, Inner Intelligence & Bringing MDMA Training to Mainstream Care

MDMA-assisted experiences are framed as a catalyst for therapists' professional development, not just client treatment. Ivar Goksøyr discusses “wounded healer” dynamics and the idea of “inner healing intelligence” as a working clinical metaphor tied to countertransference and therapeutic alliance, using themes from his own healing journey. He also describes training that relies on authentic MDMA-session footage from an FDA-approved MAPS volunteer context, positioning vulnerability and process learning as core parts of therapist education. Goksøyr connects this approach to Norway-based research, including MDMA studies for PTSD and depression, and outlines collaboration efforts with the University of Oslo on empathogen-assisted therapies development. He emphasizes implementation realities such as laws, ethics, and conservative regulatory cultures, and compares MDMA with other psychedelics in terms of integration into mainstream psychiatry, while urging humility, guardrails, and ongoing learning as the field scales.