In a landmark moment for regional healthcare, the city of Newcastle has officially entered a new frontier of mental health treatment. For the first time, a patient has received psychedelic-assisted therapy using MDMA within the city, opening a promising pathway for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex trauma.
A Regional First for Cutting-Edge Care
The pioneering treatment was administered at The Peridot Clinic located at The Base in Newcastle West. This makes the clinic the first regional facility in New South Wales, and one of only a handful worldwide, to offer such a service. The session was guided by clinical psychologist Monica Schweickle, a trailblazer in the field who last year became the first psychologist globally to legally provide MDMA-assisted therapy outside a clinical trial.
"I've treated lots of patients, but never in my own clinic in Newcastle until now," Ms Schweickle said. "It felt like a positive step for safe, accessible innovation in mental health care in regional areas." She has completed approximately 30 such sessions in Sydney and Melbourne, but this Newcastle milestone holds special significance for improving local access.
How the Treatment Works and Its Rigorous Framework
The therapy is conducted under the Therapeutic Goods Administration's authorised prescribers scheme, ensuring it is tightly regulated and legal. It is not a simple administration of medication; it is an intensive, supported process. The full treatment protocol involves three doses of MDMA over a three-month period, each paired with extensive psychotherapy sessions.
An entire treatment day, when the medication is taken, lasts around eight hours. The cost reflects the intensive clinical support required, ranging from $15,000 to $30,000. Ms Schweickle emphasises that psychedelic treatments are "not a quick fix or a silver bullet."
"They're not medicines that do the work for you. The experiences can be challenging. They can bring things up like difficult early memories," she explained. MDMA can help patients relax and move past fear, allowing for deeper therapeutic work, but "you need a good psychologist before and after to work through that."
Building a Local Ecosystem for the Future
Newcastle is rapidly developing a specialist network to support this emerging field. Ms Schweickle co-founded The Psychedelic Consultancy, which has helped train over 20 psychiatrists across Australia to become authorised prescribers, including two based in Newcastle.
"We have an active group of psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses in Newcastle that are all trained in psychedelic therapy," she noted. Furthermore, a partnership with the University of Newcastle is fostering the next generation of practitioners. The university is believed to be the first in Australia, and potentially the world, to offer psychology students hands-on experience in psychedelic-assisted therapy as part of their training.
While optimistic about the potential, professional bodies urge caution. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists stated that patient safety is the paramount concern, noting these treatments are still considered "experimental" and require a "cautious initial approach." They also warned that illicit use poses significant risks.
For trauma therapist Monica Schweickle, who has two decades of experience, this innovation is about reaching those for whom conventional treatments have failed. "I've always been looking for the next innovation that might help people who've exhausted all the available treatments," she said. Her hope is that proving it can be done safely in Newcastle will pave the way for expansion to other regional centres like Maitland, offering hope closer to home for many Australians living with trauma.
