Ingrid Autran

Ingrid Autran is a medical doctor and researcher at Østfold Hospital, where she is part of the PsykForsk research group, involved in studies on both MDMA-assisted therapy and ketamine. She has several years of clinical experience using intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression in both public and private mental health care. Her PhD project focuses on ketamine treatment for treatment-resistant depression, with focus on investigating real-world outcomes, clinical predictors of response, and health economic aspects. In addition to her academic work, she is the founder of Aurora Clinics and Safe Space, a harm reduction initiative focused on psychedelic-informed care and public education.

Building evidence for psychedelic therapies: Norwegian clinical trials involving MDMA and ketamine

Based on emerging clinical research and experience from the Østfold Hospital, I will explore how psychedelic-assisted therapies are being integrated into the Norwegian public mental health care system. Drawing on research conducted by the PsykForsk group, I will present findings from the world’s first clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder—a proof-of-principle study with a seven-month follow-up. I will also share outcome data from our public ketamine clinic, where over 400 patients with treatment-resistant depression have received intravenous ketamine as part of routine care. Additionally, I will present two upcoming studies: PreKet, a national randomized trial across nine public hospitals examining ketamine maintenance strategies and clinical prediction models; and MM-pATh-Y, a study of MDMA-assisted therapy for young adults with treatment-resistant depression, developed in collaboration with Swedish partners.