Month: April 2025

MDMA Policy Change

Building Trust at the Edge of Regulation — Shaping the Psychedelic Care Ecosystem in the Netherlands

by Natalie_Maximets

Building Trust at the Edge of Regulation — Shaping the Psychedelic Care Ecosystem in the Netherlands

When a country stands at the threshold of legalizing psychedelic therapy, the challenge isn’t just policy — it’s trust.

SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE

After breakthrough research on MDMA-assisted therapy, the Netherlands faced a pivotal question: how do you act on promising science when public understanding lags behind?

This wasn’t just a regulatory challenge — it was a test of trust, trauma literacy, and ethical pacing.

European Parliament Brussels 25

To navigate it, the Dutch government convened a multidisciplinary State Commission to explore the clinical, legal, and cultural feasibility of regulated psychedelic care.

MY ROLE

I joined the Commission as a clinical psychologist and communications lead, supporting both the design of the research and the tone of its public-facing engagement.

My contributions included:

  • Designing participant surveys with psychological safety built into their structure and sequencing
  • Developing trauma-informed email outreach, which significantly improved response rates and data quality — a change we made after noticing early drop-off due to overly formal language
  • Co-authoring the landmark paper:
     “Guiding Policy and Practice: Expert Recommendations for MDMA Therapy in Europe”
  • Helping align cross-sector contributors — from scientists and legal advisors to frontline clinicians — around shared language and messaging integrity

As a psychologist, I approached every communications decision not only through a strategic lens, but through clinical insight — attuned to tone, emotional readiness, and the risks of re-traumatization in policy discourse.

BEYOND THE COMMISSION

This work didn’t end at publication — it opened doors and deepened trust:

  • Policy Shift: The Dutch State Commission formally recommended the legalization of MDMA therapy for PTSD — a position directly shaped by the work I supported.
  • Platform Participation: I was invited to join the new European Platform for Regulation of MDMA in Clinical Care as a strategic communications expert — focused on building bridges across clinical, cultural, and ethical lines
  • European Parliament Roundtable: I traveled to Brussels to speak on novel mental health strategies for Ukraine, helping contextualize psychedelic care through the lens of displacement and systemic trauma
ICPR 2024

RESULTS

  • Policy influence: My co-authored paper contributed to a national recommendation to legalize MDMA therapy
  • Cross-national leadership: Invited to guide strategic communications across the European regulatory platform
  • EU-level advocacy: Participated in a high-level roundtable on psychedelic trauma care for displaced populations
  • Community building: Supporting narrative and trust infrastructure across Ukrainian research and mental health communities
  • Storytelling strategy in motion: Designing communications architecture for psychedelic care that is safe, honest, and resonant

 

EXPERTISE IN ACTION

  • Clinical Psychology (Trauma & Psychedelic Readiness)
  • Ethical Communications Strategy
  • Cross-Cultural Research Facilitation
  • Policy-Influence Writing
  • Narrative Design in Emerging Health Systems
  • Ukrainian Mental Health Advocacy in Psychedelic Contexts
Brussels Novel mental Health Treatments Roundtable

REFLECTION

This case isn’t “finished” — and that’s what makes it matter.
 I’m not just supporting systems that work. I’m helping build the ones we’ll need next.

Because progress rarely begins with a policy.
 Often, it begins with a reworded sentence. A shift in tone.
 A single moment when someone feels seen — and responds.

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW

Later this year, I’ll participate in a MAPS educational program — holding two roles:

  1. Ukrainian clinical psychologist — to deepen my expertise in trauma-sensitive psychedelic care
  2. Communications strategist — to build narrative alignment between Ukrainian psychologists, European policymakers, and the MAPS community

I’ve already designed a storytelling strategy around the program— including long-form articles and social content — and am currently in conversation with MAPS to ensure ethical alignment in how the work is communicated.

STILL IN MOTION

So this isn’t a case study with a clean ending.

It’s a snapshot of real-time systems work — where the metrics aren’t just outcomes, but alignment, traction, and trust.

In fields like psychedelic regulation, trauma care, and cross-cultural mental health, the most meaningful impact rarely arrives as a single win.

It unfolds through tone. Through consensus. Through frameworks that outlast the room.

That’s the kind of work this case study holds: Still in motion. Still earning trust. Still building the future it names.

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Natalie Maximets Moodbuster VU

Localizing Moodbuster for Displaced Ukrainians — Bridging Science and Human Story

by Natalie_Maximets

Localizing Moodbuster for Displaced Ukrainians — Bridging Science and Human Story

When the Script Was My Story: Localizing a Depression Tool with Clinical Insight and Emotional Truth​.

When the Script Was My Story: Localizing a Depression Tool with Clinical Insight and Emotional Truth

Moodbuster is a clinically validated digital mental health intervention, grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) principles.

Moodbuster Case Study

Moodbuster was designed to make structured, evidence-based support accessible beyond traditional clinical settings. Built to support people experiencing depression, it had already shown success in the Dutch context — helping users reintroduce structure, reduce avoidance, and rebuild joy through behavioral activation.

THE CHALLENGE:
As we prepared to launch for Ukrainian refugees, one truth became undeniable:
What works clinically doesn’t always translate culturally.

The tool needed more than translation — it needed transcreation.
 The language, tone, and emotional rhythm had to feel real for people navigating displacement, trauma, and deep fatigue.

MY ROLE
 Clinical Psychologist Meets Content Strategist

At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, I was brought on to lead the cross-cultural content adaptation of Moodbuster’s core modules. As both a clinical psychologist and communications expert, I approached the work from two intertwined angles:

  • Scientifically sound: Maintaining fidelity to CBT principles

  • Emotionally safe: Ensuring the tone honored the lived experience of Ukrainian users

But the work became more personal than expected.

When the Script Wasn’t Just a Role

As part of the launch, I was invited to star in a testimonial-style video — portraying a Ukrainian user who had benefited from Moodbuster.

One line in the script read: “There were moments when, not knowing where to start, it seemed easier to stay home and hide from the world.”

What the camera didn’t know: I wasn’t acting. That line was mine — lifted from memory.

After relocating to the Netherlands, I too had struggled to find rhythm, energy, and clarity.
 Working on Moodbuster helped me rebuild all three.

 WHAT I DID

  • Led full cross-cultural adaptation of Moodbuster’s behavioral activation modules for Ukrainian users

  • Rewrote all actor scripts for launch videos to ensure credibility, realism, and emotional resonance

  • Served as both strategist and talent, bringing lived experience into every line of content

  • Collaborated with researchers and clinicians to bridge clinical accuracy with cultural nuance

So I didn’t just adapt a tool — I humanized it.

Natalie Maximets Vrije universiteit Amsterdam

RESULTS

  • Redesigned Moodbuster for Ukraine
     Adapted clinical CBT modules to reflect the cultural, emotional, and social reality of displaced users — moving from protocol to personal resonance.

  • Wrote every word with psychological precision
     As a clinical psychologist, I didn’t just translate scripts — I rebuilt trust through tone, pacing, and emotional safety.

  • Became the face of the tool — and its voice
     Scripted and co-starred in the launch video, delivering lived-experience narratives that now anchor the platform’s outreach.

  • Created clarity across disciplines
     Aligned researchers, creatives, and developers with a shared content strategy rooted in both clinical accuracy and cultural nuance

  • Laid the foundation for scale
    Moodbuster’s Ukrainian version is entering clinical trials — shaped by a launch voice built for dignity, not just delivery.

STRATEGIC INSIGHTS

Clinical content needs more than accuracy to land.
 It needs pacing. Dignity. A voice that feels like it understands what you’re too tired to explain.

I applied trauma-informed messaging principles, rewired content structures to reflect Ukrainian social and emotional norms, and embedded somatic gentleness into each call-to-action.

Curious how the Moodbuster project came to life? Step inside Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the behind-the-scenes video!

 REFLECTION

This wasn’t just a communications project. It was a psychological bridge — from theory to trust, from tool to lived impact.

Being both the scriptwriter and the voice on screen taught me something powerful: “The most effective mental health content is written not just for users — but by those who know what it feels like to need it.”

EXPERTISE IN ACTION:

  • Clinical Psychology

  • Cross-Cultural Content Strategy

  • Digital Mental Health Content Creation

  • Trauma-Informed Messaging

  • Psychology-Backed Storytelling

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