This talk will firstly outline briefly the historical treatment of addictions with psychedelics and the burden of alcohol abuse in society. I will describe the impact of trauma in cases of addictions and outline the pharmacological and therapeutic effects of MDMA and why it could be useful to treat alcoholism. Then I describe the project we are starting in Bristol, UK, developing a study to provide a course of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for adults post-alcohol detox. I will describe the challenges associated with this sort of work and the importance of psychedelics therapies for the future of psychiatry.