[1][11][12] They have become increasingly controversial over time due to claims against them of false accusations, aggressive tactics, and politically motivated campaigning against approval of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

[1][13] Greene has also been partially credited with coining the term "corporadelic" in 2019 to refer to corporations commodifying and profiting off of psychedelics, which the group strongly opposes.

[15][16] Cover Story: Power Trip and Buisson opted to publish video excerpts of one of her clinical trial sessions in March 2022, documenting that the husband-and-wife therapist team had cuddled and spooned her.

[1][28] Upon learning of the incident, MAPS cut ties with the therapists, reported the ethical violation to health authorities, issued a public statement about it, gave Buisson US$15,000 to obtain therapy while her civil case against Yensen was ongoing, and instituted a new code of ethics for the trials that explicitly prohibited sexual contact between participants and therapists.

[24][25] In addition, concerns have been raised that the effects of MDMA, including artificial emotional intimacy and trust, may increase the risk of boundary violations.

[1] Psymposia has accused MAPS and Lykos Therapeutics of being "cult-like", of perpetuating "white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism", and of enabling "entrapment, sexual abuse and coercive control", among other allegations.

"[1] In addition, Nickles has written of strategies for damaging psychedelic pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit organizations through persistent critical media coverage.

[1][33][32] During the public comments period, the Psymposia representatives sharply criticized Lykos Therapeutics, including Hausfeld raising concerns about potential exploitation and mistreatment of veterans, Devenot urging independent review of clinical trial video recordings to investigate the possibility of additional cases of therapist abuse, and Pace and Devenot accusing Lykos Therapeutics of being a "therapy cult", among other misconduct allegations.

[34][2][17][15][33][32] The panel later overwhelmingly recommended rejection of MDMA-AT for PTSD, citing both major weaknesses of Lykos Therapeutics' NDA as well as mentioning Psymposia's allegations.

[1] Members of the psychedelic medicine community have reportedly been targeted by Psymposia, and more than four dozen people in the field have anonymously expressed fear of the group.

[1] Devenot claimed credit for the rejection on social media, stating "Yesterday, beyond my wildest expectations, we made international news in a David and Goliath-scale, ‘dark horse’ victory".

[1] At the same time, multiple public relations firms, including one hired by Lykos Therapeutics, have started advocating for approval of MDMA-AT for PTSD following the hearing.

[49] The allegations against Psymposia have been detailed in-depth by journalists Andrew Jacobs and Rachel Nuwer in a New York Times article published in February 2025 titled "How a Leftist Activist Group Helped Torpedo a Psychedelic Therapy".

[50] Former Psymposia members Ross and Nickles have responded to the New York Times article saying that it "contains numerous inaccuracies and misleading assertions which we are working to get the paper to correct.