Could psychedelics treat personality disorders
Open accessAbstract
In this paper we review the existing historical literature on the use of classical psychedelics to treat personality disturbance and disorders.We address the findings and major limitations of that dataset.Finally, we ask which, if any, personality disorders are most suitable for further investigation and whether this is worthwhile.There are significant theoretical risks and difficulties but considering the clinical burden further investigation, including preliminary trials, is indicated.
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Preliminary findings support the potential use of psychedelics in personality disorder treatment.
“While the exact mechanisms of action remain unclear, and despite study limitations including small sample sizes and challenges in maintaining blindness in placebo-controlled trials (36), these preliminary findings support the potential use of psychedelics in personality disorder treatment (18, 25, 37, 38).”
From Psychoanalytically informed MDMA-assisted therapy for pathological narcissism: a novel theoretical approach (2025) · cites this paper as [25]
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Albert, A. E., & Back, A. L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1529427 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“In spite of these challenges, interest in PAT for personality disorders is increasing (24, 25).”
Exploring serotonergic psychedelics as a treatment for personality disorders
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- Venue
- Journal of Addiction Science
- Publisher
- United Scientific Group
- Published
- 2022
- Volume
- 08
- Issue
- 01
- ISSN
- 2693-2180 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4361802037
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Addiction Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- psychedelics, personality disorders, classical psychedelics, psychedelic therapy, clinical trials
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