MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

• Published in: Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 358 - 367
• Main Authors: Traynor, Jenna M., Roberts, Daniel E., Ross, Stephen, Zeifman, Richard, Choi-Kain, Lois
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychiatric Association 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Reviews; clinical trials; psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy; Drug treatment/psychopharmacology; MDMA-assisted psychotherapy; Borderline personality disorder
• ISSN: 1541-4094; 1541-4108
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.focus.20220056

Borderline personality disorder is a complex psychiatric disorder with limited treatment options that are associated with large heterogeneity in treatment response and high rates of dropout. New or complementary treatments for borderline personality disorder are needed that may be able to bolster treatment outcomes. In this review, the authors comment on the plausibility for research on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) used in conjunction with psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder (i.e., MDMA-assisted psychotherapy [MDMA-AP]). On the basis of the promise of MDMA-AP in treating disorders overlapping with borderline personality disorder (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), the authors speculate on initial treatment targets and hypothesized mechanisms of change that are grounded in prior literature and theory. Initial considerations for designing MDMA-AP clinical trials to investigate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary effects of MDMA-AP for borderline personality disorder are also presented.