Treating self-obsessed egomaniacs with empathy-boosting party drugs isn’t easy. Dr. Alexa Albert, a psychiatrist specializing in pathological narcissism, is spearheading a pilot clinical trial using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to take on a condition that’s reached obnoxious levels of ubiquity in our modern lexicon.Contrary to what some modern-day political figures would have you believe, it isn’t just about displaying levels of self-absorbed grandiosity usually reserved for mad kings. As Doctor Albert explained to Jane C. Hu of The Microdose, there are levels to it that range from the high highs of inflated self-importance to the low lows of practically nonexistent levels of self-esteem that manifest as depression or anxiety.These individuals struggle with self-regulation, bouncing back and forth between smugness and powerlessness, all while feeling like there is a vast void inside them. While traditional therapies like psychoanalysis have been used to address the issue, no drug has ever directly targeted the underlying personality disorder.New Study Wants To Find Out If MDMA Can Treat NarcissismMDMA has developed a reputation for fostering a sense of self-compassion and empathy in its users, and Albert thinks it could help pathological narcissists extend their emotions beyond themselves and perhaps experience a little bit more compassion than they’re used to. As Doctor Albert explains, it’s not like narcissists don’t even understand the concept of empathy. They tend to experience what’s called “cognitive empathy,” meaning that they understand that other people have feelings they just don’t feel themselves, often as a lingering remnant of childhood neglectMDMA seems to let people revisit past traumas but with a sense of self-compassion that allows them to consider other people’s perspectives more deeply, along with reducing fear responses, allowing patients to confront negative emotions like rage and envy head-on rather than shying away from them as a form of self-protection.Albert’s pilot study is a first-of-its-kind for personality disorders. Participants will undergo three sessions of preparation, and then three dosing sessions where MDMA will be administered alongside psychotherapy sessions that allow patients to confront their traumas. Family members and a patient’s personal therapists will also be consulted since narcissists aren’t always the most reliable self-reporters.It’s going to be a small study – only 12 patients – and there are roadblocks, like how the FDA has recently made it more difficult to acquire MDMA for therapeutic purposes, which should be no surprise as both local and federal governments tend to be inconsistent with their support of MDMA as a medical treatment. Regardless, going to be fascinating to see what happens when we start treating the underlying issues that lead to pathological narcissism rather than letting the disorder run amok.The post Could MDMA Be a Treatment for Narcissism? appeared first on VICE.