By Sissy Mylrea
I recently was part of a counselling webinar that was about narcissism and how to help survivors of narcissistic abuse in love relationships.
I was surprised to learn that it is a spectrum disorder of its own.
There are hundreds of blogs on having lived experiences from victims of narcissism. Some influencers are ascribing any bad behaviour as narcissism. That type of blanket ascribing is not helpful.
There is a tendency I’ve noticed, for people wanting to diagnose narcissism in partners however what becomes apparent is what the client believes. It is about treating the client; we are not treating the perpetrator. ( They would not recognise that in themselves!)
Self-identify and cognitive dissonance ( a sate in which there is a difference between your experience or behaviour and your beliefs about what is true) are the core issues of survivors of narcissism.
The survivor has gone through trying to please the narcissist and waiting for that day that will never come.
There are many issues to work through and to help the client with such as trust boundaries, the guilt and shame, and possibly re parenting their children. The list is rather endless but there is optimism for change. There are many local therapists that can help with this trauma. I have studied Sensorimotor Psychotherapy trauma Therapy. When talk is not enough. We learn to work with the wisdom of the body.
