It’s interesting that those who experience narcissistic personality disorder often don’t show up for therapy. At least not for narcissistic symptoms. When they do come in, it is often for other reasons. What narcissistic personality disorder training is available to boost therapist resources when they do come to therapy?
Identifying narcissism accurately is a challenge. First, the subtypes of narcissism make diagnosis less cut and dry. But these individuals often report for therapy for other reasons and are sometimes difficult to identify. They may come in for depression incurred by the struggle of losing support or from others not seeing “how great” they are. Or they might attend for relationship difficulties or other personality disorders.
There is also strong evidence that narcissistic personality disorder is overdiagnosed and its prevalence inflated. This may be due to its increasing popularity on social media. Or as a potential way individuals make sense of difficult relationships.
But sometimes individuals accurately diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder do come for therapy. What approaches do we have to help when they do come? And how do therapists navigate our own bias and difficult interactions so we can effectively be there to support these clients?
Narcissistic personality disorder training can provide helpful therapist resources. Personality disorders are one of those areas where specialized training is often necessary for any client progress. Trainings for working with those with NPD are available!
CBT has been found to be effective for major aspects of narcissism (e.g., self-esteem difficulties) and for personality disorders overall. The Beck Institute has a good on-demand continuing education training for CBT with personality disorders. This training includes how therapists assess and work with their own bias. It also helps with maladaptive client behaviors that affect interpersonal dynamics in therapy and its effectiveness.
NICBM also has narcissistic personality disorder training. Their training focuses on a range of alternative strategies. These focus on shame, trauma, countertransference, and how to disarm sensitive threat responses that arise in therapy.
No therapy is perfect, so each approach has pros and limits. The Beck Institute’s CBT training integrates a few perspectives, but with highly established research-based methods. NICBM’s training discusses a range of “hot-topic” perspectives and strategies. However, direct effectiveness of those strategies on therapy outcomes is variable and less certain.
Narcissistic personality disorder can be such a difficult thing for clients to live with. This makes it difficult for therapists who want to help. Multiple narcissistic personality disorder trainings out there provide the opportunity to improve therapist resources and be there to support clients who experience this impactful difficulty.
