NARCISSISTIC TRAPS AT THE HEART OF THERAPY

Narcissism permeates all aspects of contemporary society and can distort our individual and collective ambitions, achievements and sensitivity to our own and others' feelings. It shows up in relationships as imbalances of power, entitlement, overvaluation of ideas, crushed feelings and threats of denigration and contempt.  It operates in our cultures and social systems as well as our interpersonal, group and inner lives.  

Healthy forms of narcissism (self-assertion, appropriate pride and delight and expression) can get entangled with harmful forms of idealisation, binary prejudice and division.  Whilst the more divisive and extreme forms of narcissism are relatively easy to recognise even if challenging to treat or oppose, there can be a  narcissistic element to all our coping strategies.  The narcissistic element can trap us and we lose ourselves in restrictive patterns of relating that can be mapped as traps, dilemmas and snags for our sense of self, agency and identity.…