Narcissistic Clients
How to Work with Grandiosity, Arrogance, and Exaggerated Self Importance
Recorded Friday 4 November 2022
With Doris Brothers, Ilany Kogan and Dr Tamara Feldman
CPD Credits: 3 hours
Working psychotherapeutically with the grandiose is not easy. In this conference we’ll look at clinical and fictional examples of grandiosity, what lies beneath this characterological structure, and how someone with these tendencies can be helped.
Characteristics that mark grandiosity – in contrast to healthy self-esteem – include arrogance, exaggerated self-importance, oblivion of impact on others… being entitled, reactive and demanding.
READ MORE...Grandiose people may often devalue others to support their self-esteem, demand gratification, be unrealistic about ways in which the world will serve them, and aggressive when challenged.
As it is difficult for a grandiose narcissistic to realistically perceive their limitations, or their need for help, they will typically only enter therapy after they encounter a serious breakdown in their relationship with the world of other people. Once in therapy, however, they may quickly restore the defensive strategies of grandiosity as a means of self-protection and be particularly challenging to stay connected to.
From Kohut and Kernberg, to Gabbard and Symington, there is a rich psychoanalytical literature on aetiology and treatment of grandiosity. Our speakers will pick up this discussion, considering what underlies this tendency, how it functions to both protect and limit the self, its roots in childhood and how it can be most effectively worked with to bring that person towards acceptance of their limitations and human vulnerability.
CPD – Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits for 3 hours are available as part of the course fee. You will need to pass a multiple choice questionnaire related to the content in order to receive your certificate.
Access to the Talks On Demand runs for 365 days from the date of purchase.
FULL PROGRAMME
Ilany Kogan
Grandiosity and the struggle against mourning
This presentation examines the grandiosity of protagonists from film and fiction, and the impact it has on the audience. We will focus on the fantasy of the omnipotence of the self, a predominantly narcissistic desire to be a god-like, omnipotent, immortal figure. This wish may stem from the difficulty of integrating the narcissistic blow of the loss of one’s omnipotence, which occurs throughout the stages in which the individual develops a sense of reality. The exploration of this wish may support the therapist in helping the patient to mourn the limitations of life, like castration, separation and death.
Q&A
Dr Tamara Feldman
Narcissism as an Intentional Choice: Exploring the Work of Neville Symington
This presentation will explore Symington’s compelling theory of narcissism. Symington proposes that neither a nature nor nurture theory adequately accounts for narcissism as both fail to apprehend the volitional nature of the narcissistic condition. In particular, Symington argues that narcissism is the position that an individual actively chooses, typically in infancy, in response to childhood trauma. Symington embraces an intricate object relations theory, involving internal objects such as “the life giver” and “the terrible tyrant” to account for the battle waged within the narcissist’s personality. This presentation will also explore Symington’s rather bold treatment approach. After exploring these ideas, we will apply them to a couple featured in the BBC show Couple Therapy, to illuminate key features of Symington’s thesis.
Q&A
Doris Brothers, Ph.D.
When traumatic experience leads to grandiosity
The experience of uncertainty is often found to be unbearable in the aftermath of trauma. At such times, the need to simplify experience to create a sense of certainty may become compelling. When traumas occur in early life, the form taken by such simplifications is a tendency to become highly self-centered; focusing on others and on the connectedness to others may require a toleration for uncertainty that is unavailable. Some self-centered individuals are perceived as grandiose. Grandiosity may take many forms. Some grandiose individuals feel grievously injured when their specialness is not recognized by others. Others become convinced that their views are the only correct ones. In this presentation, Doris will offer several clinical examples of grandiosity with an emphasis on its embodiment within the therapeutic relationship. She will also suggest ways to form healing relationships with those patients.
Q&A
Q&A With all speakers