Published on The Huffington Post April 25, 2016  If you have the misfortune of having been raised by narcissists, chances are you’ve heard classics like these: “You’re just too sensitive.” “You need to learn to let things go.” “When are you going to move on from the past?” and the fauxpology “I’m sorry you feel I’m such a disappointment as a mother/father.”

Good Help Is Hard to Find

Denial, projection, blame, belittlement, rage, and scapegoating are tried-and-true tools of the narcissist’s trade, and if you grew up having the adults meant to love and nurture you use them against you you’re probably especially vulnerable to such treatment as an adult. (Read an in-depth analysis of narcissistic family dynamics here.) Unfortunately for sufferers of narcissistic abuse trauma, looking for support from a therapist can be hazardous terrain.

Seven years ago Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Fiona Steele shifted her long-established practice to work exclusively with clients dealing with narcissist fallout because, she said, it’s an underserved population with an overwhelming need. “I’m in awe of how so few practitioners understand narcissism,” Steele told me. “So many of the clients that come to me have dealt with therapists who don’t have a clue about the insidious ways narcissists suck out the life of the people around them.” Steele advised people seeking therapeutic support for narcissist abuse to find someone with a firm understanding of narcissism and a solid treatment toolkit that includes more than just talk therapy. Her message to sufferers is, “You are not crazy.”

Reactivating Past Trauma

Regina Collins is a licensed professional counselor based in Alexandria, Virginia, who specializes in working with narcissistic abuse trauma. Many of her clients come to her having been retraumatized by therapists who don’t understand narcissism or narcissistic family dynamics. “Clients often bring up the fact that they feel ‘crazy’ because their experiences were questioned or negated outright by clinicians who don’t understand the behavior patterns of narcissists. This invalidation by someone who is supposed to be safe and trustworthy often mirrors the gaslighting that was experienced in their family of origin,” explained Collins.

Collins pointed out the potentially devastating ‘”forgive and forget” line of advice from unqualified mental health workers: “One of the most distressing issues people have identified is dealing with the clinician who pushes them to ‘forgive’ their parents and continue to have contact, even if it does not feel safe to the client. Numerous clients have shared with me that they were urged to ‘preserve the family’ and continue to see the parents even though the costs were high and benefits few, if any. As clinicians it is our place to support clients as they make their own decisions about contact. We shouldn’t judge clients if they determine that ‘no contact’ is safest for them.”

The Risk of New Injury

Psychotherapist and narcissism expert Julie Tenenberg, practicing in Oakland, California, also emphasized the importance of working with a properly educated therapist. “I’ve had a number of narcissistically abused people come to me who have seen a therapist who has unconsciously reinjured them. The damage of the wrong therapy is new trauma, not just reactivating old trauma,” said Tenenberg. “This population is manifesting shame, guilt, self-neglect, and physical symptoms of trauma. They need a witness who is sensitive, not critical or dismissive. Then need someone who will not reenact the narcissistic response.”

Referral Network of Trained Therapists

Karyl McBride, a psychologist and author specializing in narcissistic abuse recovery, encourages adult children of narcissists to vet their mental health providers to make sure they are conversant with narcissism and related trauma. “If the therapist does not understand the dynamics of narcissism and its debilitating effects, it is easy for them to encourage the ‘get over it already, the past is the past’ mentality. When they do this, they are not validating the feelings of the client and the childhood issues are deeply minimized and discounted,” she explained. McBride has created a referral network of therapists who specialize in working with such clients.

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Julie L. Hall is the author of The Narcissist in Your Life: Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free coming December 3, 2019, from Hachette Books. Preorder your copy now.

Need support? Julie provides specialized narcissistic abuse recovery coaching for clients around the world. 

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Image courtesy of frankieleon, Creative Commons.