Overcoming the Narcissistic Dynamic: Successful Treatment Techniques for Narcissistic Spectrum Clients, Their Partners and Their Children

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Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D. Related seminars and products: 8

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DANIEL J. FOX, Ph.D., has been treating and specializing in the treatment and assessment of individuals with personality disorders for the last 14 years in the state and federal prison system, universities, and in private practice. He is a licensed psychologist in the state of Texas and has published several articles on personality, ethics, and neurofeedback. He is the author of The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders (PESI, 2013), Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic and Histrionic Workbook (PESI, 2015) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder Toolbox (PESI, 2018). His specialty areas include personality disorders, ethics and emotional intelligence.

Dr. Fox has been teaching and supervising students for the last 13 years at various universities across the country, some of which include West Virginia University, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and Florida State University. He is a staff psychologist at the Federal Detention Center in Houston, Texas, adjunct assistant professor at University of Houston, as well as maintaining a private practice that specializes in working with difficult clients. Dr. Fox has given numerous workshops and seminars on ethics and personality disorders, personality disorders and crime, emotional intelligence, managing mental health within the prison system and others.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Daniel Fox is in private practice. He receives royalties as an author for PESI Publishing & Media. Dr. Fox receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.

Non-financial: Daniel Fox has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

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Objectives

1. Create a treatment plan for better outcomes of clients along the narcissistic spectrum.
2. Incorporate evidence-based techniques to address and change maladaptive patterns in your narcissistic spectrum clients, their partners, and their children.
3. Develop skills to help your narcissistic spectrum clients, their partners, and their children learn adaptive relationship skills while minimizing maladaptive relationship pathology.
4. Explore the factors that keep partners in relationships with narcissists and provide strategies for building resistance and resiliency against manipulative behavior.
5. Differentiate between the different narcissistic spectrum parent types to improve treatment outcomes among their children.
6. Develop effective assessment skills and clinical strategies for effectively treating children of narcissistic spectrum parents.

Outline

Narcissistic Spectrum Treatment Foundations

• Core belief: “Since I am special, I deserve special rules”
• Five central components to accurate narcissistic diagnosis
• Core and/or surface structure of the narcissistic spectrum
• Gender differences and narcissistic personality disorder
• Narcissistic neurology
• Attachment and pathological narcissism
• Pathological continuum, treatment errors, and speaking narcissism
• Key target areas for treatment
• Five categories of therapeutic responses to narcissism
• Therapist reactions to narcissism
• Psychopharmacology and narcissism

Treating the Narcissistic Client
Setting the Stage for Successful Treatment

• Narcissists don’t seek treatment
• To treat or not to treat: the distinction and overlap between NPD and Antisocial PD
• The distinction between entitlement and NPD
• Complications to treatment planning – mild to extreme factors
• NPD subtypes

Address and Change Maladaptive Patterns

• Identify surface and core structure
• Assess investment and motivation in treatment
• Manage narcissistic power struggles
• Getting underneath the veneer of perfectionism: competency, autonomy, relatedness, and purpose
• Narcissistic reaction from stress to rage

The Treatment Plan: Dig Deeper into Motivations and Lessen Symptomatology

• Enhance personal empowerment to lessen maladaptive narcissistic behaviors
• Assertiveness over aggression
• Lengthen the fuse to prevent explosions
• Learn and implement new behavioral, emotional, and thought patterns
• Strengthen appropriate social power, interaction methods, and control

Final Steps of Successful Treatment

• Conceptualizing successful treatment
• Treatment plan goals and examples

Treating the Partner of a Narcissist
Setting the Stage for Successful Treatment

• What is and what may never be and challenging foundational beliefs
• The narcissistic self-serving significant other (SO)
• When they are caught in a blackmail trap
• Assess continuance of dissolution of the relationship

Address and Change Maladaptive Patterns

• Break the cycle of glorifying, belittling, and abandoning
• Clarify and maintain boundaries
• Manage and lessen mental manipulation
• Power to choose

Treatment Plan: Dig Deeper into Motivations and Lessen Symptomatology

• Breaking free from the narcissistic partner
• 7 hopes and realities expanded
• Clarify client wants, deserves, and must-haves
• No more roller coaster
• The foundational 5: communication, mutual respect, trust, acceptance, and shared interests and values

Final Steps of Successful Treatment

• Together or apart
• Stay who you are

Treating the Impact of Narcissistic Parents
Setting the Stage for Successful Treatment

• Narcissistic family characteristics
• The Narcissistic parent identified
• Components of adult children of Narcissists
• The family of my dreams

Address and Change Maladaptive Patterns

• Identify the engulfing or ignoring narcissistic parent type
• Avoid “The Family Crucible” trap
• The narcissistic parent and self-definition
• Fight backhanded and hurtful comments

Treatment Plan: Dig Deeper into Motivations and Lessen Symptomatology

• The gift of narcissistic pathology
• Overcome destructive inner narcissistic family member
• Differentiation of child from parent exercise
• Parenting differently

Final Steps of Successful Treatment

• The family dynamic influencers
• Therapeutic milestones

Target Audience

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