Narcissism Essay, Research Paper
On Narcissism: Psychological Theories and Therapeutic Interventions in the Narcissistic DisordersIntroductionUnderstanding the Narcissistic Phenomenon The so called narcissistic personality disorder is a complex and often misunderstooddisorder. The cardinal feature of the narcissistic personality is the grandiose sense of selfimportance, but paradoxically underneath this grandiosity the narcissist suffers from achronically fragile low self esteem. The grandiosity of the narcissist, however, is often sopervasive that we tend to dehumanize him or her. The narcissist conjures in us images ofthe mythological character Narcissus who could only love himself, rebuffing anyone whoattempted to touch him. Nevertheless, it is the underlying sense of inferiority which isthe real problem of the narcissist, the grandiosity is just a facade used to cover the deepfeelings of inadequacy. The Makeup of the Narcissistic Personality The narcissist s grandiose behavior is designed to reaffirm his or her sense ofadequacy. Since the narcissist is incapable of asserting his or her own sense of adequacy,the narcissist seeks to be admired by others. However, the narcissist s extremely fragilesense of self worth does not allow him or her to risk any criticism. Therefore,meaningful emotional interactions with others are avoided. By simultaneously seekingthe admiration of others and keeping them at a distance the narcissist is usually able tomaintain the illusion of grandiosity no matter how people respond. Thus, when peoplepraise the narcissist his or her grandiosity will increase, but when criticized thegrandiosity will usually remain unaffected because the narcissist will devalue thecriticizing person. Akhtar (1989) [as cited in Carson & Butcher, 1992; P. 271] discusses six areas ofpathological functioning which characterize the narcissist. In particular, four of thesenarcissistic character traits best illustrate the pattern discussed above. (1) a narcissisticindividual has a basic sense of inferiority, which underlies a preoccupation with fantasiesof outstanding achievement; (2) a narcissistic individual is unable to trust and rely onothers and thus develops numerous, shallow relationships to extract tributes from others;(3) a narcissistic individual has a shifting morality-always ready to shift values to gainfavor; and (4) a narcissistic person is unable to remain in love, showing an impairedcapacity for a committed relationship . The Therapeutic Essence of Treating Narcissism The narcissist who enters therapy does not think that there is something wrong withhim or her. Typically, the narcissist seeks therapy because he or she is unable tomaintain the grandiosity which protects him or her from the feelings of despair. Thenarcissist views his or her situation arising not as a result of a personal maladjustment;rather it is some factor in the environment which is beyond the narcissist s controlwhich has caused his or her present situation. Therefore, the narcissist expects thetherapist not to cure him or her from a problem which he or she does not perceive toexist, rather the narcissist expects the therapist to restore the protective feeling ofgrandiosity. It is therefore essential for the therapist to be alert to the narcissists attemptsto steer therapy towards healing the injured grandiose part, rather than exploringthe underlying feelings of inferiority and despair. Differential Psychological Views of Narcissism The use of the term narcissism in relation to psychological phenomena was first madeby Ellis in 1898. Ellis described a special state of auto-erotism as Narcissus like, inwhich the sexual feelings become absorbed in self admiration (Goldberg, 1980). Theterm was later incorporated into Freud s psychoanalytic theory in 1914 in his essay OnNarcissism . Freud conceptualized narcissism as a as a sexual perversion involving apathological sexual love to one s own body (Sandler & Person, 1991). Henceforth,several psychological theories have attempted to explain and treat the narcissisticphenomenon. Specifically, the most comprehensive psychological theories have beenadvanced by the psychodynamic perspective and to a lesser extent the Jungian(analytical) perspective. Essentially, both theories cite developmental problems inchildhood as leading to the development of the narcissistic disorder. The existentialschool has also attempted to deal with the narcissistic problem, although the availableliterature is much smaller. Existentialists postulate that society as a whole can be thecrucial factor in the development of narcissism. The final perspective to be discussed isthe humanistic approach which although lacking a specific theory on narcissism, cannevertheless be applied to the narcissistic disorder. In many ways the humanisticapproach to narcissism echoes the sentiments of the psychodynamic approach. The Psychodynamic Perspective of Narcissism The psychodynamic model of narcissism is dominated by two overlapping schools ofthought, the self psychology school and the object relations school. The self psychologyschool, represented by Kohut, posits that narcissism is a component of everyone spsyche. We are all born as narcissists and gradually our infantile narcissism matures intoa healthy adult narcissism. A narcissistic disorder results when this process is somehowdisrupted. By contrast the object relations school, represented by Kernberg, argues thatnarcissism does not result from the arrest of the normal maturation of infantilenarcissism, rather a narcissism represents a fixation in one of the developmental periodsof childhood. Specifically, the narcissist is fixated at a developmental stage in which thedifferentiation between the self and others is blurred. Kohut s Theory of Narcissism Kohut believes that narcissism is a normal developmental milestone, and the healthyperson learns to transform his or her infantile narcissism into adult narcissism. Thistransformation takes place through the process which Kohut terms transmutinginternalizations. As the infant is transformed into an adult he or she will invariablyencounter various challenges resulting in some frustration. If this frustration exceeds thecoping abilities of the person only slightly the person experiences optimal frustration. Optimal frustration leads the person to develop a strong internal structure (i.e., a strongsense of the self) which is used to compensate for the lack of external structure (i.e.,support from others). In the narcissist the process of transmuting internalizations isarrested because the person experiences a level of frustration which exceeds optimalfrustration. The narcissist thus remains stuck at the infantile level, displaying many ofthe characteristics of the omnipotent and invulnerable child (Kohut, 1977). Kernberg s Theory of Narcissism Kernberg s views on narcissism are based on Mahler s theory of the separation-individuation process in infancy and early childhood. Mahler s model discusses how thedeveloping child gains a stable self concept by successfully mastering the two forerunnerphases (normal autism and normal symbiosis) and the four subphases (differentiation,practicing, rapprochement, and consolidation) of separation-individuation. Kernbergargues that the narcissist is unable to successfully master the rapprochement subphaseand is thus fixated at this level. It is essential, however, to understand the dynamics ofthe practicing subphase before proceeding to tackle the narcissist s fixation at therapprochement subphase. The practicing subphase (age 10 to 14 months) marks the developmental stage atwhich the child learns to walk. The ability to walk gives the child a whole newperspective of the world around him. This new ability endows the child with a sense ofgrandiosity and omnipotence which closely resemble the narcissist s behavior. However,reality soon catches up with the child as the child enters the rapprochement subphase(age 14 to 24 months). At this stage the child discovers that he or she is not omnipotent,that there are limits to what he or she can do. According to Kernberg if the child isseverely frustrated at this stage he or she can adapt by re-fusing or returning to thepracticing subphase, which affords him the security of grandiosity and omnipotence(Kernberg, 1976).The Preferred Psychodynamic model The Psychodynamic literature in general tends to lean towards the object relationsschool because of the emphasis it places on a comprehensive developmental explanation(i.e. the use of Mahler s individuation-separation model). Nevertheless, the theory ofKohut has left a deep impression on Psychodynamic thinking as is evident by theutilization of many of his concepts in the literature (i.e. Johnson, 1987; Manfield, 1992;and Masterson, 1981). Therefore in the remainder of the Psychodynamic section asimilar approach will be taken, by emphasizing object relations concepts with theutilization of the occasional Kohutian idea. The Emergence of the Narcissistic Personality According to Kernberg and the object relations school the crisis of therapprochement subphase is critical to the development of the narcissistic personality. The individual who is unable to successfully master the challenges of this stage willsustain a narcissistic injury. In essence the narcissistic injury will occur whenever theenvironment (in particular significant others) needs the individual to be somethingwhich he or she is not. The narcissistically injured individual is thus told Don t be whoyou are, be who I need you to be. Who you are disappoints me, threatens me angers me,overstimulates me. Be what I want and I will love you (Johnson, 1987; P. 39). The narcissistic injury devastates the individual s emerging self. Unable to be whathe or she truly is the narcissistically injured person adapts by splitting his personality intowhat Kohut terms the nuclear (real) self and the false self. The real self becomesfragmented and repressed, whereas the false self takes over the individual. The narcissistthus learns to reject himself or herself by hiding what has been rejected by others.Subsequently, the narcissist will attempt to compensate for his or her deficiencies bytrying to impress others through his or her grandiosity. The narcissist essentially decidesthat There is something wrong with me as I am. Therefore, I must be special (Johnson,1987; P. 53). The Narcissist s View of Others Just as the individual becomes narcissistic because that is what the environment needed him or her to be, so does the narcissist view others not as they are, but as whathe or she needs them to be. Others are thus perceived to exist only in relation to thenarcissist s needs. The term object relations thus takes on a special meaning with thenarcissist. We are objects to him, and to the extent that we are narcissistic, othersare objects to us. He doesn t really see and hear and feel who we are and, to the extentthat we are narcissistic, we do not really see and hear and feel the true presence of others. They, we, are objects I am not real. You are not real. You are an object to me. I aman object to you (Johnson, 1987; P. 48). It is apparent than that the narcissist maintainsthe infantile illusion of being merged to the object. At a psychological level he or sheexperiences difficulties in differentiating the self from others. It is the extent of thisinability to distinguish personal boundaries which determines the severity of thenarcissistic disorder (Johnson, 1987). Levels of Narcissism The most extreme form of narcissism involves the perception that no separation existsbetween the self and the object. The object is viewed as an extension of the self, in thesense that the narcissist considers others to be a merged part of him or her. Usually, theobjects which the narcissist chooses to merge with represent that aspect of the narcissist spersonality about which feelings of inferiority are perceived. For instance if a narcissistfeels unattractive he or she will seek to merge with someone who is perceived by thenarcissist to be attractive. At a slightly higher level exists the narcissist whoacknowledges the separateness of the object, however, the narcissist views the object assimilar to himself or herself in the sense that they share a similar psychological makeup. In effect the narcissist perceives the object as just like me . The most evolvednarcissistic personality perceives the object to be both separate and psychologicallydifferent, but is unable to appreciate the object as a unique and separate person. Theobject is thus perceived as useful only to the extent of its ability to aggrandize the falseself (Manfield, 1992).Types of narcissism Pending the perceived needs of the environment a narcissist can develop in one of twodirections. The individual whose environment supports his or her grandiosity, anddemands that he or she be more than possible will develop to be an exhibitionisticnarcissist. Such an individual is told you are superior to others , but at the same timehis or her personal feelings are ignored. Thus, to restore his or her feelings of adequacythe growing individual will attempt to coerce the environment into supporting his or hergrandiose claims of superiority and perfection. On the other hand, if the environmentfeels threatened by the individual s grandiosity it will attempt to suppress the individualfrom expressing this grandiosity. Such an individual learns to keep the grandiosityhidden from others, and will develop to be a closet narcissist. The closet narcissist willthus only reveal his or her feelings of grandiosity when he or she is convinced that suchrevelations will be safe (Manfield, 1992)Narcissistic Defense Mechanisms Narcissistic defenses are present to some degree in all people, but are especiallypervasive in narcissists. These defenses are used to protect the narcissist fromexperiencing the feelings of the narcissistic injury. The most pervasive defensemechanism is the grandiose defense. Its function is to restore the narcissist sinflated perception of himself or herself. Typically the defense is utilized when someonepunctures the narcissist s grandiosity by saying something which interferes with thenarcissist s inflated view of himself or herself. The narcissist will then experience anarcissistic injury similar to that experienced in childhood and will respond by expandinghis or her grandiosity, thus restoring his or her wounded self concept. Devaluation isanother common defense which is used in similar situations. When injured ordisappointed the narcissist can respond by devaluing the offending person. Devaluationthus restores the wounded ego by providing the narcissist with a feeling of superiorityover the offender. There are two other defense mechanisms which the narcissist uses. The self-sufficiency defense is used to keep the narcissist emotionally isolated fromothers. By keeping himself or herself emotionally isolated the narcissist s grandiositycan continue to exist unchallenged. Finally, the manic defense is utilized when feelingsof worthlessness begin to surface. To avoid experiencing these feelings the narcissistwill attempt to occupy himself or herself with various activities, so that he or she has notime left to feel the feelings (Manfield, 1992). Psychodynamic Treatment of the Narcissist The central theme in the Psychodynamic treatment of the narcissist revolves aroundthe transference relationship which emerges during treatment. In order for thetransference relationship to develop the therapist must be emphatic in understanding thepatient s narcissistic needs. By echoing the narcissist the therapist remains silent and invisible to the narcissist. In essence the therapist becomes a mirror to the narcissist tothe extent that the narcissist derives narcissistic pleasure from confronting his or her alter ego . Grunberger s views are particularly helpful in clarifying this idea. Accordingto him The patient should enjoy complete narcissistic freedom in the sense that heshould always be the only active party. The analyst has no real existence of his own inrelation to the analysand. He doesn t have to be either good or bad-he doesn t even haveto be Analysis is thus not a dialogue at all; at best it is a monologue for two voices,one speaking and the other echoing, repeating, clarifying, interpreting correctly-a faithfuland untarnished mirror (Grunberger, 1979; P. 49). The Mirror Transference Once the therapeutic relationship is established two transference like phenomena, themirror transference and the idealizing transference, collectively known as selfobjecttransference emerge. The mirror transference will occur when the therapist provides astrong sense of validation to the narcissist. Recall that the narcissistically injured childfailed to receive validation for what he or she was. The child thus concluded that there issomething wrong with his or her feelings, resulting in a severe damage to the child s self-esteem. By reflecting back to the narcissist his or her accomplishments and grandeur thenarcissist s self esteem and internal cohesion are maintained (Manfield, 1992). There are three types of the mirror transference phenomenon, each corresponding to adifferent level of narcissism (as discussed previously). The merger transference willoccur in those narcissists who are unable to distinguish between the object and the self. Such narcissists will perceive the therapist to be a virtual extension of themselves. Thenarcissist will expect the therapist to be perfectly resonant to him or her, as if thetherapist is an actual part of him or her. If the therapist should even slightly vary fromthe narcissist s needs or opinions, the narcissist will experience a painful breach in thecohesive selfobject function provided by the therapist. Such patients will then likely feelbetrayed by the therapist and will respond by withdrawing themselves from the therapist(Manfield, 1992).