Narcissistic Personality Disorder Counselling in London
What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?
The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (also known as NPD) is characterised by a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.
Signs of Narcissistic Personality Disorder
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, to diagnose narcissistic personality disorder, the following criteria must be met:
A. Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by:
1. Impairments in self functioning (a or b):
a. Identity: Excessive reference to others for self-definition and self-esteem regulation; exaggerated self-appraisal may be inflated or deflated, or vacillate between extremes; emotional regulation mirrors fluctuations in self-esteem.
b.Self-direction: Goal-setting is based on gaining approval from others; personal standards are unreasonably high in order to see oneself as exceptional, or too low based on a sense of entitlement; often unaware of own motivations.
2. Impairments in interpersonal functioning (a or b):
a. Empathy: Impaired ability to recognise or identify with the feelings and needs of others; excessively attuned to reactions of others, but only if perceived as relevant to self; over or underestimate of own effect on others.
b. Intimacy: Relationships largely superficial and exist to serve self-esteem regulation; mutuality constrained by little genuine interest in others‟ experiences and predominance of a need for personal gain.
B. Pathological personality traits in the following domain:
1. Antagonism, characterised by:
a. Grandiosity: Feelings of entitlement, either overt or covert; self-centeredness; firmly holding to the belief that one is better than others; condescending toward others.
b. Attention seeking: Excessive attempts to attract and be the focus of the attention of others; admiration seeking.
C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.
D. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual‟s developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.
Treatment for Narcissistic Personality Disorder in London
The most effective treatments for Narcissistic Personality Disorder are Schema Therapy, Mentalisation-based Treatment and Psychodynamic Counselling.
For more information about talking therapies and treatment programmes available at our Clinics in London please visit our Treatment page.
Getting Therapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder in London
We offer Psychological Therapies for Narcissistic Personality Disorder to Adults at our clinics in Central London.
Team
All our Therapists offer Psychological Therapies for Narcissistic Personality Disorder to Adults. Click here to meet the Team.
Fees
Sessions with our Psychologists are by prepaid appointments only. You can find out more about our fees on our Fees Page.
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