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Digital Seminar

Unmasking Narcissism

$129.99 Standard

Many clinicians struggle to treat narcissism because it’s so often misunderstood—and in the case of covert narcissism, frequently overlooked. More troubling still, this lack of understanding often leaves therapists unprepared for the deeper work: helping narcissists of all stripes take responsibility for the damage they do in both love and life. But if you know what to look for, there are inflection points: moments that can make or break the treatment. Once you learn to spot them, working with even the most defensive or combative clients becomes far easier—and far less daunting. Drawing on recent research and new insights into covert narcissism, this workshop offers practical strategies for growth and transformation in narcissistic clients. You’ll discover:

  • A four-stage model for reducing defensiveness and reaching narcissistic clients, whether they're aggressively bombastic or quietly withdrawn.
  • Powerful tools to help narcissistic clients express emotion and form secure attachments.
  • How to avoid common therapeutic pitfalls and foster genuine connection—even with the most challenging presentations

Here's What You'll Learn

Understanding the Inner World of Someone with Covert Narcissism

  • Introduce covert narcissism as a defense against shame, not a lack of emotion.
  • Highlight how emotional invisibility, longing, and fear contribute to an overreliance on self-enhancement as a survival strategy.
  • Clarify how fear of rejection and unmet attachment needs shape defensive patterns in clients.

Reducing Anxiety to Soften Defenses

  • Teach how to help clients track anxiety in their bodies to lower defensive rigidity.
  • Use of “What would you feel if you weren’t anxious?” to promote deeper emotional access.
  • Link physiological regulation (e.g., reduced tightness in chest) to increased openness and trust.
  • Emphasize that somatic anxiety tracking is a prerequisite to accessing more vulnerable states.

From Content to Process: Deepening the Therapeutic Relationship

  • Redirect focus from external complaints to the emotional experience in the room..
  • Model attuned responses (e.g., “Your eyes look sad—I can see how much it hurt to hear that.”) to build attachment security.
  • Use evocative prompts to invite clients to reflect on their experience of the therapist (e.g., “What do you feel from me as you tell me about this?”).
  • Demonstrate how presence, attunement, and empathic witnessing help reduce grandiosity and underlying fear.


Creating Corrective Attachment Experiences

  • Invite memory-based imagery to separate client identity from narcissistic defenses.
  • Use imagined reparenting (e.g., “Can you see that six-year-old?”) to access disowned sadness, fear, or longing.
  • Provide opportunities for clients to receive care and validation in real-time with the therapist.
  • Help clients shift from proving worth through performance to allowing authentic connection.

Limitations of the Research and Potential Risks

  • Lack of longitudinal data on covert narcissism treatment outcomes.
  • Difficulty in engaging clients with extreme defenses or comorbid disorders.
  • Risk of retraumatization if interventions (e.g., memory recall) are not carefully paced and attuned.
  • Importance of therapist training in attachment-based and emotion-focused work to reduce countertransference enactments.
     

Everything You're Getting

  • More than 2 hours of video content
  • Up to 2.0 CE credits
  • Certificate of completion
  • Handouts and resources

Meet Your Experts

Craig Malkin, PhD

Toggle speaker biography

Craig Malkin, PhD, author of Rethinking Narcissism, is a clinical psychologist and lecturer for Harvard Medical School with more than 30 years of experience. His articles, advice, and insights on relationships have appeared nationally and internationally in outlets like Time and he’s been a featured guest on many TV shows, radio programs, and podcasts, such as NPR, The Oprah Winfrey Network, and Rick Hanson’s Being Well. He’s president and director of the Cambridge Massachusetts-based YM Psychotherapy and Consultation, Inc.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Craig Malkin has employment relationships with Harvard Medical School and YM Psychotherapy and Consultation Inc. He receives royalties as a published author. Craig Malkin has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Craig Malkin is an author and presenter for Psychotherapy Networker. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Massachusetts Psychological Association, and the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

More taught by Craig Malkin, PhD

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Media Type:
Digital Seminar
Product Code:
NOS096683
Duration:
2 hours, 3 minutes
Copyright:
Mar 20, 2026

ADA Needs

We would be happy to accommodate your ADA needs; please call our Customer Service Department for more information at 1-800-844-8260.

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