Parental Narcissistic Abuse Therapy
Parental Narcissistic Abuse
As a child, your parent was excessively critical and only praised you for material achievements. They were charming and fun to everyone else, but to you they were mean and controlling. You learned early on that people pleasing was the safest way to avoid verbal attacks or anger as a child. You never felt good enough.
As an adult, you do your best to have a relationship with your parent, but this means you always give in. You try to set boundaries, but this makes your parent angry, accusatory, and withholding. You try to resolve conflict but they dismiss your feelings or tell you to be over it already. One day they are yelling at you and the next day they act as if everything is fine. You feel crazy. In daily life you are very anxious and worried about making others angry.
Symptoms of Parental Narcissistic Abuse
- Low self-esteem
- Difficulty in relationships
- Difficulty trusting own judgment
- Focused on achievements
- People pleasing, struggling to say no
- Constant guilt
- Emotionally reactive
- Difficulty trusting others
- Confused, unsure of reality
Narcissistic Abuse in a Family
Trying to survive in your family is like playing a game of chess. You need to be steps ahead of everyone else to prevent drama, social exclusion, and conflict.
A narcissistic family system is a dysfunctional family unit with at least one narcissistic parent. In a narcissistic family, it is common for family members to gang up on one person, take sides, compete with each other, or scapegoat one child and favor another (golden child). It is not uncommon for narcissistic family systems to have more than one narcissist in the family.
If any of the above sounds like you, it’s possible you have experienced narcissistic abuse by a parent, sibling, or family member. Parental narcissistic abuse occurs when a parent with narcissistic traits emotionally abuses and manipulates their child and other family members. If you are experiencing physical violence/abuse, please call the Domestic Violence Hotline. To report child abuse or neglect please call Child Protective Services.
How Therapy Helps with Narcissistic Abuse Recovery
You don’t have to be tangled up in the drama any longer. Therapy will help you feel free and at peace. I specialize in helping adult children of narcissistic or emotionally immature parents heal and move forward.
Through therapy you can:
- Recognize signs of a narcissistic family or parent
- Stop playing the toxic family game
- Identify manipulative and gaslighting behaviors
- Increase self-esteem and self-worth
- Feel confident to set boundaries
- Decrease feelings of guilt and shame
- Improve romantic relationships
Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Therapist
Contact me to get started with narcissistic abuse therapy, offered online in Tennessee and Georgia.
Online Locations: Nashville, Tennessee – Brentwood, Tennessee – Atlanta, Georgia – Sandy Springs, Georgia – Greater Tennessee and Georgia Area