Episode 105: Wendy Behary addresses Covert Narcissism: The Schema approach (Part 1 of 2)

This episode, titled "The Great Taboo: The role of literature and myth in understanding complex trauma," features the second part of a conversation with NPD expert, author, and clinician Wendy Behary. One of today's most influential figures in the Schema Therapy world, she specializes in the treatment of covert narcissism. This segment unexpectedly evolved into a discussion of psychodynamic esoterica often eschewed or outright rejected by the trauma therapy world. A dangerous episode, certain to be loved or hated!

Highlights include:

-The host's conceptualization of certain resentful fight parts as resembling the Faust archetype, and Ms. Behary's comparison of this to the "super-suffering" covert NPD presentation

-The function of this phenomenon in covert NPD as an avoidance of accepting personal responsibility for flaws, given a childhood in which this was unacceptable

-The perpetrator as as an abused child's only model for power, seen through the lens of Goethe's interpretation of Mephistopheles

-Janet's concept of the "substitute action" in thwarted defense systems as it may apply to a Schema understanding of simultaneous loyalty to and hatred of an abusive caregiver.

-"Ego-states" as possibly analogous to "Schema Modes"

-Differentiation of the cases of traumatized clients with an NPD presentation, and traumatized clients with "NPD" dissociative parts; possible treatment in microcosm

-Practical advice for therapists dealing with NPD clients who are both tragic victims, and victimizers: countertransference, boundaries, confrontation as compassion, and self-care

And finally,

-A brief argument by the host for the validity of studying and treating complex trauma through the lens of archetypes common to world literature and mythology

In future (as in past) episodes, guests will offer counterpoints to Ms. Behary's views, and this video is a dialogue, rather than an endorsement of her perspectives. Likewise, The Dissociative Table does not endorse the views of its hosts, nor do any professional organizations to which the host or guest might belong.

Ms. Behary is the Founder and Director of the Cognitive Therapy Center of New Jersey, and the Schema Therapy Institutes of New York City, DC, and New Jersey. She is a founding Fellow and consulting supervisor for the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. She served as President of the Executive Board of the International Society for Schema Therapy (ISST) from 2010-2014, and now sits on the ISST's Training and Advisory Board. She is the author of or contributor to 14 publications, and her book "Disarming the Narcissist" has been translated into 16 languages.

The music in this episode is taken from the song "Kirimu," from Cracked Machine's album Call of the Void. The band has generously donated rights to their music in support of increased global access to effective trauma treatment. https://crackedmachine.bandcamp.com/