Heal NPD

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn explores the concept of annihilation anxiety and its role in narcissistic pathology and other personality disorders. Beginning with a clinical vignette involving childhood emotional and physical abuse, the episode examines what can happen when a child’s separate thoughts, feelings, and perceptions become psychologically threatening to a caregiver. A child may de...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn asks a simple question: What would happen if we talked about depression the way we currently talk about narcissism? Through a thought experiment, the episode imagines an alternate reality in which depression has become the focus of the same kind of online discourse that now surrounds narcissism. Social withdrawal becomes “withholding.” Loss of motivation becomes...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines what self-esteem actually looks like in pathological narcissism and why common explanations such as “low self-esteem hidden beneath grandiosity” or “grandiosity masking shame” oversimplify a much more complicated psychological process.  The episode begins by examining self-esteem as a regulatory system rather than a fixed quantity that a person either h...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines the circular logic that often appears in popular “narcissistic abuse” discourse and how it can create a closed system for interpreting other people’s behavior. The episode begins with a pattern Dr. Ettensohn has repeatedly encountered online: once someone concludes that another person is a narcissist, virtually any response can become further evidence o...

In this follow-up to a previous episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines a central problem in the way narcissism is commonly discussed online: the assumption that abusive behavior is sufficient evidence of narcissism. The episode argues that this conclusion arises, in part, from a longstanding problem in the DSM diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Many of the interpersonal chara...

  About Heal NPD Heal NPD is a clinical practice specializing in the assessment and treatment of pathological narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, and related personality difficulties. We offer comprehensive diagnostic assessments, individual psychotherapy, and consultations for partners and family members. Learn more or inquire about services: https://healnpd.org

Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines the common claim that personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are either caused by trauma or are primarily genetic. He argues that this framing presents a false dichotomy and does not reflect how personality development is understood in contemporary psychology. The discussion begins by reconsidering what psychologists mean by the word traum...

Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines the concept of “narcissistic abuse” and explains why he no longer considers it a coherent psychological construct. Using the comment from a viewer as a starting point, the discussion explores a common misconception: that skepticism toward the concept of narcissistic abuse reflects a lack of empathy for victims. Dr. Ettensohn argues that his concern is not with the reali...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Ettensohn and associate Deanna Young, Psy. D. In this session, the group discusses the article “A Mentalizing Approach for Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Moving From ‘Me-Mode’ to ‘We-Mode’” (Choi-Kain, Simonsen, & Euler, 2022), which explores how Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) can be applied to the treatment of narcissis...

This is the third part of a three-part exploration of narcissistic personality style at the neurotic level of personality organization. In this episode, Dr. Ettensohn examines the defensive architecture of neurotic-level narcissism, including the characteristic defenses that allow individuals to manage conflict, preserve relationships, and maintain self-esteem without resorting to the identity fra...

Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines the experience of emptiness in narcissistic personality disorder and other forms of personality pathology. Rather than approaching personality disorders as collections of traits or behaviors, the episode frames them as disturbances in identity. Dr. Ettensohn outlines how the sense of self is constructed through early relational experience and how disruptions in that pro...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Ettensohn, joined by his associates Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, Ph. D. In this session, the group discusses the paper “Living with Pathological Narcissism: A Qualitative Study” (Day et al., 2020), which examines narcissistic personality pathology from the perspective of partners and family members. Unlike most research...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Ettensohn, joined by his associates Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, Ph. D. In this session, the group examines the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD), a dimensional framework introduced in Section III of the DSM-5 and retained in DSM-5-TR. The model was developed in response to longstanding limitations...

Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines a growing tendency in public discourse to treat narcissism as a moral category rather than as a psychological construct.   The episode explores why this shift occurs and how misunderstandings about the nature of mental illness contribute to it. While many people intuitively apply a medical model to psychological conditions, most forms of mental illness do not operate in...

Dr. Mark Ettensohn addresses a question that frequently arises in discussions of narcissism and abuse: Is it possible to maintain accountability without dehumanizing? Can someone preserve firm boundaries without abandoning empathy? Dr. Ettensohn clarifies a distinction he often sees misunderstood. When he speaks about compassion toward pathological narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder,...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Ettensohn, joined by his associates Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group examines a recent empirical study titled Coercive Control and Intimate Partner Violence: Relationship with Personality Disorder Severity and Pathological Narcissism (2025). The discussion responds directly to common claims in...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines a common defense of online “narcissistic abuse” content: the claim that, even if imperfect or inaccurate, it ultimately helps people leave harmful relationships. Rather than focusing on whether such content feels validating or empowering, Dr. Ettensohn explores the ethical and psychological implications of justifying misinformation, stigma, and moralize...

In this video, Dr. Ettensohn examines the online narc-abuse ecosystem and explores how content that initially feels validating and supportive can, over time, become thought-constraining and socially isolating for some viewers. Drawing on clinical experience and established research on high-demand systems, Dr. Ettensohn analyzes the rhetorical patterns commonly used across narc-abuse channels: the...

This video continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn with his associates, Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group discusses Empathy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: From Clinical and Empirical Perspectives (2014), examining the long-standing assumption that narcissistic personality disorder is defined by a lack of empathy. Drawing o...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn and his associates, Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. I n this session, the group discusses a recent meta-analytic review examining suicide-related outcomes in narcissistic personality functioning. The conversation explores why studies using DSM-based diagnoses of Narcissistic Personality Disorder consist...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn responds to a common question: How can someone with a perfectly normal and mostly happy childhood develop narcissistic personality disorder? The discussion challenges the widespread misconception that narcissism is simply a personality type, a collection of traits, or the result of genetics alone. Dr. Ettensohn explains that pathological narcissism is a disorder...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn and his associates, Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group discusses Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Progress in Understanding and Treatment by Igor Weinberg, Ph. D., and Elsa Ronningstam, Ph. D. The conversation examines recent advances in how clinicians conceptualize and treat n...

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn and his associates, Deanna Young, Psy. D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group discusses Principles of Psychodynamic Treatment for Patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder by Holly Crisp, M.D., and Glen Gabbard, M.D. The conversation explores how psychodynamic clinicians conceptualize and treat n...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn challenges one of the most persistent distortions in contemporary discourse on narcissism: the myth of “the narcissist.” He explains how this cultural archetype, an image of coldness, cruelty, and manipulation, has eclipsed legitimate clinical understanding of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Drawing on both the peer-reviewed literature and his clinical experi...

This episode marks the beginning of a new educational series from Heal NPD, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn and his associates: Deanna Young, Psy. D. and Danté Spencer, MA. This series offers a rare window into clinical reasoning and supervision, bringing viewers inside real discussions about theory, diagnosis, and treatment of personality pathology. In this first seminar, the group examines an influ...