Narcissism Essay Example

above.(1) a narcissistic individual has a basic sense of inferiority, which underlies a preoccupation with fantasies of outstanding achievement; (2) a narcissistic individual is unable to trust and rely on others and thus develops numerous, shallow relationships to extract tributes from others; (3) a narcissistic individual has a shifting morality-always ready to shift values to gain favor; and (4) a narcissistic person is unable to remain in love, showing an impaired capacity for a committed relationship.

The Therapeutic Essence of Treating Narcissism

The narcissist who enters therapy does not think that there is something wrong with him or her. Typically, the narcissist seeks therapy because he or she is unable to maintain the grandiosity which protects him or her from the feelings of despair. The narcissist views his or her situation arising not as a result of a personal maladjustment; rather it is some factor in the environment which is beyond the narcissists control which has caused his or her present situation. Therefore, the narcissist expects the therapist not to cure him or her from a problem which he or she does not perceive to exist, rather the narcissist expects the therapist to restore the protective feeling of grandiosity. It is therefore essential for the therapist to be alert to the narcissists attempts to steer therapy towards healing the injured grandiose part, rather than exploring the underlying feelings of inferiority and despair.

Differential Psychological Views of Narcissism

The use of the term narcissism in relation to psychological phenomena was first made by Ellis in 1898. Ellis described a special state of auto-erotism as Narcissus like, in which the sexual feelings become absorbed in self admiration (Goldberg, 1980). The term

was later incorporated into Freuds psychoanalytic theory in 1914 in his essay On Narcissism. Freud conceptualized narcissism as a as a sexual perversion involving a pathological sexual love to ones own body (Sandler & Person, 1991). Henceforth, several psychological theories have attempted to explain and treat the narcissistic phenomenon. Specifically, the most comprehensive psychological theories have been advanced by the psychodynamic perspective and to a lesser extent the Jungian (analytical) perspective. Essentially, both theories cite developmental problems in childhood as leading to the development of the narcissistic disorder. The existential school has also attempted to deal with the narcissistic problem, although the available literature is much smaller. Existentialists postulate that society as a whole can be the crucial factor in the development of narcissism. The final perspective to be discussed is the humanistic approach which although lacking a specific theory on narcissism, can nevertheless be applied to the narcissistic disorder. In many ways the humanistic approach to narcissism echoes the sentiments of the psychodynamic approach.

The Psychodynamic Perspective of Narcissism

The psychodynamic model of narcissism is dominated by two overlapping schools of thought, the self psychology school and the object relations school. The self psychology school, represented by Kohut, posits that narcissism is a component of everyones psyche. We are all born as narcissists and gradually our infantile narcissism matures into a healthy adult narcissism. A narcissistic disorder results when this process is somehow disrupted. By contrast the object relations school, represented by Kernberg, argues that narcissism does not result from the arrest of the normal maturation of infantile narcissism, rather a narcissism represents a fixation in one of the developmental periods of childhood. Specifically, the narcissist

is fixated at a developmental stage in which the differentiation between the self and others is blurred.

Kohuts Theory of Narcissism

Kohut believes that narcissism is a normal developmental milestone, and the healthy person learns to transform his or her infantile narcissism into adult narcissism. This transformation takes place through the process which Kohut terms transmuting internalizations. As the infant is transformed into an adult he or she will invariably encounter various challenges resulting in some frustration. If this frustration exceeds the coping abilities of the person only slightly the person experiences optimal frustration. Optimal frustration leads the person to develop a strong internal structure (i.e., a strong sense of the self) which is used to compensate for the lack of external structure (i.e., support from others). In the narcissist the process of transmuting internalizations is arrested because the person experiences a level of frustration which exceeds optimal frustration. The narcissist thus remains stuck at the infantile level, displaying many of the characteristics of the omnipotent and invulnerable child (Kohut, 1977).

Kernbergs Theory of Narcissism

Kernbergs views on narcissism are based on Mahlers theory of the separation- individuation process in infancy and early childhood. Mahlers model discusses how the developing child gains a stable self concept by successfully mastering the two forerunner phases (normal autism and normal symbiosis) and the four subphases (differentiation, practicing, rapprochement, and consolidation) of separation-individuation. Kernberg argues that the narcissist is unable to successfully master the rapprochement subphase and is thus fixated at this level. It is essential, however, to understand the dynamics of the practicing subphase before proceeding to tackle the narcissists fixation at the rapprochement subphase.

The practicing subphase (age 10 to 14 months)

marks the developmental stage at which the child learns to walk. The ability to walk gives the child a whole new perspective of the world around him. This new ability endows the child with a sense of grandiosity and omnipotence which closely resemble the narcissists behavior. However, reality soon catches up with the child as the child enters the rapprochement subphase (age 14 to 24 months). At this stage the child discovers that he or she is not omnipotent, that there are limits to what he or she can do. According to Kernberg if the child is severely frustrated at this stage he or she can adapt by re-fusing or returning to the practicing subphase, which affords him the security of grandiosity and omnipotence (Kernberg, 1976).

The Preferred Psychodynamic model

The Psychodynamic literature in general tends to lean towards the object relations school because of the emphasis it places on a comprehensive developmental explanation (i.e. the use of Mahlers individuation-separation model). Nevertheless, the theory of Kohut has left a deep impression on Psychodynamic thinking as is evident by the utilization of many of his concepts in the literature (i.e. Johnson, 1987; Manfield, 1992; and Masterson, 1981). Therefore in the remainder of the Psychodynamic section a similar approach will be taken, by emphasizing object relations concepts with the utilization of the occasional Kohutian idea.

The Emergence of the Narcissistic Personality

According to Kernberg and the object relations school the crisis of the rapprochement subphase is critical to the development of the narcissistic personality. The individual who is unable to successfully master the challenges of this stage will sustain a narcissistic injury. In essence the narcissistic injury will occur whenever the

environment (in particular significant others) needs the individual to be something which he or she is not. The narcissistically injured individual is thus told Dont be who you are, be who I need you to be. Who you are disappoints me, threatens me angers me, overstimulates me. Be what I want and I will love you (Johnson, 1987; P. 39). The narcissistic injury devastates the individuals emerging self. Unable to be what he or she truly is the narcissistically injured person adapts by splitting his personality into what Kohut terms the nuclear (real) self and the false self. The real self becomes fragmented and repressed, whereas the false self takes over the individual. The narcissist thus learns to reject himself or herself by hiding what has been rejected by others. Subsequently, the narcissist will attempt to compensate for his or her deficiencies by trying to impress others through his or her grandiosity. The narcissist essentially decides that There is something wrong with me as I am. Therefore, I must be special (Johnson, 1987; P. 53).

The Narcissists View of Others

Just as the individual becomes narcissistic because that is what the environment needed him or her to be, so does the narcissist view others not as they are, but as what he or she needs them to be. Others are thus perceived to exist only in relation to the narcissists needs. The term object relations thus takes on a special meaning with the narcissist. We are objects to him, and to the extent that we are narcissistic, others are objects to us. He doesnt really see and hear and feel who we are and, to the extent

that we are narcissistic, we do not really see and hear and feel the true presence of others. They, we, are objects I am not real. You are not real. You are an object to me. I am an object to you (Johnson, 1987; P. 48). It is apparent than that the narcissist maintains the infantile illusion of being merged to the object. At a psychological level he or she experiences difficulties in differentiating the self from others. It is the extent of this inability to distinguish personal boundaries which determines the severity of the narcissistic disorder (Johnson, 1987).