How Therapy Can Support Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse

Surviving narcissistic abuse is a terrible experience, that leaves one confused, exhausted, and asking why you even exist. Narcissistic abuse can include manipulation, gaslighting, and control, which can erode the survivor’s self-esteem as well as perception and reality become twisted. Recovery is a journey, but therapy can give the tools that survivors use to rebuild their confidence, rebuild emotional resilience, and move forward with healthier relationships.

In this blog, we will look at how therapy may help those who have experienced narcissistic abuse, the problems they may encounter, and the possible ways to help overcome them.

What is Narcissistic Abuse and How Does it Affect?

Narcissistic abuse refers to the forms of behaviors that are intended to subject and control the target in a way that makes them feel helpless and alone. The narcissist can manipulate and control others through techniques such as gaslighting which is making the other person doubt their own experiences, love bombing where the narcissist provides a lot of attention to the other person to gain control over them and emotionally withdrawing from the other person.

The consequences of narcissistic abuse are real. Most of the survivors have symptoms that are similar to those seen in PTSD including; heightened awareness, flashbacks, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. The relationship is particularly challenging because the survivors may have challenges trusting, setting boundaries, and speaking for themselves and may not even be sure what they are going through. Therapy can be an excellent method of dealing with such narcissistic abuse and regaining a certain level of equilibrium and self-esteem.

Role of Therapy in Healing From Narcissistic Abuse

Therapy provides the opportunity for survivors to process the hurt resulting from narcissistic abuse, and to find support for the erroneous narrative that they have internalized through the abuse. A therapist can assist the survivors in restoring their self-esteem, forming healthy boundaries with people, and learning methods for emotional coping.

The client’s belief that they are responsible for the abuse they suffered from the narcissist is one of the major goals of therapy for survivors of narcissistic abuse. Therapists help the client understand negative patterns of behavior, the meaning of the trauma, and how to regain a lost self-worth that has been dominated by abuse. Therapy helps survivors reclaim their life and rewrite their story in a way that makes sense to them and that reflects their sense of self.

Types of Therapies for Narcissistic Abuse Survivor

Different therapeutic approaches can be particularly beneficial for survivors of narcissistic abuse, each addressing various aspects of recovery:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT assists the survivors to change their way of thinking by replacing the negative thoughts that an abusive partner uses to manipulate them, for example, making the survivor feel like they are worthless or guilty. Thus, by changing these beliefs, survivors can slowly reconstruct their confidence in themselves and their capabilities.
• Trauma-Focused Therapy: Trauma-focused therapies, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are designed to address the affective dysregulation of abuse. These are therapeutic approaches that facilitate the management of traumatic events and the regulation of the emotional responses to flashbacks and other traumatic symptoms.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is based on teaching its clients skills in the management of emotions and coping with distress. Narcissistic abuse survivors find DBT helpful as a way of learning how to deal with strong feelings and how to behave positively when exposed to specific triggers.
• Group Therapy: Group therapy will provide an environment where survivors can tell their narratives to other survivors as well. The unity and understanding of other members of the group can be therapeutic since the survivors do not feel alone or misunderstood.

Seek Help at Orlando Treatment Solutions

If you or any of your loved ones require treatment to overcome the impact of the abuse by a narcissist, Orlando Treatment Solutions has several therapies that can be adapted to the needs of the survivor. They work with our patients in a way that is trauma-informed and helps survivors recover their self-esteem, work through memories, and improve their quality of life.

Please call us to get more information about the therapies that can help you or your family member. This is where you start realizing that recovery is possible and that we are here to help.

Restoring Self-Esteem and Confidence

Narcissistic abuse tends to erode a survivor’s self-esteem and leave them questioning their worth, as well as who they are. Therapy is the process of enabling a patient to regain self-esteem because the patient is given the strength to identify the things that are good within him or her, accept the feelings that he or she has, and come back to life again.

Therapists help survivors do activities that help them build good self-esteem and acceptance of the self. For instance, writing affirmations, ensuring that one takes good care of oneself, and acknowledging milestones that have been achieved may assist in regaining confidence and faith in oneself. This is why learning to set boundaries in the relationship is also necessary; therapy allows survivors to understand that they are entitled to having their needs met.

The therapeutic process is helpful for the survivor to regain his or her internal strength, and to have the confidence to make decisions about their choices. Thus, self-worth may help the survivors in future relationships and improve their self-identity of what they are worth.

Living with Trauma and Coping with Triggers

It’s a common characteristic of narcissistic abuse to leave emotional wounds that are activated when something similar happens again. Therapy helps the survivors to recognize the causes of such occurrences and how to deal with them to avoid being easily upset.

An important part of the process of avoiding triggers is familiarising oneself with techniques for grounding the body, including breathing techniques, meditation, and awareness of bodily sensations. Therapists can also assist the survivors to address specific events or memories and address associated emotions and feelings thus weakening the hold they have.

In trauma-informed therapy, the survivors are empowered to develop coping skills and reduce the impact of the traumatic memories. This is helpful for individuals to be able to let go of the past and not get stuck with the memories of the abuse that has happened in the past, and this allows the survivors to be able to build for themselves a new life that is no longer bound by the effects of the abuse.

Building Healthy Relationships and Setting Boundaries

One of the biggest problems that survivors of narcissistic abuse experience is the problem of trust and setting personal boundaries in relationships. Therapy gives hope and the framework to build interpersonal relationships and assert self for setting personal boundaries and stating needs.

It helps to set boundaries even though it may be uncomfortable because often the abusive partner works to silence the victim. Therapists assist in teaching the survivors how they can be able to recognize their limits, articulate them, and uphold them. All these are crucial for the establishment of a relationship that is equally beneficial to both the two parties involved.

When engaging in these skills, the survivors start to rebuild their confidence in their ability to have healthy relationships with other people. This shift helps them to feel safe in relationships, as they can ensure that they’ll be able to maintain their boundaries and ensure their safety and needs.

Moving Forward with Compassion and Self-Understanding

Recovery from narcissistic abuse is a slow process and it involves a lot of introspection and most importantly time. Counseling assists the survivors to develop an understanding of themselves so that they can look at themselves and be accepted. This can indeed be one of the most liberating aspects of recovery since, here again, the survivor no longer feels that she deserves to be punished.

In therapy, the survivors can be empowered to treat themselves as well as they would like to be treated in their relationships. This paper also highlights the importance of self-compassion to free oneself from the shame or guilt that the abuse has put upon the survivor. With this compassionate foundation, survivors can go further with a feeling of inner freedom from their past.

Therapy is a massive help for those who are recovering from narcissistic abuse. By working on the issues related to trauma, strengthening the self-esteem, and assisting the survivors in getting their lives back, therapy opens the door to a better life. Coming out from narcissistic abuse is no easy thing, but with the help of a professional, it is quite possible to build a healthy balanced life.

If you or a loved one is prepared to start the process of healing, contacting a therapist is the first step to reclaiming your life. Therapy is a way of finding out how to restore trust, learn how to have good relationships, and learn to be strong. Remember, there is hope for a better tomorrow.