Prof. Chris French

So that's the treatment we have. Therapy. Talk therapy. Therapists might do things like try to help their patient be more aware of triggers that lead to narcissistic actions. One paper described what you can do as a therapist is move a patient from me mode to we mode. Okay. I mean, did Lee end up trying therapy? Yeah, he did start therapy. It was several months after the big fight with his wife.

So that's the treatment we have. Therapy. Talk therapy. Therapists might do things like try to help their patient be more aware of triggers that lead to narcissistic actions. One paper described what you can do as a therapist is move a patient from me mode to we mode. Okay. I mean, did Lee end up trying therapy? Yeah, he did start therapy. It was several months after the big fight with his wife.

And when he went to see this therapist...

And when he went to see this therapist...

Uh-huh. Was that unusual for you, crying?

Uh-huh. Was that unusual for you, crying?

Did she ask you why you were crying?

Did she ask you why you were crying?

Yeah. I mean, there's no magical transformation. He says he's still a narcissist. But over the years, it has helped him learn to put some space between his thoughts and his actions.

Yeah. I mean, there's no magical transformation. He says he's still a narcissist. But over the years, it has helped him learn to put some space between his thoughts and his actions.

We really tried to run this down, but it's very hard to put numbers around it because there are no trials exclusively on people with NPD. Annoying. Yeah. And, you know, psychologists have said that people with NPD tend to drop out of therapy. So maybe that's one reason, you know, we don't have these. But... We do have some evidence that is promising in people who do stick it out.

We really tried to run this down, but it's very hard to put numbers around it because there are no trials exclusively on people with NPD. Annoying. Yeah. And, you know, psychologists have said that people with NPD tend to drop out of therapy. So maybe that's one reason, you know, we don't have these. But... We do have some evidence that is promising in people who do stick it out.

There are some case studies showing that people with NPD can improve after two and a half to five years of therapy. And a lot of therapists that I talked to told me the same thing, that they have helped people with this disorder.

There are some case studies showing that people with NPD can improve after two and a half to five years of therapy. And a lot of therapists that I talked to told me the same thing, that they have helped people with this disorder.

Yeah. So this question of how do you deal with a narcissist in your life is something that Craig, our psychologist from earlier, he specializes in. He sees a lot of people who come to therapy regularly. Oftentimes they come in trying to figure out if someone in their life is a narcissist and then what should they be doing about it.

Yeah. So this question of how do you deal with a narcissist in your life is something that Craig, our psychologist from earlier, he specializes in. He sees a lot of people who come to therapy regularly. Oftentimes they come in trying to figure out if someone in their life is a narcissist and then what should they be doing about it.

And his number one tip is to not focus so much on the other person's diagnosis, but to figure out whether or not the relationship is working for you.

And his number one tip is to not focus so much on the other person's diagnosis, but to figure out whether or not the relationship is working for you.

Right. So if you do decide the relationship is worth working on, you want to stay or let's say it's like a relative or boss. Craig has a few strategies. Right. They're based on this observation that you can actually boost empathy in people with narcissism. There's a body of research on this. And Craig has come up with some ways to basically exploit that.

Right. So if you do decide the relationship is worth working on, you want to stay or let's say it's like a relative or boss. Craig has a few strategies. Right. They're based on this observation that you can actually boost empathy in people with narcissism. There's a body of research on this. And Craig has come up with some ways to basically exploit that.