Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Most mental health conditions are treated with a combination of therapy and medication. But personality disorders, including NPD, do not respond to medication. If drugs are prescribed, they will be used to treat the symptoms of any co-occurring disorders that might be present.

For people with narcissistic personality disorder, a program that offers individual, and family therapy offers the best possibility for recovery. Ongoing and intensive long-term therapy can help NPD sufferers come to grips with how their condition has damaged their lives and kept them from reaching their full potential, and the input of peers and loved ones can add context, depth, and reinforcement to these realizations.

Because narcissism functions as an organizing principle of personality for NPD sufferers, mental health therapists will not attack the condition openly or aggressively. The therapeutic process must be approached deliberately and with caution, so the patient is not pushed too far too fast.People with NPD are often in denial about the depth and nature of their problems, even after they’ve agreed to seek treatment.

But after their initial resistance to treatment wanes, and they start listening to their therapists and reflecting on the consequences of their attitudes and behaviors, a positive outcome can be anticipated.

Once they acknowledge they have a problem, narcissistic personality disorder sufferers can begin to analyze themselves more objectively. This is an important step forward, and as they confront their past and imagine a better future the possibility of a new way of thinking and living emerges.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a stable condition that will not change or evolve over time without treatment. But NPD sufferers who decide to give treatment a chance have great hope—and room—for improvement. Narcissism is adopted as a shield by those who feel a need to deny their true feelings, and once that shield has been cast aside clarity and enlightenment can finally shine through.