PURCHASE
Traumatic Narcissism Theory
Routledge Introductions to Contemporary Psychoanalysis
“Daniel Shaw’s work on traumatic narcissism is a gift to all of us who care about our own and others’ mental health. Therapists, counselors, educators, and people who have been on the receiving end of the dynamics he describes will appreciate Shaw’s unwavering determination to understand destructive narcissistic processes as he casts a psychoanalytic searchlight on a notoriously dark human space. Those of us who have worked with clients suffering narcissistic abuse often feel painfully inadequate as we witness the relentless damage to their self-esteem and even their sense of reality. This beautifully written book is the antidote to that sense of helplessness. I intend to recommend it to all my colleagues as well as some of my patients.”
– Nancy McWilliams, PhD, ABPP, Visiting Professor Emerita, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology.
“In his penetrating and timely study, Daniel Shaw offers a compelling and urgently needed psychoanalytic account of traumatizing narcissism – one that speaks with equal power to clinicians and general readers. Drawing on his unique personal experience as a former cult member, together with decades of clinical practice and a deep command of psychoanalytic theory, Shaw brings unmatched authority to a subject that devastates so many lives.
This book is a tour de force, extending beyond traditional diagnostic categories to formulate an original Traumatic Narcissism Theory. Shaw carefully maps how malignant narcissists develop and preserve their delusions of omnipotence by subjugating others, illuminating their developmental pathways and their destructive enactments in parenting, family life, and leadership. He ranges widely – through history, biography, literature, mythology, and even scripture – yet writes with clarity and elegance that make his insights accessible. The result is a work of both breadth and depth, offering survivors a path to reclaim dignity and freedom.”
Kenneth Frank, Author,Psychoanalytic Participation: Action, Interaction, and Integration.
I wrote Traumatic Narcissism Theory: A Contemporary Introduction, for people who have been traumatized in a family, a relationship or a group where a traumatizing narcissist exerted coercive control – and also for mental health professionals, many of whom are not familiar with the dynamics of narcissistic abuse.
In just about 100 pages the new book details:
– How to recognize the symptoms of subjugation trauma – the impact of coercive control and narcissistic abuse;
– How to identify the 8 behaviors of the traumatizing narcissist that can cause subjugation trauma in victims;
– How to understand the psychology of the traumatizing narcissist and the developmental conditions that form the traumatizing narcissist’s personality;
– How to understand and heal the self-alienation and fragmentation that can be the result of narcissistic abuse.
I hope that this book will be a resource for clinicians working with victims of narcissistic abuse, for those conducting psychoanalytic and trauma training programs, and for the wider public interested in the impact of narcissistic abuse and exploitation.
