In this episode, Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines a common defense of online “narcissistic abuse” content: the claim that, even if imperfect or inaccurate, it ultimately helps people leave harmful relationships.

Rather than focusing on whether such content feels validating or empowering, Dr. Ettensohn explores the ethical and psychological implications of justifying misinformation, stigma, and moralized diagnostic narratives on the basis of perceived outcomes. He argues that this form of reasoning relies on a utilitarian logic that is fundamentally incompatible with responsible mental health communication.

The discussion addresses why narc abuse frameworks often feel compelling to people in distress, how diagnostic language becomes moralized and expanded beyond its clinical meaning, and how this process reshapes viewers’ understanding of themselves, others, and psychology itself. Dr. Ettensohn distinguishes between recognizing real harm and adopting explanatory models that flatten psychological complexity, foreclose on nuance, and encourage rigid, adversarial interpretations of relational experience.

The episode also clarifies common misunderstandings about pathological narcissism, emphasizing that narcissism is not synonymous with abusive behavior and that even when narcissistic pathology is present, it does not explain behavior in a deterministic or morally absolute way. Drawing on clinical ethics, developmental theory, and real-world examples, Dr. Ettensohn outlines why anger and moral clarity can be mobilizing without requiring diagnostic distortion or dehumanization.

This video concludes with a reflection on boundaries in public mental health discourse and the importance of maintaining accuracy, restraint, and humanization when discussing stigmatized conditions.

Referenced video: • From Validation to Isolation: The Narc-Abu...

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In this video, Dr. Ettensohn examines the online narc-abuse ecosystem and explores how content that initially feels validating and supportive can, over time, become thought-constraining and socially isolating for some viewers.

Drawing on clinical experience and established research on high-demand systems, Dr. Ettensohn analyzes the rhetorical patterns commonly used across narc-abuse channels: the elevation of the viewer as a lone truth-seer, the narrowing of acceptable interpretations, the use of loaded psychological language, and the gradual erosion of trust in ordinary relationships. He shows how these dynamics can reshape identity, undermine critical thinking, and foster increasing dependence on content creators rather than encouraging reflection, complexity, or professional consultation.

Throughout the video, Dr. Ettensohn carefully distinguishes between genuine abuse and the expanding, imprecise use of narc-abuse language online. He emphasizes that acknowledging harm and seeking clarity are legitimate and necessary, while also warning that one-size-fits-all narratives can distort meaning, escalate conflict, and contribute to unnecessary social rupture. The focus is not on dismissing people’s pain, but on examining how certain explanatory frameworks operate psychologically and what they may unintentionally cost the people who adopt them.

This video continues Dr. Ettensohn’s clinically grounded effort to bring nuance, rigor, and psychological depth to public conversations about narcissism, offering a perspective that prioritizes complexity, reality testing, and relational context over certainty, moralization, or ideological alignment.

Additional Resources Website: https://healnpd.org Newsletter: https://healnpd.substack.com Assessment and therapy inquiries: https://healnpd.org/contact

Purchase Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life here: https://amzn.to/3nG9FgH

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This video continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn with his associates, Deanna Young, Psy.D., and Danté Spencer, M.A.

In this session, the group discusses Empathy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: From Clinical and Empirical Perspectives (2014), examining the long-standing assumption that narcissistic personality disorder is defined by a lack of empathy. Drawing on the article’s review of empirical findings and clinical case material, the conversation explores empathy as a multidimensional and context-dependent capacity rather than a fixed trait.

Key themes include the distinction between emotional and cognitive empathy, the variability of empathic functioning across grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic states, and the ways shame, threat, and affective overload can disrupt empathic engagement in intimate relationships. The discussion highlights how empathy may appear intact or even robust in some contexts, while collapsing in situations that feel most emotionally consequential.

This video continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn with his associates, Deanna Young, Psy.D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group discusses Empathy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: From Clinical and Empirical Perspectives (2014), examining the long-standing assumption that narcissistic personality disorder is defined by a lack of empathy. Drawing on the article’s review of empirical findings and clinical case material, the conversation explores empathy as a multidimensional and context-dependent capacity rather than a fixed trait. Key themes include the distinction between emotional and cognitive empathy, the variability of empathic functioning across grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic states, and the ways shame, threat, and affective overload can disrupt empathic engagement in intimate relationships. The discussion highlights how empathy may appear intact or even robust in some contexts, while collapsing in situations that feel most emotionally consequential. The seminar also addresses common misunderstandings of neuroimaging findings related to empathy, emphasizing the limits of biological reductionism and the importance of viewing brain-based data as correlates of experience rather than determinants of destiny. Throughout, the group reflects on clinical implications for treatment, including the differentiation between motivation-based and deficit-based empathic disengagement, the role of affect tolerance and reflective capacity, and the relational conditions that support the gradual restoration of empathic availability.

This series is intended for clinicians, trainees, and others interested in a nuanced, non-moralizing understanding of narcissistic personality disorder, empathy, and psychological development.

To learn more about our work, visit www.HealNPD.org

Additional Resources: Newsletter: https://healnpd.substack.com Assessment and therapy inquiries: https://healnpd.org/contact

Purchase Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life: https://amzn.to/3nG9FgH

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://rb.gy/cklpum LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCASTS: https://rb.gy/fotpca LISTEN ON AMAZON MUSIC: https://rb.gy/g4yzh8

Citation for the article discussed: Baskin-Sommers A, Krusemark E, Ronningstam E. Empathy in narcissistic personality disorder: from clinical and empirical perspectives. Personal Disord. 2014 Jul;5(3):323-33. doi: 10.1037/per0000061. Epub 2014 Feb 10. PMID: 24512457; PMCID: PMC4415495.

Full text link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4415495/