Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Narcissism

Peer Responses
Peer 1
Borderline personality disorder feels like one of those disorders that almost everyone has to some degree; that is probably why people who have it—i.e., who are diagnosed with it—are so interesting: people can relate to them. Other extreme examples of this disorder could include Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye and Marla from Fight Club. I think we all probably even have friends or family members who would fit this diagnosis. Why is it so common? While psychotherapy would be a helpful treatment approach, I myself would be more inclined to cognitive behavioral therapy. One of the things I think people who are bipolar probably resent is being probed by a psychiatrist. They know how they are and they are not interested in exploring the reasons with a stranger. Maybe some are, but I think the character in the film you are talking about would probably benefit more from CBT. Why is this? I think CBT brings something to the table that psychotherapy does not. It ignores the reasons for a person’s behavior and instead looks at the triggers and identifies them and helps the person understand ways to cope with those triggers in a positive manner (Lecci, 2015). To me it is a much more beneficial method of treatment because it is positive and helpful and gets people moving in the right direction (File, Hurley & Taber, 2017).
References
File, A. A., Hurley, R. A. & Taber, K. H. (2017). Borderline personality disorder: Neurobiological contributions to remission and recovery. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 29(3), A6-194. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.17050097
Lecci, L. B. (2015). Personality. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu
Peer 2
Brent makes for an interesting case study for narcissism for sure. It is also interesting that one of the points you make about treating it is that it is difficult since most narcissists do not want to admit their disorder. I think that it is possible for narcissism to be treated but it requires a great deal of humility on the part of the individual. How to inspire that kind of humility is the question. Essentially, it requires getting the individual to admit that he has a problem—that is the first major step. This is not going to be easy, but one can do it by asking the individual a series of questions about his life to see if the individual can admit to anything being less than ideal. That is a way of getting to a point where cognitive behavioral therapy might begin to be useful (Carlson, Vazire & Oltmanns, 2011; Lecci, 2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy I think would be effective because the person with this disorder uses false esteem to deal with negative triggers; so identifying those negative triggers and helping the person to see a more positive way of dealing with them can be a helpful solution. I would try to use CBT for this disorder, but getting the client there—to that point where he sees that he has a problem—that would be the major challenge. Like Brent, they don’t want to see that they have issues.
References
Carlson, E. N., Vazire, S., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2011). You probably think this paper's about you: narcissists' perceptions of their personality and reputation. Journal of personality and social psychology, 101(1), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023781
Lecci, L. B. (2015). Personality. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu