Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Progress in Understanding and Treatment

Summary & key facts

This review sums up what researchers have learned about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in the last decade. It explains that diagnosis now includes both the old yes/no view and a newer scale-based view, describes two main types called grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, reports many possible causes and mechanisms across areas like self‑esteem and emotion regulation, and notes that people with NPD can improve over time but usually only slowly. The review also says several treatments exist and most share common features like clear goals and attention to the therapy relationship.

Key facts:

• The review covers advances in knowledge about NPD from the last decade.
• Diagnosis of NPD now uses both a categorical model (a yes/no diagnosis) and a dimensional model (measuring traits on a scale).
• Researchers describe two related presentations: grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism.
• There is strong evidence that people with high levels of grandiose narcissism often also show vulnerable narcissism (co‑occurrence).
• Studies have identified many possible mechanisms linked to NPD, including problems with self‑esteem regulation, emotion regulation, thinking styles, interpersonal relationships, and empathy, as well as developmental and temperamental antece
• The review says NPD likely has a multifactorial cause and development (many factors contribute to the disorder).
• Longitudinal studies report that people with NPD can improve over time, but improvement tends to be gradual and slow.
• Several treatments have been developed for NPD, and most of them share features such as clear treatment goals, attention to the therapy frame (rules and boundaries), focus on relationships and self‑esteem, building a strong therapeutic alli

Abstract

This review summarizes current knowledge about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Each section brings the reader up to date on advances in our knowledge during the last decade. In terms of NPD diagnosis, this review describes the addition of ...

Topics

Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders Personality Disorders and Psychopathology Personality Traits and Psychology

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Alliance Borderline personality disorder Clinical psychology Cognition Countertransference Empathy Law Narcissism Narcissistic personality disorder Personality Personality disorders Political science Psychiatry Psychology Psychotherapist Social psychology