Everyone is an ‘expert’ in helping survivors of narcissistic/psychopathic abuse. But are they really?
Sandra L. Brown, MA’s book ‘Women Who Love Psychopaths: Inside the Relationships of Inevitable Harm With Psychopaths, Sociopaths & Narcissists’’ is the seminal book that launched the ‘narcissistic and psychopathic abuse’ field. In this mini book, this field pioneer gives an in-depth discussion about the widespread treatment failures haunting this genre of counseling.
Through her ‘Finding Competent Care’ study, the only ‘to-date’ investigation of the methods and techniques and the training and education of care providers, Brown highlights what is the predominant aspects that therapists and coaches are missing, or adding, that have shown in research, and from 50,000 logged therapy hours to this population, to be harmful to survivors generated from her 30 years in growing this genre of counseling.
As the developer of the model of care treatment approach that professionals should follow, Brown gives an in-depth conversation on critical issues that are the foundation of adequate, and competent care.
Counseling professionals who have taken their understanding of this field from survivor-experts and pop psychology can find evidence-based and trauma-informed information on practices contraindicated in this population of survivors and contradict many of the suggestions made by non-clinical providers.
Brown challenges common theories and techniques widely used for this population and answers questions about whether domestic violence theory, Trauma 101, and certain popular methods like CBT, support groups, coaching, and couples counseling are part of widespread treatment failure.
She shares the interesting history of the beginning of this field and the particular types of training that helped her identify this population and develop it into a clinical counseling genre that has taken the internet by storm.
Survivors who are concerned if the care they are receiving from proclaimed ‘experts’ is in fact, what is noted to elevate recovery or hinder it, these ‘must-knows’ help survivors in making the right choices for real recovery.
This book is written with a trauma theory, psychopathology, and neuroscience focus and is written for the clinical therapeutic treatment community. While anyone is invited to read the book, survivors should understand that it contains clinical principles and discussions about in-depth topics.
Sandra is the president of The Association for NPD/Psychopathy Survivor Treatment, Research & Education. She is a trauma therapist, and the author of 10 books about narcissistic and psychopathic abuse, and/or treatment.