Why High-Functioning People Get Stuck in Relationships with Covert Narcissists | Epi 170

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Dr. Emily Guarnotta, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health provider specializing in maternal mental health. In the second part of our discussion, we explore what happens when children who grow up with a mother functioning at a borderline level of personality organization become adults. If you ever wondered, how does a split internal world become more integrated? Or, how does one develop the capacity to hol...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Emily Guarnotta to explore the hidden psychological impact of growing up with a mother functioning at a borderline level of personality organization. We discuss how emotional instability, fear of separation, and difficulty maintaining a stable sense of self can shape the child’s developing mind. Through a psychodynamic lens, we explore how the child’s developing mind is shaped within these complex relationships—how experiences of closeness, separation, lov...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Kristin Davin, we explore why letting go of an unhealthy relationship is often about much more than losing another person. Together, we examine how hope and fantasy become intertwined, why people often remain attached to the relationship they imagine rather than the one they are actually living, and how relationships can come to represent an imagined future and a hoped-for self. We also discuss the psychological capacities that allow couples to move beyon...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kristin Davin, a licensed psychologist, relationship therapist, and author with more than 20 years of experience helping people break unhealthy relationships. Together we explore why some relationships remain emotionally stuck even when both people know that something in the relationship is not working. We discuss the unconscious psychological functions relationships can serve, why people often become attached not only to another person but to what t...

In this episode, we continue our exploration of vulnerable narcissism by examining one of its most misunderstood features: aggression. Rather than viewing rage, resentment, and controlling behavior as the beginning of the story, we explore them as the endpoint of a much deeper psychological sequence involving longing, dependency, disappointment, shame, and the fear of abandonment. Drawing on a thoughtful listener question, we examine what aggression is expressing from a psychodynamic perspect...