Internal Absence: Emptiness in NPD

Dr. Mark Ettensohn examines the experience of emptiness in narcissistic personality disorder and other forms of personality pathology.

Rather than approaching personality disorders as collections of traits or behaviors, the episode frames them as disturbances in identity. Dr. Ettensohn outlines how the sense of self is constructed through early relational experience and how disruptions in that process can lead to unstable, fragmented, or underdeveloped self-experience.

The discussion focuses on the role of dissociation and splitting in shaping identity, and how different self-states may become organized around incompatible relational experiences. In this context, emptiness is not simply a feeling, but reflects aspects of the self that were never fully recognized, mirrored, or integrated in development.

Dr. Ettensohn also addresses a common misunderstanding in public discourse, where narcissism is equated with observable traits such as arrogance or entitlement. He explains why these descriptions capture only one part of a broader system involving both grandiose and vulnerable states, and how focusing solely on behavior obscures the underlying psychological structure.

The episode concludes with a discussion of clinical implications, emphasizing why treatments that focus only on behavior often fall short, and why effective work with narcissistic pathology requires attention to identity, relational process, and the integration of dissociated aspects of self-experience.

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About Heal NPDHeal NPD is a clinical practice specializing in the assessment and treatment of pathological narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, and related personality difficulties. We offer comprehensive diagnostic assessments, individual psychotherapy, and consultations for partners and family members.

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