Living With a Narcissist: Can a Narcissist Ever Change? A Clinical Psychologist Weighs In by Dr. Bethany Cook Clinical Psychologist

Mental Health Expert Q&A
10 months ago

Living With a Narcissist: Can a Narcissist Ever Change? A Clinical Psychologist Weighs In

Q. Can a narcissist ever change? If so, how?

As as psychologist I want to believe anyone can change given the right environment, support from outside resources, help from family and friends, etc. Many individuals suffering from a variety of mental health issues do get better with support. That being said, narcissism isn’t something that be “fixed” with a pill and talk therapy.

Individuals with this type of personality disorder often don’t see themselves as having a problem, which makes it difficult to work with them. Narcissists often view people as objects that are there to merely benefit them. Consequently, if you challenged a narcissist or ask them to change they will more than likely either lash out, change for a short time to get what they want and/or find another victim to abuse.

I won't say a narcissist can “never” change, but I will say, in my opinion, the likelihood of a narcissist changing is really low. like .000001%.

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Cassiday
I agree because I haven’t yet met one who could change. They don’t think they need to.
Elisa Schmitz
Wow, this is powerful info that many of us simply cannot comprehend. So many people need to know this, thank you!

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