Narcissistic Abuse: Challenges and Complicating Factors in Betrayal Trauma Recovery.

Description:

Sex addiction or compulsive sexual behavior (SA/CSB) can cause significant distress and betrayal in relationships. Frequent betrayals in these relationships can have serious negative effects on the betrayed partner. Narcissism is often found in people with SA/CSB, adding complexity to their behavior and its impact. Partners of narcissistic individuals with SA/CSB experience different challenges compared to those whose partners have SA/CSB but are not narcissistic. These differences affect accountability, self-awareness, empathy, and the potential for repairing the relationship after betrayal. This presentation will explore the connection between narcissism and SA/CSB. We will discuss “narcissistic abuse” and provide strategies for therapists to support clients with narcissistic partners. Additionally, we will cover how to apply these strategies to relationships affected by SA/CSB.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the relationship between narcissism and sex addiction/compulsive sexual behavior
2. Articulate and understand the phenomenology of betrayal trauma.
3. Describe the fallout of narcissistic abuse and 3 key tenets of antagonism-informed models when working with partners in relationships affected by SA/CSB.

References:

• Andreassen, C. S., GriSiths, M. D., Juergensen, S. R., Krossbakken, E., Kvam, S., and Pallesen, S. (2013). The relationship between behavioral addictions and the five-factor model of personality.
• Behav. Addict. 2, 90–99. doi: 10.1556/JBA.2.2013.003 Andreassen CS, Pallesen S, GriSiths MD, Torsheim T and Sinha R (2018) The Development and Validation of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale With a Large National Sample. Front. Psychol.9:144. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00144
• Kasper, T. E., Short, M. B., & Milam, A. C. (2015). Narcissism and Internet pornography use. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(5), 481- 486. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2014.931313
• Kotera, Yasuhiro & Rhodes, Christine. (2019). Pathways to Sex Addiction: Relationships with Adverse Childhood Experience, Attachment, Narcissism, Self-Compassion and Motivation in a Gender-Balanced Sample. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. 26. 10.1080/10720162.2019.1615585.

Bio

Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, the founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training and Consulting, and professor emerita of psychology at California State University Los Angeles. She is the New York Times Bestselling Author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is also the author of multiple other books including “Don’t You Know Who I Am”: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility and Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship With a Narcissist. She has lectured and trained therapists around the world on best practices on working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36 hour virtual training and certification program in conjunction with PESI to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. Dr. Durvasula hosts a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers, hosted the critically acclaimed podcast Navigating Narcissism, and is a featured expert on the digital media platform MedCircle. She also maintains an engaged online network called the Dr. Ramani Network. She has also been widely involved in the governance of the American Psychological Association, including the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and the APA Minority Fellowship Program.   Dr. Durvasula received her M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from UCLA, and completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. She completed her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology, with a minor in sociology in 1988 at the University of Connecticut.   She resides in Los Angeles, CA.

• Follow Dr. Ramani on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @DoctorRamani.
• Sign up for Dr. Ramani’s monthly narcissistic relationship healing program: https://doctor-ramani.teachable.com/p/taking-yourself-back-healing-from-narcissistic-antagonistic-relationships
• Join the Dr. Ramani Network: https://drramaninetwork.com/
• Get your copy of Dr. Ramani’s NYT Bestselling book It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People: https://smarturl.it/not-you

** Dr. Ramani Durvasula denies any conflict of interest as faculty for this training event. Any compensation obtained for my services is directly from IITAP and not from any affiliated commercial sponsor/host

Grieving the Betrayal: An Exploration of the Grief and Loss We Experience When Betrayed

Grief is not relegated to the loss of a loved one. We grieve many things throughout our lifetimes, including the loss of trust, intimacy, and connection when we experience betrayal. No matter what form the betrayal comes in, there is grief to be felt and when we do not acknowledge the loss or make space for the grief we may suffer consequences in the form of anxiety, fear, dissociation, and existential crisis.

Claire Bidwell Smith will explore the Conscious Grieving model of grief and how its practices lend themselves to healing and transformation, offering insights, tools and practical strategies to better understand the grief we feel in betrayal and how to use it as a means of growth.

Learning Objectives

1. Explore the Conscious Grieving model of grief and how its practices lend themselves to healing and transformation.
2. Offer insights, tools, and practical strategies to help clients better understand the grief felt in betrayal.
3. Examine how grief can be used as a means of growth.

References

• Dean C.J. Psychoeducation: A First Step to Understanding Infidelity-Related Systemic Trauma and Grieving. Fam. J. 2011. doi: 10.1177/1066480710387487. [CrossRef]
• Laaser D., Putney H.L., Bundick M., Delmonico D.L., Griffin E.J. Posttraumatic Growth in Relationally Betrayed Women. J. Marital. Fam. Ther. 2017. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12211. [PubMed] [CrossRef]
• Lonergan M., Brunet A., Rivest-Beauregard M., Groleau D. Is romantic partner betrayal a form of traumatic experience? A qualitative study. Stress Health. 2021. doi: 10.1002/smi.2968. [PubMed] [CrossRef]

Bio

Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC, Therapist and bestselling author specializing in grief. Uses various techniques and tools to help clients through the grief process, including cognitive-behavioral work, mindfulness, and meditation. Extensive experience leading workshops, professional trainings, support groups, and retreats.

Claire has written for and been featured in many publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The LA Times, MSNBC, CNN, The Chicago Tribune, Oprah Magazine, and TIME. Featured as an expert guest on MSNBC to discuss grief and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Claire has authored several books including; Conscious Grieving: A Transformative Approach to Healing from Loss, a book for anyone seeking guidance and support after loss. Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief: A Revolutionary Approach to Understanding and Healing the Impact of Loss discover the critical connections between anxiety and grief—and learn practical strategies for healing, based on the Kübler-Ross stages model and Anxious Grief: A Clinician’s Guide to Supporting Grieving Clients Experiencing Anxiety, Panic, and Fear, a workbook that provides you with the tools to walk alongside the griever, bear witness to their experience, and help carry the burden of their loss.

**Claire Bidwell Smith denies any conflict of interest as faculty for this training event. Any compensation obtained for my services is directly from IITAP and not from any affiliated commercial sponsor/host.

Attachment-Focused Advanced Recovery for Couples Healing from Sexual Betrayal

Over the past twenty-five years the sex addiction treatment field has developed many tools and resources to support individuals and couples dealing with addiction and partner betrayal trauma. However, these resources often focus on the first stages of the recovery process; the period after discovery, through disclosure and the establishment of sobriety and new coping skills and relational tools.

Couples who are navigating the later stages of recovery are frequently left without the supports they need and are confused about how to continue their growth and healing together. This presentation will describe the later stages of healing for couples and the advanced skills and tools that are needed to support them as they re-image, create and flourish together after betrayal.

Learning Objectives

1. Define the three stages of advanced recovery and healing for couples.
2. Explain the process of attachment-injury repair for couples and the types of injuries that often need to be addressed during advanced recovery.
3. Describe the distinctives of the differentiation-based skills of early recovery and the relational skills needed in advanced recovery for couples.

References

• Schade, L. C., & Sandberg, J. G. (2012). Healing the Attachment Injury of Marital Infidelity Using Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: A Case Illustration. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 40(5), 434–444.

• Halchuk, R. E., Makinen, J. A., & Johnson, S. M. (2010). Resolving Attachment Injuries in Couples Using Emotionally Focused Therapy: A Three-Year Follow-Up. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 9(1), 31–47.

Bio

Michelle Mays is a Licensed Professional Counselor and expert in treating sexual betrayal and trauma. She is the author of the new book The Betrayal Bind: How to Heal When the Person You Love the Most Has Hurt You the Worst and she is the founder of the Relational Recovery Institute in Northern Virginia outside of DC.

Michelle has created the Attachment-Focused Partner Betrayal Model™ to address the devastating dilemma that betrayed partners face when their significant other is unsafe to connect to, yet connection is the key to healing.

Michelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor in both Virginia and Washington DC, and a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist and Supervisor. She was trained by Pia Mellody in the Post Induction Therapy model for treating developmental trauma, is a Certified Professional Coach and is currently completing her PhD in Clinical Sexology.

**Michelle Mays denies any conflict of interest as faculty for this training event. Any compensation obtained for my services is directly from IITAP and not from any affiliated commercial sponsor/host.