On-Demand: Narcissistic Abuse and Relational Trauma Dynamics - 6 hours
To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.
- CE Hours Included: 6 (please see below for details)
- Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
- NOTE: Your certificate will be dated when you complete the course - Click here for more detailed information on the best way to do this: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/help
- Investment: $140 (provides lifetime access!)
- Presented by: Pamela Madsen, LPC, ACS, RYT-200 (see bio below)
- Date of Recording: March 13th, 2026
- Instruction Level: Intermediate
- Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists
- This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in March.
Educational Objectives:
After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:
- Outline the historical development of narcissism and the evolution of narcissistic personality disorder within diagnostic frameworks.
- Assess DSM-5-TR criteria for narcissistic personality disorder and evaluate limitations of categorical diagnosis.
- Compare narcissistic traits, narcissistic personality organization, and narcissistic abuse dynamics.
- Illustrate core relational patterns and psychological mechanisms associated with narcissistic abuse.
- Evaluate the impact of narcissistic family systems on attachment, identity development, and adult clinical presentation.
- Apply trauma-informed ethical principles when conceptualizing and discussing narcissistic abuse in clinical practice.
Workshop Description:
When is narcissism a personality style, and when does it become a pattern of psychological harm?
Clinicians increasingly encounter clients who describe experiences of “narcissistic abuse.” Yet, many practitioners report uncertainty about how narcissism is defined diagnostically, how it differs from abuse dynamics, and how to assess these presentations ethically and accurately.
This six-hour workshop provides a comprehensive, evidence-based foundation for understanding narcissism as a psychological construct and narcissistic abuse as a form of relational trauma. Participants will review the historical development of narcissism, the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in the DSM-5-TR, and contemporary shifts toward dimensional and trait-based models of personality pathology. The workshop then examines narcissistic abuse dynamics, family system patterns, trauma bonding, and neurobiological impact, with emphasis on differentiating diagnosis from behavior and avoiding common clinical and ethical pitfalls. This training equips clinicians with the conceptual clarity necessary for accurate assessment, ethical documentation, and trauma-informed treatment planning.
Presented by: Pamela Madsen, LPC, ACS, RYT-200
Workshop Agenda:
Hour 1 (60 minutes): Narcissism as a Clinical Construct
- Origins of narcissism: mythological, psychoanalytic, and developmental perspectives
- Healthy vs pathological narcissism
- Historical introduction of narcissistic personality disorder
- Overview of DSM-5-TR criteria and diagnostic controversies
- Shift toward dimensional and trait-based models of personality pathology
Hour 2 (60 minutes): Developmental Origins of Narcissistic Pathology
- Attachment disruption and early relational misattunement
- Narcissism as a shame-based defensive adaptation
- Role of emotional neglect, overvaluation, and parentification
- Intergenerational transmission of narcissistic patterns
- Clinical implications of etiology without excusing harm
Hour 3 (60 minutes): Narcissistic Abuse Dynamics
- Distinction between conflict and coercive control
- Idealization, devaluation, discarding, and hoovering cycles
- Gaslighting, projection, and DARVO
- Abuse patterns independent of formal diagnosis
- Impact-based definition of abuse
Hour 4 (60 minutes): Narcissistic Family Systems
- Structural features of narcissistic family systems
- Common family roles and adaptive survival strategies
- Enmeshment, triangulation, and loyalty binds
- Adult relational and clinical sequelae
- Role-based misdiagnosis risks
Hour 5 (60 minutes): Trauma Bonding and Neurobiological Impact
- Intermittent reinforcement and attachment conditioning
- Dopamine, cortisol, and threat-bonding mechanisms
- Shame, self-doubt, and erosion of reality testing
- Understanding survivor ambivalence and return cycles
- Clinical reframing of “resistance.”
Hour 6 (60 minutes): Clinical Integration and Ethics
- Differentiating narcissistic traits, pathology, and abuse
- Ethical language and documentation practices
- Avoiding armchair diagnosis of third parties
- Clinical timing of psychoeducation
- Synthesis, application, and Q&A
6 Core "Asynchronous" CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:
- PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
- COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
- SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
- MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.
Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.
Refund/Cancellation Policy: If you can no longer attend a workshop you have registered for, you can either receive a credit for another workshop or receive a refund if you are within the refund policy period. Refunds will be given for cancellations received at least five days prior to the workshop. More information about refund/cancellation can be found here.
Attendance Policy: 100% attendance and completion of a course evaluation is required at any CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once the broadcast has ended and the course evaluation completed.
ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.
No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.
System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.
We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.
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