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Course description

This training deepens your understanding of narcissistic spectrum disorders, far beyond media caricatures. Through seven richly documented modules, you will discover how pathological narcissism falls on a continuum between grandiose and vulnerable, and how the major theoretical models explain and treat it.

Narcissism is not mere arrogance. It is a complex psychic organization involving identity failures, relational difficulties, and dysregulation of self-esteem. This training begins with a fundamental clarification: healthy versus pathological narcissism. You will learn to recognize the adaptive manifestations of narcissism — essential to confidence and ambition — as opposed to the pathology that rigidifies and destroys relationships.

You will explore Kernberg's model, foundational for understanding narcissistic personality disorder: identity pathology, the pathological grandiose self, unconscious envy, and the underlying borderline organization. You will understand why narcissistic personalities do not experience guilt and deploy destructive projective mechanisms.

Kohut's approach offers a complementary perspective through self psychology: fundamental narcissistic needs (mirroring, idealization, twinship), selfobject transferences, and optimal empathic ruptures. The module dedicated to vulnerable narcissism (Pincus, Lukowitsky) reveals a lesser-known profile: hypersensitivity to criticism, chronic shame, social withdrawal, and grandiose-vulnerable alternation.

The therapeutic work is at the heart of the training: traps of narcissistic transference, complex countertransferential reactions, differences between Kernberg's approach (progressive confrontation) and Kohut's approach (empathic provision of the selfobject). The training concludes with a critical deconstruction of the concept of the "narcissistic pervert" (Racamier), to distinguish pathological narcissism, sadistic traits, and true perversion.

This training is essential for psychologists in private practice, institutional, or clinical settings who regularly encounter these disorders in the general population, families, and couples.

Duration: 1h40 | Asynchronous | Certificate of participation

Training objectives

1 - Distinguish healthy narcissism from pathological narcissism and recognize adaptive versus rigid manifestations of narcissistic functioning in clinical assessment.

2 - Apply the theoretical models of Kernberg and Kohut to analyze identity failures, selfobject needs, and unconscious mechanisms of narcissistic personality disorder.

3 - Identify vulnerable narcissism profiles (hypersensitivity, shame, withdrawal) and adapt therapeutic alliance strategies according to the clinical presentation (grandiose vs vulnerable).

4 - Adapt therapeutic approaches (Kernberg, Kohut, integrative) to the challenges of narcissistic transference and regulate countertransference to preserve the clinical alliance.

Course outline

Module 1: Introduction and fundamental concepts — healthy vs pathological narcissism
Module 2: Epidemiology and diagnostic criteria of narcissistic personality disorder
Module 3: The Kernberg perspective — grandiose self, unconscious envy, projective identification
Module 4: The Kohut perspective and self psychology — selfobject needs and transferences
Module 5: Vulnerable narcissism — hypersensitivity, shame, and social withdrawal
Module 6: The therapeutic work — narcissistic transference and Kernberg vs Kohut approaches
Module 7: The narcissistic pervert and conclusions — critical deconstruction of the concept (Racamier)

Training materials

This course includes:
- 7 video modules illustrated with slides
- 1 20-question quiz
- 1 final exam

The trainer: Christophe Herbert