Pathological Narcissism and Dynamics of Interpersonal Behavior and Affect in Individual Psychotherapy

Traits of pathological narcissism are linked with dysfunctional interpersonal processes. This intensive longitudinal study will investigate how pathological narcissism and interpersonal perceptions shape patients’ emotions during psychotherapy, specifically shame. There is no current data available: patients enrolled in individual psychotherapy will be assessed for narcissistic traits prior to entering a 17-week experience sampling assessment, collecting in-treatment emotions and perceptions of dominance (of self and therapist) after each psychotherapy session. We anticipate analyzing preliminary data from at least 50 participants using multilevel modeling. Patients who perceive themselves as less dominant than usual compared to their therapist (i.e., patients experiencing a higher-than-usual dominance dierential) are expected to report higher shame; traits of vulnerable narcissism are expected to amplify this association (cross-level interaction). The study will shed new light on the emotional and interpersonal dynamics associated with traits of pathological narcissism in clinical settings.