A Case Report of the Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder with
Transference Focused Psychotherapy
Abstract
Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an evidence-based,
psychodynamic psychotherapy empirically validated for patients with
borderline personality disorder (BPD) and successfully adapted for the
treatment of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Personality
disorders are characterized by the behavioral and affective
dysregulation associated with pathological identity formation. Based on
contemporary object relations theory (ORT), the goal of TFP is symptom
relief through improvement in self and interpersonal functioning. The
TFP treatment frame, established through an initial contracting phase
and combined with the therapist’s technical neutrality, facilitates
activation, identification and containment of affectively charged
perceptions of self and other. These perceptions, or object relations
dyads, are repeatedly identified, labeled and explored through the
interpretative process. Over the course of treatment, the patient’s
capacity for affect containment and reflection improves and a better
integrated, realistic sense of self develops consistent with healthier
personality functioning. Utilizing a compilation of several patients,
the treatment of NPD with TPF is described and the evidence for the
efficacy of TFP for NPD is summarized.