Introduction

This chapter presents the book's major themes – relational trauma, narcissism, transparency, and psychoeducation. The term relational trauma describes what happens in infancy and throughout the period of human development from child to adult, when caregivers we depend on, not just for our physical needs but for the need to feel recognized and loved, are chronically misattuned – ignoring, dismissing or discouraging the expression of the developing child's needs, thoughts, and feelings. When chronic misattunements go chronically unrepaired – no accountability, no empathy, no recognition – the traumatic wounds are deepened, held in the memory of the body, the brain and the nervous system, even if not held in conscious awareness. Adults who have survived traumatic narcissism, and other forms of abuse and neglect in relationships, struggle to feel safe while feeling real. Psychotherapeutic interventions, that include psychoeducation and value transparency in the process, support patients in their search for freedom from fear and shame.