Co-Parenting With A Narcissist

Co-Parenting With A Narcissist

Narcissistic Abuse By May 15, 2020 No Comments

CO-PARENTING WITH A NARCISSIST is often said to be impossible. A popular quote by A. Price asserts that “A narcissist will never co-parent with you. They will counter parent. They don’t care about the emotional damage that the constant drama inflicts upon the children as long as it causes emotional damage to you.”

A distinguishing feature of narcissistic family dynamics is dysfunction. The more malignant a narcissist is, the more they are prone to ignore healthy boundaries to satisfy their need for control. Narcissists think nothing of using their children to dominate and manipulate the other parent

When co-parenting with a narcissist, children are frequently exposed to or experience psycho-emotional abuse and coercive and controlling behavior from narcissistic parents who seek to dominate the child’s perception by distorting their reality.

In many instances, children are made to navigate disruptive patterns of intermittent reinforcement, which highly narcissistic parents use to bring the people they target under their influence.

A narcissistic parent’s oppositional behavior and mischief-making can have serious consequences for their children who often struggle with feelings of chronic anxiety and depression.

Learn More About Co-Parenting With A Narcissist

For guidance on counter-parenting or co-parenting with a narcissist, order your copy of ‘Transcendent Parenting: A Workbook For Parents Sharing Children With Narcissists,’ by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D. at Amazon.com.

Further Reading


Confidential support is available to anyone experiencing abuse.
Book a one-on-one consultation or coaching session.


NAR’s Journalistic Standards and Practices • About NAR
Report Typo or Error

Author

Manya Wakefield is a recovery coach specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy and coercive trauma. Her expertise has been featured in publications such as Newsweek, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Huffington Post. In 2019, she launched the social impact platform Narcissistic Abuse Rehab, building a global audience through human rights advocacy. The same year, she published the book ‘Are You In An Emotionally Abusive Relationship,’ which is used in domestic violence recovery groups around the world. In 2020, Manya developed The Coercive Control Legislation Global Database. She is also the host of The Narcissistic Abuse Rehab Podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.