Overcoming Paranoia After Narcissistic Abuse

Overcoming paranoia after narcissistic abuse begins with understanding why it develops in the first place. Survivors who have spent months or years navigating gaslighting, manipulation, and coercive control frequently come out of those relationships with a fundamentally altered relationship to trust. What they once understood to be ordinary social interaction now feels charged with threat. Over time helpful flashes of intuition become indistinguishable from dread.

However, this is a predictable neurological and psychological response to sustained trauma — one that has been documented extensively in the clinical literature on intimate partner violence and coercive control.^{1 2 3}

Understanding where abuse-induced paranoia comes from, how it operates in the body and mind, and what the evidence says about recovery is foundational for healing. This article combines information from peer reviewed research was well as years of hands-on experience from my own narcissistic abuse recovery coaching practice to cover the full picture. The aim is to help you identify what you or someone you care about are experiencing, to understanding its roots, and to taking concrete steps toward safety, support, and recovery.

What is Paranoia?

Paranoia is a psychological state characterized by extreme and unwarranted feelings of mistrust or suspicion of others.^{4 5} Simply put, it’s a distorted thinking pattern that leads to a generalized belief that all people are inherently deceitful and harmful.⁶ This deepening distrust often spirals into emotional distress, pushing people into isolation. It drives behaviors that complicate a person’s ability to form or maintain healthy relationships. Paranoia can range from feelings of mistrust, suspicion, and anxiety to persecutory delusions in more severe forms.⁷

A key understanding is that distorted thinking patterns aren’t confined to people diagnosed with personality disorders. In fact, anyone can experience cognitive distortions, especially in moments of intense stress or emotional upheaval. This is a core concept of cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the modalities that informs my coaching practice as it addresses the so-called “stinking’ thinking” that can create obstacles to recovery and wellbeing.^{8 9} However, for people with personality disorders, these distortions often strike with greater frequency, intensity, and persistence, shaping their reality in lasting ways.¹⁰

The Neuroscience of Paranoia After Abuse

To understand why paranoia develops after narcissistic abuse, I think it is necessary to consider what sustained psychological trauma does to the brain — because the changes are neurological, not merely emotional, and they are well-documented in the research literature.^{11 12}

The human brain contains a structure called the amygdala, sometimes described as the brain’s threat-detection system.¹³ In conditions of chronic stress and unpredictability — precisely the conditions created by narcissistic abuse — the amygdala becomes hyperactivated.^{14 15} It begins to register threat where no threat objectively exists, firing alarm signals in response to neutral stimuli: a particular tone of voice, a facial expression, a silence that lasts a moment too long.¹⁶ This is the neurological basis of the hypervigilance that survivors of narcissistic abuse almost universally describe.

Simultaneously, the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for rational evaluation, executive function, and the modulation of fear responses — becomes functionally impaired under conditions of chronic stress.¹⁷ This impairment makes it harder to talk oneself down from a threat response, harder to evaluate situations calmly, and harder to distinguish between genuine danger and the pattern-matched echoes of past abuse. The brain, in other words, has been trained by the abuse to remain perpetually on guard — and it continues that training even after the source of danger has been removed.

This dynamic is closely related to what researchers describe as trauma-induced hyperarousal: a persistent state of physiological activation in which the nervous system remains mobilised for threat even in the absence of threat.¹⁸ For survivors of narcissistic abuse, this state is not metaphorical. It is measurable — in cortisol levels, in sleep disruption, in the body’s sustained activation of the fight-or-flight response.¹⁹

What this means practically is that the paranoia and mistrust experienced by many survivors is not irrational in origin. It is the output of a nervous system that was repeatedly exposed to genuine danger and has not yet received the signal that the danger has passed. Recovery, understood in this light, is not simply a matter of positive thinking or willpower. It is the process of teaching the nervous system — gradually, consistently, and with appropriate support — that safety is real.²⁰

Identifying Abuse-Induced Paranoia

One of the most destabilizing aspects of paranoia after narcissistic abuse is the fear that the paranoia itself is evidence of a deeper problem — that you are “going mad,” that you cannot be trusted, that the abuse perpetrator was right about you all along. In my coaching practice I frequently encounter folks who have been subjected to this kind of mental health stigma from abuser perpetrators and their enablers, sometimes referred to as “flying monkeys.” It’s important to understand that the fear is itself a product of the abuse, and it is essential to address it directly.

Abuse-induced paranoia is a recognized psychological response to coercive control and intimate partner violence.²¹ It is distinct from clinical paranoia associated with psychotic disorders, which involves fixed, false beliefs that are maintained in the face of clear contradictory evidence. What most survivors experience is better understood as trauma-mediated hypervigilance — a state of heightened alertness and pervasive mistrust that is rooted in real experience, even when it misfires in contexts where no genuine threat is present.²² It is an adaptive style of thinking that falls under the umbrella of trauma logic.

Some Examples of Abuse-Induced Paranoia

The following experiences are commonly reported by narcissistic abuse survivors and are consistent with the research literature on trauma responses to coercive control:

• Feeling that people are watching you, talking about you, or have hidden agendas — even in settings that are objectively safe.
• Struggling to trust the motivations of people who are kind to you, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
• Replaying interactions repeatedly, looking for signs of deception or manipulation that you might have missed.
• Feeling an inexplicable sense of dread before social situations or relationship milestones.
• Finding it difficult to believe positive feedback, affirmation, or expressions of care.
• Experiencing an almost constant background hum of threat that is hard to locate or name.

If any of these resonate with you, it is important to understand two things: first, that your experience is real and it is shared by many survivors; and second, that it is not permanent.²³ The brain that learned to expect danger can learn, over time, to expect safety — but that process requires more than time alone. It requires active, supported recovery work.

If you are unsure whether what you are experiencing is abuse-induced paranoia, hypervigilance, PTSD, or something else, a trauma-informed mental health professional can help you understand your experience accurately and without judgment. Remember you are not alone and specialized narcissistic abuse recovery support is available.

Symptoms of Paranoia From Narcissistic Abuse

Paranoia is a psychological adaptation that can occur in survivors as a natural response to the constant threat they experience in the context of narcissistic abuse. They may become hypervigilant to protect themselves from further harm. Victim-survivors often feel that they must “walk on eggshells” to secure even a fleeting sense of safety around perpetrators of abuse.

A pervasive sense of “do as you’re told or else” looms over every interaction. The latent and unpredictable aggression of the power-holder may induce a state of hyper vigilance, that leaves the disempowered person perpetually on edge and bracing for the worst. Victim-survivors may obsessively question the motives of those around them, driven by an intense need to shield themselves from further pain. Anxiety seeps into any situation where trust is required, making it nearly impossible to relax. Over time, this heightened alertness becomes the norm, leaving survivors unable to feel safe even in the most benign circumstances.

Paranoia and hypervigilance are related but not synonymous, especially in the context of narcissistic abuse.

• Paranoia is characterized by irrational and pervasive feelings of mistrust and suspicion toward others. In the context of narcissistic abuse, paranoia might manifest as an overwhelming belief that others are out to harm or deceive you, even without concrete evidence. This condition often involves a distorted perception of reality, where victims might see threats in benign situations.
• Hypervigilance, on the other hand, is a heightened state of alertness where an individual is constantly on the lookout for potential threats or danger. It is often a response to trauma, such as narcissistic abuse, where the individual has learned to anticipate harm. Hypervigilance may not necessarily involve irrational beliefs or suspicions, but rather an exaggerated and continuous focus on detecting danger, even in situations where it is unlikely to be present.

In summary, while hypervigilance involves being excessively alert to potential threats, paranoia includes this alertness but also adds an element of irrational or unfounded suspicion. In survivors of narcissistic abuse, hypervigilance can lead to or exacerbate paranoia, as the constant state of alertness may reinforce or intensify suspicions and mistrust of others.

The Mechanisms of Abuse-Induced Paranoia

How Narcissistic Abuse Creates Paranoia: The Key Mechanisms

Narcissistic abuse does not produce paranoia through a single act but through the sustained, cumulative effect of specific psychological tactics — each of which erodes a different dimension of a person’s trust in themselves and others.²⁴

Gaslighting and the Destruction of Epistemic Trust

Gaslighting — the deliberate distortion of a victim’s perception of reality — is among the most documented and most damaging tactics used by perpetrators of narcissistic abuse.^{25 26} When a person is repeatedly told that what they saw did not happen, that what they felt is not real, and that their memory is unreliable, the cumulative effect is the destruction of what psychologists call epistemic trust: the capacity to trust one’s own perception and judgment as a reliable source of information about the world.²⁷

Once epistemic trust is damaged, paranoia becomes an almost logical consequence. If you cannot trust your own perception, then every situation becomes potentially threatening — because you have no reliable internal mechanism for distinguishing safe from unsafe. The hypervigilance that results is not irrational; it is the mind’s attempt to compensate for the loss of an internal compass.

Intermittent Reinforcement and Chronic Threat Arousal

Narcissistic abuser perpetrators characteristically cycle between idealization and devaluation — periods of warmth, affection, and apparent safety, followed by criticism, contempt, withdrawal, or rage.²⁸ This pattern of intermittent reinforcement is neurologically powerful: it activates the brain’s reward system in ways that create strong emotional attachment while simultaneously maintaining the nervous system in a state of chronic threat arousal.²⁹

The unpredictability is not incidental — it is the mechanism. A partner who is always cold is easier to leave than one who is sometimes warm. The oscillation creates a psychological environment in which the victim is perpetually scanning for signals of which version of the abuser they are dealing with — and this scanning, over time, becomes generalized into a constant vigilance toward all relationships and all people.

Isolation and Loss of Reality Testing

Coercive control frequently involves the systematic isolation of the victim from friends, family, and other sources of support and information.³⁰ This isolation serves multiple functions for the perpetrator, but one of its most significant effects is the elimination of reality-testing: the ordinary social process through which we check our perceptions against those of people we trust.

Without access to external perspectives, the victim is left alone with the abuser’s narrative — a narrative in which the victim is devalued as flawed, untrustworthy, and fortunate to be tolerated. Over time, this false narrative can become internalized, and the paranoia that develops may be directed inward as much as outward: not only “others cannot be trusted” but “I cannot trust myself.”

Character Assassination and Social Paranoia

Many perpetrators of narcissistic abuse engage in deliberate character assassination. Often called smear campaigns in popular psychology, this involves spreading false or distorted narratives about the victim to family members, friends, colleagues, or community networks.³¹ For survivors who discover that their reputation has been actively undermined, the paranoia that follows is not delusional. It is a rational response to real social manipulation and public humiliation. The challenge is that this legitimate fearfulness can then generalize into a broader distrust of all social contexts — a suspicion that in any group, there may be people who have been turned against them.

Examples of How Narcissistic Abuse Can Fuel Paranoia

The following instances provide a powerful lens through which to understand the devastating effects of narcissistic abuse, particularly the paranoia that often follows. By exploring into real-life experiences, we can see how gaslighting, manipulation, and emotional cruelty warp the victim’s sense of reality, leaving them in a state of constant fear and distrust.

The Impact of Gaslighting on Lily

Lily was in a long-term intimate relationship with a controlling partner who constantly gaslighted her. He would move objects around their home and then accuse Lily of having a poor memory when she couldn’t find them. He often denied conversations that had taken place between them, which caused Lily to doubt her memory. Over time, Lily began to question her judgement and ability to recall facts. She started to believe that she could not trust herself or her perception of reality. Her partner’s gaslighting cultivated a growing sense of paranoia in Lily — she became convinced that other people were also manipulating her in the workplace and in social settings.

How Manipulation Shaped Jack’s Mistrust

Jack’s narcissistic boss would lavish him with praise behind closed doors, only to berate him publicly. Gradually, Jack realized that his boss was twisting the truth, painting him as incompetent in front of others. When Jack confronted him, the boss flatly denied ever offering praise, leaving Jack disoriented and questioning his own reality. This manipulation caused Jack to experience paranoia, leading him to constantly second-guess his coworkers’ intentions and feel as if he was being set up for failure. Even after leaving the job, Jack struggled to trust new colleagues, haunted by the fear that they too would betray him.

Keisha’s Struggle with Hypervigilence

Keisha’s narcissistic parent swung between extremes — showering her with affection one moment, then retreating into cold rejection the next. This emotional whiplash left Keisha in a constant state of anxiety, desperately trying to anticipate her parent’s next move. She became hypervigilant, endlessly scanning for signs of disapproval or hidden agendas. This paranoia seeped into her adult relationships, where she found it nearly impossible to believe that anyone could genuinely care for her without an ulterior motive. As a result, Keisha’s relationships faltered, as she pushed people away, convinced they would ultimately hurt her.

Effective Strategies for Healing Paranoia

Recovering from the paranoia that often follows narcissistic abuse requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses both the psychological and emotional wounds inflicted by the abuse. Here are some effective strategies to help navigate this challenging healing process:

Therapy, Counseling, and Coaching

• Trauma-informed therapy is the gold standard for abuse-induced paranoia. Not all therapy is trauma-informed, and this distinction matters: a therapist who does not understand the dynamics of coercive control and narcissistic abuse may inadvertently minimise your experience, misattribute symptoms, or suggest approaches that are counterproductive for trauma survivors. When seeking a therapist, it is reasonable to ask directly whether they have experience working with survivors of intimate partner violence and coercive control.³²
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) has a strong evidence base for the treatment of PTSD and trauma-related symptoms, including the hyperarousal and intrusive symptoms that underpin abuse-induced paranoia. It works by enabling the brain to reprocess traumatic memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge — so that the memory is retained without the associated threat response continuing to fire.

• Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is another well-evidenced approach that helps survivors identify and restructure the distorted thought patterns that sustain paranoia — including beliefs about the self, others, and the world that were formed in the context of abuse and no longer serve.³³

• Trauma recovery coaching offers a different but complementary form of support. Where therapy is primarily oriented toward the processing of past trauma, coaching is oriented toward the future — toward rebuilding identity, agency, and purpose after abuse. For survivors who have already engaged in therapeutic work, or who are not currently ready for clinical therapy, trauma recovery coaching can provide consistent, goal-oriented support for the practical and psychological dimensions of recovery.

If you are in crisis, please reach out to a crisis resource immediately. In the UK, the Samaritans can be reached on 116 123 (free, 24/7). In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.

Building a Support Network

Many narcissistic abuse survivors benefit from connecting with supportive, trustworthy people. This can help counteract and overcome the isolation and mistrust often associated with ensuring paranoia that is common in these dynamics. Here’s are some tips on how to build and maintain a strong support network:

• Choose Trustworthy Individuals – Focus on reconnecting with family members, friends, or colleagues who have proven themselves to be reliable and caring. It’s important to prioritize relationships where you feel safe and valued.
• Join Support Groups – Consider joining support groups for survivors of narcissistic abuse, either in-person or online. These groups can provide a sense of community and understanding, as you connect with others who have experienced similar challenges. Sharing your story and hearing others can validate your experiences and reduce feelings of isolation.
• Establish Boundaries – Healthy boundaries are essential in any relationship, but especially when rebuilding your support network after abuse. Clearly communicate your needs and limits to those in your life, and don’t hesitate to distance yourself from individuals who do not respect them.

Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques

Mindfulness and relaxation practices can be powerful tools in managing the anxiety and paranoia that often follow narcissistic abuse. These techniques help you stay grounded in the present moment and reduce the grip of irrational fears:

• Mindfulness Meditation – Regular mindfulness meditation can help you develop greater awareness of your thoughts and emotions, allowing you to observe them without becoming overwhelmed. This practice can be particularly effective in breaking the cycle of paranoid thinking by bringing your focus back to the present moment, rather than getting lost in fear-based projections.
• Deep Breathing Exercises – Deep breathing is a simple yet effective way to calm your nervous system. When you feel paranoia creeping in, take a few minutes to practice deep breathing—inhale slowly through your nose, hold the breath for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly through your mouth. This can help reduce immediate feelings of anxiety and create a sense of inner calm.
• Journaling – Writing down your thoughts and feelings in a journal can be a therapeutic way to process emotions and gain clarity. Regular journaling allows you to express your fears and anxieties in a safe, private space, and can also help you identify patterns in your thinking that contribute to paranoia.

Gradual Exposure to Triggers

Facing the situations that trigger your paranoia, rather than avoiding them, can be a key part of the healing process. This technique, known as gradual exposure, helps you build resilience and reduce the power that these triggers hold over you:

• Identify Your Triggers – Start by identifying the specific situations, places, or people that trigger your paranoia. This could include social gatherings, intimate relationships, or even certain types of conversations.
• Create a Hierarchy of Triggers – Rank your triggers from least to most distressing. Begin by exposing yourself to the least threatening situations, and gradually work your way up to more challenging ones. For example, if social situations trigger your paranoia, start with small gatherings of close friends before attempting larger, more stressful events.
• Practice Coping Skills – Before facing a trigger, practice coping skills like deep breathing, grounding exercises, or positive self-talk. These techniques can help you manage your anxiety and maintain control during exposure.
• Reflect and Adjust – After each exposure, take time to reflect on the experience. What worked well? What could be improved? Use these reflections to adjust your approach as needed, and remember to celebrate small victories along the way.

Rebuilding Trust

Rebuilding trust — both in yourself and in others — is one of the most delicate and consequential dimensions of recovery from paranoia after narcissistic abuse. It cannot be rushed, and it cannot be forced. But it can be cultivated, deliberately and patiently, through a series of small, consistent choices that accumulate over time into something genuinely new.

• Start with self-trust. Narcissistic abuse systematically erodes confidence in your own perception and judgment — this is one of its defining features, and it is the damage that takes longest to repair. Begin by practicing the simple act of noticing what you feel and taking it seriously. You do not need to act on every feeling, but you do need to stop dismissing them. Your instincts were not wrong — they were overridden. Rebuilding self-trust means learning to hear yourself again.

• Take it slow with others. When extending trust to other people after narcissistic abuse, the pace needs to be yours. Begin with low-stakes interactions — small moments of reliance, small risks of vulnerability — and allow trust to build incrementally through experience rather than through an act of will. Trust is not a decision you make once. It is a conclusion you reach through repeated evidence, and that evidence takes time to accumulate.

• Allow consistency to be the standard. One of the most useful reframes available to survivors is to shift the basis of trust from words to patterns. People who are safe demonstrate their safety through consistent behaviour over time — not through grand gestures or persuasive reassurances. Watching for consistency, rather than listening for promises, is a more reliable guide and one that your experience of abuse has actually equipped you to use.

• Communicate what you need. People who care about you cannot always intuit what feels safe and what does not. Gentle, honest communication about your needs — even when it feels exposing — creates the conditions in which genuine trust can grow. It also gives others the opportunity to demonstrate reliability, which is ultimately what rebuilds trust more than anything else.

• Expect setbacks and do not let them define the journey. Trust-building after trauma is not linear. There will be moments of regression — days when the paranoia returns in force, when a small disappointment feels like confirmation that no one can be trusted. These moments are part of the process, not evidence that recovery is failing. What matters is not that setbacks occur, but how you relate to them when they do.

• Practise discernment rather than blanket suspicion or blanket openness. The goal of recovery is not to become naively trusting — it is to develop the capacity for discernment: the ability to assess situations and people with appropriate calibration, rather than through the distorting lens of trauma. This is a skill, and like all skills it develops with practice, reflection, and support.

When to Seek Professional Help

The healing strategies described above are genuine and evidence-informed — and they are also, for many survivors, insufficient on their own. Paranoia rooted in trauma is a clinical presentation that frequently requires clinical support. Knowing when to seek professional help — and what kind of help to seek — is an important part of the recovery journey.

Consider seeking professional support if you resonate with any of the following:

• Your paranoia is significantly affecting your ability to work, maintain relationships, or function in daily life.
• You are experiencing intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or nightmares related to past abuse.
• You find yourself avoiding situations or relationships that you would like to be part of, because the fear feels unmanageable.
• You are using alcohol, substances, or other behaviours to manage the anxiety that accompanies paranoia.
• You have thoughts of harming yourself, or feel that life is not worth living.

None of these experiences disqualify you from recovery. They are signals that the support you need is more specialized than self-guided strategies alone can provide.

How to Support Someone Experiencing Paranoia After Narcissistic Abuse

Your Recovery is Possible – Working with a Trauma Recovery Coach

Paranoia after narcissistic abuse is not a life sentence. It is a response — a learned pattern of threat-detection that was, at one point, keeping you safe. The brain that learned those patterns can learn new ones. The nervous system that was trained to expect danger can be trained, with time and the right support, to expect safety.

But recovery from trauma rarely happens through willpower or positive thinking alone. It happens in relationship — in the consistent experience of being believed, understood, and supported by someone who knows the terrain of abuse and trauma, and who can help you navigate it without judgment.

That is the work of trauma recovery coaching at Narcissistic Abuse Rehab. Whether you are in the early stages of recognizing what happened to you, or further along in recovery and working to rebuild your sense of self and your capacity for trust, coaching offers a structured, compassionate, and evidence-informed path forward.

Working with me, you will be supported to understand the roots of your paranoia in the context of your specific experience of abuse; to distinguish between threat responses rooted in trauma and genuine situational warning signs; to rebuild epistemic trust — confidence in your own perception and judgment; to develop practical strategies for managing hypervigilance in daily life; and to move, over time, toward a life in which safety is not a distant aspiration but a present reality.

Recovery is not a linear process. There will be setbacks, and there will be days when the paranoia feels as acute as it ever did. But there will also be days when you notice, with quiet surprise, that you trusted someone and it was fine — that you relaxed, even briefly, and nothing terrible happened. Those moments are the evidence that recovery is real.

If you are ready to begin, or simply want to understand what coaching could offer you, book a free 15-minute consultation with me today. There is no obligation, and no pressure. Just a conversation — and the possibility of a different future.

Summary

Paranoia after narcissistic abuse is not a sign of weakness, instability, or permanent damage. It is a well-documented psychological and neurological response to sustained coercive control — one that emerges from the systematic destruction of epistemic trust through gaslighting, the chronic threat arousal created by intermittent reinforcement, the loss of reality-testing through isolation, and the social disruption caused by character assassination.³⁵

Understanding this — truly understanding it, not merely accepting it intellectually — is among the most important early steps in recovery. Because when you understand that your paranoia is a response to real harm rather than evidence of personal failing, you can begin to relate to it differently: not as an enemy to be defeated, but as a signal from a nervous system that is still doing its job, in the only way it knows how.

Recovery from abuse-induced paranoia is possible. It requires time, it requires appropriate support, and it requires a willingness to engage — gently and at your own pace — with the experiences and relationships that feel most threatening. The strategies outlined in this article offer a starting point. Professional support — therapeutic, clinical, or coaching-based — offers the structured accompaniment that most survivors find essential for sustained recovery.

You do not have to do this alone. Help is available, and you deserve it. The Complete Guide to Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Related Links

• The Complete Guide to Narcissistic Abuse Recovery
• Understanding Narcissistic Abuse Trauma And Its Impact
• How Narcissistic Abuse Can Lead to Depression
• Narcissistic Abuse and Anxiety
• The Neuroscience of Narcissistic Abuse–and How to Heal

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

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Manya Wakefield

Website |  + postsBio ⮌

Manya Wakefield is a narcissistic abuse recovery coach, coercive trauma specialist, and the developer of the Coercive Trauma Recovery Method™ and TENEL™ (Traumatic Exposure to Narcissism in Early Life) — proprietary recovery frameworks built from seven years of direct professional work with survivors of coercive control, narcissistic abuse, and Adult Children of Narcissists. Both frameworks have been reviewed by Dr. Michael Kinsey, PhD, clinical psychologist, New School for Social Research. She is the founder of Narcissistic Abuse Rehab, a global social impact platform launched in 2019 to support survivors through evidence-based recovery frameworks. Manya is the author of Are You In An Emotionally Abusive Relationship (2019), a resource used in domestic violence recovery groups worldwide. Her original research contributions include the Global Coercive Control Legislation Index (2020) — the first systematic index of its kind on the web — and the Global Femicide Legislation Index (2026), comprehensive legal references used by advocates, legal professionals, and policymakers internationally, cited in peer-reviewed publications including the Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Palgrave Macmillan, and the University of Agder. Her expertise has been featured in Newsweek, Elle, Cosmopolitan, HuffPost, Parade, and YourTango. She hosts the Narcissistic Abuse Rehab Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music. All content on this site reflects Manya's direct professional experience working with survivors of narcissistic abuse and coercive control, her published research, and her ongoing advocacy work.

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