Moral Superiority in Relationships: The Quiet Narcissism of ‘Doing the Work

Healing Hierarchy Distortion Healing Hierarchy Distortion is a maladaptive relational cognitive–affective pattern in which one partner attributes interpretive, moral, or psychological authority to themselves based on perceived advancement in personal development, thereby establishing implicit hierarchical asymmetry within the intimate bond — despite the fact that inner truth unfolds uniquely, nonlinearly, and without universal roadmap.