In this episode, I share another clip from my conversation on Trusting After Trauma: Redefining Relationships After Parental Narcissistic Abuse, hosted by Pi Venus Winslow. In this segment, we explore why separating from a covertly narcissistic parent does not just feel frightening—it can feel deeply disloyal. We examine the guilt that surfaces when setting boundaries, the anger that often masks unresolved grief, and the unconscious loyalty that keeps many adult children emotionally stuck. The conversation underscores that healing is not about dramatic confrontation, but about reclaiming your internal world—strengthening your capacity to mentalize, recognizing what was internalized in childhood, and gradually separating your identity from the parent who shaped it.

Trusting After Trauma - Starting Tuesday, April 7th:

https://trustingaftertraumasummit.com/DrAnthonyMazzella

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

In this episode, I share a clip from my conversation on Trusting After Trauma: Redefining Relationships After Parental Narcissistic Abuse, hosted by Pi Venus Winslow. In this segment, we explore the complexities of covert narcissism and its impact on individuals who grew up with narcissistic parents. We discuss the subtle yet profound effects of covert narcissistic parenting, the importance of mentalization in understanding one's feelings, and the challenges of setting boundaries.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

In this episode, we take a deeper look at a common misunderstanding about borderline personality organization: that the core struggle is simply a fear of abandonment. Drawing on the work of psychoanalyst Herbert Rey and his powerful metaphor of the “marsupial space,” we explore a more complicated psychological dilemma — the painful experience of never quite finding a relational space that feels both safe and free.

We explore: Why can closeness feel desperately needed one moment, yet suffocating the next? And why can even small moments of distance trigger fears of being pushed out or abandoned?

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

This is another consolidation episode based on clinical work with a patient who recognized that he organizes his relationships around anticipated disappointment. When things are going well, he becomes anxious and uneasy, almost waiting for the other shoe to drop. In this episode, we explore the psychodynamic function of expecting disappointment, and why predictable letdowns can sometimes feel safer than the uncertainty of trust, hope, and real dependency in relationships.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

Have you ever been with someone who seems present, even engaged, yet remains strangely out of reach? Or have you noticed yourself pulling back into a private inner world when closeness starts to feel too intense?

Using John Steiner’s concept of psychic retreats, we explore how people create hidden internal safe spaces to protect themselves from anxiety, guilt, and depression. These retreats can look like grandiosity, fantasy, secrecy, “double lives,” addictions, or even relationships that promise safety without real emotional exposure.

Whether you’ve loved someone who felt unreachable or recognize this pattern in yourself, this episode offers a new way to understand what’s really happening beneath the surface — and what it takes to begin moving back toward real connection.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

In this episode — the third in our new Consolidation Series — I respond directly to a listener’s question about secrets and confession. What actually happens psychologically when someone admits to a hidden life — an affair, pornography, secret spending, or addiction? Does confession mean the behavior will stop… or can the secret world survive even after it’s been exposed?

We look closely at three very different psychological positions: the false confession, the caught scenario, and the far rarer moment of genuine collapse, when the person begins to recognize the secret not simply as pleasure or escape, but as a defense against vulnerability, shame, and dependency.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

In this episode, we turn to what often emerges when confusion finally begins to lift - anger at the covert narcissistic parent!
For many people who grew up with a covert narcissistic parent, anger doesn’t feel empowering—it feels dangerous, destabilizing, and quickly followed by guilt and fear of abandonment. From a psychodynamic perspective, we explore -through a few rich examples-why asserting reality can feel so risky, how anger has been quietly disallowed for years, and what happens when it finally begins to come online.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com

In this episode — the first in a new “Consolidation Series” — I begin responding directly to your questions and thoughtful observations.

If everyone wants to feel understood, what makes the need for validation and recognition narcissistic?

In this episode, we explore how, in covert narcissistic functioning, validation is not simply comforting — it becomes structurally necessary for maintaining a cohesive sense of self. We’ll look at how, for some individuals, validation and attention feels less like reassurance — and more like survival.

If you are interested in a consultation or seeking virtual therapy services, Dr. Mazzella is accepting new patients. Please click here for more detailed information.

Want to go deeper? Join me in Office Hours — an open space where we explore psychoanalytic ideas together, answer your questions, and connect theory to real life experiences. Reserve your spot here

Next Meeting: May

Contact me Directly with observations, questions or comments:

thenarcissismdecoder@gmail.com

You can follow The Narcissism Decoder on:

https://www.instagram.com/thenarcissism.decoder/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

https://www.youtube.com/@thenarcissismdecoder

Dr. Mazzella’s personal website: drmazzella.com