Systemic Work With a Couple Facing Narcissism: A Case Analysis

Abstract

Marriage and family therapy is built on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, yet the systemic literature rarely considers the “part” that narcissism may play in impacting the relational “whole.” When this type of marital system is influenced by a sociocontextual influence of spirituality, therapeutic work becomes more complex. A literature review of narcissism in a couple dyad is reviewed as is spirituality within systemic thinking. Once the clinical work is grounded in the literature, a case is provided where strategic therapy and narrative therapy were applied to a case where narcissistic behaviors had led to an affair, and the relationship was heading toward divorce.