Big news from the world of psychology: the forthcoming edition of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is removing “Narcissism Personality Disorder” from the ledger of officially recognized personality disorders. A controversial decision, and one which is garnering a serious amount of resistance. The Mockingbird in me is tempted to view this is as both good news (in that it potentially universalizes the diagnosis) and bad (in that seems to semi-deny a real problem, as if its exasperating frequency makes it any less troublesome). In reality, it’s simply further indication of the growing schism in the mental health world between scientist and practitioner. Some excerpts from the write-up in the NY Times:
Our everyday picture of a narcissist is that of someone who is very self-involved — the conversation is always about them. While this characterization does apply to people with narcissistic personality disorder, it is too broad. There are many people who are completely self-absorbed who would not qualify for a diagnosis of N.P.D.
The central requirement for N.P.D. is a special kind of self-absorption: a grandiose sense of self, a serious miscalculation of one’s abilities and potential that is often accompanied by fantasies of greatness. It is the difference between two high school baseball players of moderate ability: one is absolutely convinced he’ll be a major-league player, the other is hoping for a college scholarship.
The second requirement for N.P.D.: since the narcissist is so convinced of his high station (most are men), he automatically expects that others will recognize his superior qualities and will tell him so. This is often referred to as “mirroring.” It’s not enough that he knows he’s great. Others must confirm it as well, and they must do so in the spirit of “vote early, and vote often.”
Finally, the narcissist, who longs for the approval and admiration of others, is often clueless about how things look from someone else’s perspective. Narcissists are very sensitive to being overlooked or slighted in the smallest fashion, but they often fail to recognize when they are doing it to others. Most of us would agree that this is an easily recognizable profile, and it is a puzzle why the manual’s committee on personality disorders has decided to throw N.P.D. off the bus. Many experts in the field are not happy about it.
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Jonathan Shedler, a psychologist at the University of Colorado Medical School, said: “Clinicians are accustomed to thinking in terms of syndromes, not deconstructed trait ratings. Researchers think in terms of variables, and there’s just a huge schism.” He said the committee was stacked “with a lot of academic researchers who really don’t do a lot of clinical work. We’re seeing yet another manifestation of what’s called in psychology the science-practice schism.”
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4 responses to “You’re So Vain (You Probably Think This Post Is About You)”
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"You're So Vain (You Probably Think This Post Is About You)"
Thanks for the laugh, DZ. OK, so you're not posting about me. But you should be!
Not gonna lie… as soon as the symptoms were listed, I freaked out and started asking myself if I had NPD. Which is or isn't the point of the post? So I guess this post isn't about me after all 🙂
The Times forgot to mention that they're removing this diagnostic category because it was discovered that most Narcissists are already classified as Wall St speculators!
First of all, this is a great post – but beyond that, it did my heart good to hear a NIN lyric quoted! I'm not the only Christian NIN fan!