by Harper West | Nov 3, 2025 | Emotional Intelligence, Narcissist, Relationships
When I was in an relationship with an abusive narcissist, he would often accuse me of flirting with men and cheating on him. I now recognize this was almost certainly projection of his own sins, but at the time I didn’t have that understanding. I was a conscientious,...
by Harper West | Mar 21, 2024 | Domestic Violence, Narcissist, Relationships
Jaclyn* spent her first two sessions of psychotherapy listing all the ways her husband was difficult to deal with. Some of these sounded like typical complaints in a relationship, such as he spent too much time playing video games and he didn’t help enough with...
by Harper West | Dec 15, 2023 | Relationships
Ending a relationship, especially with a family member or close friend, can be difficult for those involved and often confusing for those on the outside of the relationship. What makes it more confusing is that many people don’t realize there are two types of...
by Harper West | Apr 23, 2022 | Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples, Relationships
I’ve been asked to blog for Great Lakes Psychology Group, where I’m a psychotherapist as my full time practice. I’ll be writing for the general public blog, as well as the clinician blog, combining my past career as a writer with my second career as...
by Harper West | Dec 14, 2021 | Domestic Violence, Other-Blamer, Relationships
Janine is divorcing her emotionally abusive narcissistic husband and our weekly therapy sessions are often an exploration of her rollercoaster of conflicting feelings. She is grieving a marriage ending and life not turning out as she had hoped. Naturally, she has...
by Harper West | Oct 27, 2021 | Emotions, Relationships
Where does communication go wrong? Often, I find that when clients tell me about their communication struggles what goes unsaid is often more important that what is said. In addition, I find that saying what is being experienced in the moment is very powerful, but it...
