Many people spend a whole lifetime trying to repair a wounded self. For these "voiceless" people, every action and interaction serves the purpose of finding something of value within themselves. Traditionally, psychologists have termed such people "narcissists," but this is a misnomer. To the outside world it appears that these people "love" themselves. Yet, at their core they don't love themselves--in fact their self barely exists, and what part does exist is deemed worthless. All …showed first 75 words of 489 total…

…showed last 75 words of 489 total…ultimately acknowledge their core problem: that they grew up in a family where they were neither seen nor heard, and that they employed their perpetual self-building strategies to survive. Acknowledging this truth takes a great deal of courage, for they must face their underlying lack of self-esteem as well as their vulnerability. Then comes the long and painstaking work of building (or resurrecting) a self in the context of an empathic and caring therapy relationship.