The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By Christine Hammond, MS, LMHC  It wasn’t until counseling that Tim realized he was married to a narcissist. Again. And unfortunately, again. The narcissism in his first wife was obvious. Her obsession with power and control of his life and money alienated her from their kids. His second wife was so preoccupied with her appearance that he lost track with the number of plastic surgeries she had. And wife number three was on a six-month silent treatment streak with him. Tim was a successful entrepreneur having started four companies, all of which continued to function well. While he was able to see narcissism in his employees and use to his advantage, somehow, he missed this ability in his personal life. Now with divorce number three on the horizon, Tim decided that it was time to figure out why. Looking back over his marriages, Tim began to see similarities in how the relationship started, when the balance of power shifted, and what caused him to stay. His ego wa...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC Joey admitted that he lost interest in his favorite sport. Already a state champion with prospects to be a national star, each day he didn’t practice he was throwing away that possibility. His work also suffered. Where he once thrived and was revered for his hard work, he now was barely keeping it together and on the verge of failure. His relationships deteriorated as well. He lost friendships and was at odds with the people he said he loved the most. But there was one area of his life that was thriving. Every day and sometimes well into the night, Joey would play video games. It started off with just a few games but then quickly escalated into more. He made an agreement with his family not to play any games that were rated R, had nudity, or had live chats. But now he was doing just that and hiding it. When he played, he felt powerful, excited, energized and confident in his fantasy worlds. In the real world, he felt anxious, depressed, ov...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC At first, Jacqueline found her partner’s behavior endearing. He would send her multiple text messages during the day including during work, he randomly appeared when she was out to lunch with friends, he started texting her friends as if he was their friend, and he constantly wanted to know where she was and who she was with. It seemed romantic in the beginning but then after a while, it started to feel creepy. Her friends were puzzled by his texting. He would send them messages as if they were life-long acquaintances and then get upset when the didn’t respond. On occasion, he would inquire about Jacqueline’s past or her whereabouts. They felt strange replying to him. Jacqueline dismissed his behavior as being overly protective and loving until things escalated. One night when she was out with her friends, he contacted the friends to “double check” that Jacqueline was safe because she had not responded to him. Feeling annoyed, Jacqueline ...