01/14/2026
As a psychoanalytically trained supervisor, I teach the MASK Framework to help therapists identify the protective parts driving these reactions:
Mirror-Seeking: The hidden, desperate need for validation that disguises itself as cold self-reliance to avoid rejection.
Admiration Cycle: A seductive trap of mutual idealization ("us against the world") that inevitably collapses into devaluation.
Superiority: A protective power struggle where dismissing your expertise serves to keep the client’s fragile parts hidden.
Keep-Away: An emotional withdrawal defense that turns the therapy room into a disconnected safety cocoon to prevent pain.
What do you do when you're suddenly counseling narcissistic clients? I mean, nobody warns you in grad school about how to deal with the client who rejects yo...
