Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Family Court

At some point in life, everyone is exposed to an individual with a high-conflict personality., Often times, high-conflict individuals exhibit the characteristics associated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), which includes an excessive need for admiration, a disregard for others' feelings, an inability to handle any criticism, and an elevated sense of entitlement. Regardless of the circumstance, these individuals – who tend to be men – create extreme challenges, particularly when it comes to conflict-fueled situations like divorce. And when children are involved, the problem only intensifies. Even after a divorce is finalized, co-parenting can become a monumental challenge when a high-conflict individual is involved. In family law, attorneys, judges and the courts would benefit from a greater understanding of NPD, an incurable diagnosis that therapy can support but never fully cure. This website’s goal is to increase awareness of this problem and its effects in family court. Our hope is to expose the challenges of working with a high-conflict personality whose desire for control over their own child or children, during and after divorce proceedings, trumps any hope to compromise.


Confronting the Challenges of the High-Conflict Personality in Family Court

No matter the circumstances, divorce is a challenging time for all parties involved. The division of assets and parenting agreements can be difficult for even the most amicable of partners. This tension can become greatly magnified if one or more parties has a High-Conflict Personality (such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder), which greatly increases the chances of conflict. This in turn can result in escalating of both legal fees and time spent in court. High-Conflict Personalities often create a ripple of negative effects for family members, especially children, attorneys and the family court system itself.