Counselling, Psychotherapy and Reduced Fees Services
Ottawa, Ontario 343-887-5222
Services
Therapy for Adult Children of Parents with Personality Disorders
Growing up with a parent who displayed narcissistic, borderline, or other challenging personality traits can leave deep and lasting emotional imprints. These early experiences often resurface as recurring patterns — feeling overly responsible for others, doubting or disconnecting from your own needs, or finding yourself in relationships that echo old wounds.
Therapy provides a supportive space to gently explore and understand these patterns. It offers an opportunity to process the confusion, inconsistency, or emotional neglect you may have experienced, and to begin healing in a meaningful way. Through this work, you can develop greater self-awareness, strengthen self-trust, and nurture relationships rooted in clarity, self-respect, and conscious choice rather than repetition.
Signs a parent has/had issues with personality…
You might consider this therapeutic work if you…
- · Notice old family patterns affecting your adult relationships
- · Struggle with setting or maintaining boundaries
- · Often feel self-doubt or a need to please others
- · Find yourself repeatedly drawn to conflict or emotional intensity
- · Want to recognize these patterns and build healthier ways of relating to yourself and others
Signs a parent has/had issues with personality…
Parent with traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- Dismisses or minimizes your feelings
- Seeks constant admiration or validation
- Puts their needs above yours consistently
- Criticizes, manipulates, or blames you
- Creates a sense that nothing you do is ever enough
Parent with traits of Borderline Personality Disorder
- Exhibits intense mood swings or emotional outbursts
- Can be unpredictable or inconsistent in affection
- Alternates between idealizing and devaluing you
- Struggles with boundaries and may be overly enmeshed
- Often expresses fear of abandonment
Parent with traits of Antisocial Personality Disorder
- Shows little regard for rules or others’ rights
- May lie, manipulate, or exploit without remorse
- Ignores or dismisses your needs and safety
- Displays impulsive or reckless behavior
- Often lacks empathy and emotional connection