Lindsay’s Story.
As a registered social worker and therapist in Toronto, Ontario, I specialize in helping individuals and couples navigate complex emotional challenges, such as narcissistic abuse in family or romantic dynamics, communication breakdowns, and self-esteem issues rooted in childhood trauma. These anonymized case studies illustrate common situations I've encountered, showing how I collaborate with clients to understand their struggles, apply tailored strategies, and foster meaningful progress. Each highlights the client's initial challenges, key elements of our work together, and the outcomes they achieved—demonstrating my approach to guiding from confusion and pain toward clarity, resilience, and healthier connections.
Lindsay:
“Blake supported me in processing post-divorce trauma and co-parenting anxiety from my narcissistic ex's gaslighting using the Dual Mothership Model and somatic practices, empowering boundaries, reduced anxiety, and resilient motherhood.”
A woman in her 40s reached out post-divorce from a high-functioning narcissistic lawyer, with whom she shared three children. She felt disposable and isolated during the marriage, walking on eggshells amid gaslighting and emotional neglect. Co-parenting amplified her anxiety, as she worried about her son's behaviors echoing his father's manipulation—using tactics like alienation—while grieving the relationship's impact on her identity and confidence, marked by complex trauma symptoms like heightened fight responses.
We explored her reality testing, using the Dual Mothership Model by Sam Vaknin to unpack the shared fantasy—grieving the idealized self mirrored by her ex and recognizing her roles as both "mother" and "child" in the dynamic. Through IFS therapy, we addressed parts carrying righteous rage and guilt, tracing origins to the marriage's trust violations. Somatic grounding exercises, like body scans and energy work, helped regulate her nervous system, reducing disassociation during co-parenting stress.
We focused on building resilience for her children, coaching her to model autonomy without engaging in the ex's games, and using Bowen concepts like emotional cutoffs to set boundaries. Over time, she regained confidence, processed the grief of the illusion, and felt empowered as a mother—establishing healthier co-parenting routines, reducing anxiety, and embracing self-worth beyond the abuse, with tools to prevent reenactment in future relationships.