Jenni McBride McNamara, LMFT

03/24/2025

Do you ever feel like you’re pulled in two (or more) directions?? Part A: I did some stupid s**t I wish I hadn’t done. Part B: There is no stupid s**t; there is stuff I do because I’m confident and content. We all have multiple versions of these parts having this same conflict, over and over. How do you handle when you get stuck between “I should NOT have done that” and “So what if I did?” 😀

03/19/2025

Not everyone thinks therapy (or therapists!) is a delight. But hey—maybe we really are wizards with magic wands who can help 🤷‍♀️. Luckily our wizards and are ready to try some spells…I mean evidence-based therapeutic interventions…
Https://touchingtrees.com 612-888-2522 Ask for Amy! .kadrmas

01/29/2023

….plus some ideas about how to counter them!!

Breaking the Fear Circuit Too often, our thoughts spiral into the gap between our anxieties about the future and the reality of our circumstances. As a therapist, here’s how I help clients stop their fears from becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. By Jennifer Guttman Illustration Nicolás Ortega ....

01/20/2023

When we focus on "THEM" it does little for "US" - https://mailchi.mp/0bb5b3147720/an-invitation-to-restoration-a-private-membership-17013293

06/11/2022

Stand tall so that those next to you see the value of reaching for the sky.

06/09/2022

Sign up for the 6/13 VIRTUAL workshop - for clinicians. Clients who begin the work of figuring out what's wrong in a relationship often get stuck at the entry point -- learning about personality disorders. This workshop provides clinicians strategies and therapeutic interventions to help those clients move from where they are to a place of self-trust, change, and peace.

2CEUs | Register here: https://mamft.net/event-4818103

Workshop Objectives:
1. Participants will learn about more about 6 high conflict personality disorders.
2. Participants will learn how to structure therapy with a client who feels stuck because of a high conflict relationship.
3. Participants will learn how to focus clients away from the "other" and turn that focus on themselves and what they can do to reduce their stress.
4. Participants will learn how to incorporate psychoeducation, IFS, narrative, and future-focused interventions to help clients move toward creating change for themselves.

06/04/2022

This is the first offering of High Conflict Relationships for professionals! I hope you register and get a seat. CEUs are available. This is an excellent primer for (1) understanding relationships with high conflict personalities AND (2) how to help your clients get "un-stuck." Register at mamft.net/event-4818103

06/02/2022

Connection - A strong desire to be connected... Connection's vulnerability?

05/17/2022

“I think they’re a narcissist…” are sometimes a new client’s first words to us when they sit down in our offices to talk about relationship problems. Because of my specialty, I hear that a lot, of course, and there are a few different ways you can meet the client right there in that moment.

When I first started out, regardless of their first words, I spent time going over my informed consent, billing practices, scheduling protocols, and all the administrivia we ethically need to do. That plan met criteria for how-to-conduct-an-appropriate-intake. I also noticed that when I started that way, there was a visible deflation in my new client. And heightened anxiety. They became antsy and short with their answers. I’m 95% certain they heard, “blah, blah, blah” as I mentioned the risks and benefits of therapy and how they can file a complaint.

So I did it “right”, but seemed to lose an opportunity to build immediate trust with the client. A client, I might add, who doesn’t trust themselves, doesn’t trust their partner or other high conflict person, and maybe doesn’t even trust the therapy process if it’s been used by the high conflict person to manipulate them. While trying to meet other expectations, I was signaling to those clients that my stuff was more important than theirs.

What I’ve started doing instead is letting clients, especially ones in high conflict relationships, lead out the initial session. I ask things like, “So, what’s been going on?” or “Where do you want to start with what’s been happening?” The clients who are in relationships with someone they’ve diagnosed as being narcissistic want and need space to say out loud to a professional what they experience.

Stay tuned for more in this “tips for practitioners” series… And if you want to learn more about ways to help clients in high conflict relationships, sign up to be the first to hear about Jenni’s upcoming HCR-P certificate training for mental health professionals… www.jennimcbridemcnamara.com

05/16/2022

This is a great article by . Remember you are NOT at blame though you may FEEL guilty. Instead learn some strategies and techniques — like when to get some space, what to say (or not say). If you have questions? >>>
🔆 Write them in the comments below,
🔆 Join our private Facebook group ,
🔆 See if relationship coaching may be a good fit for you (https://www.jennimcbridemcnamara.com/high-conflict-relationships-coaching)
🔥 Seven signs...
1. Loud voice
2. Opinions on EVERYTHING
3. Very picky
4. Too defensive
5. Always right
6. They seem too extreme
7. Go big or go home
https://www.learning-mind.com/high-conflict-personality/

05/13/2022

Check it out - strategies for staying IN or getting OUT of a relationships with a high conflict person. www.jennimcbridemcnamara.com/post/love-me-or-else-borderline-personality-disorder-relationships

05/11/2022

"From adversity springs the strongest life."
- Basement Daisies
https://www.jennimcbridemcnamara.com/books-resources