Teen Insight Hour Breaks Down Narcissistic Parents And Their Effect On Teens

Host Fredrick Schulin and guest Steven Unruh discuss divorce, narcissistic parents, and the impact on teens

Divorce has become commonplace in society. While parents deal with difficult proceedings including the separation of assets and creating new lives, its children who typically brunt the worst of a divorce.

“We see a lot of parents who are going through divorce with teens in their family, and I can’t stress enough how affected the teens are through these divorces,” Fredrick Schulin, the host of Insight Teen Hour said. “Lawsuits, from my perspective, the biggest losers are always the teens.”

Joined by guest Steven Unruh, a divorce mediator and psychotherapist, the show covered the effect that narcissistic parents and divorce have on children, and specifically teenagers.

Narcissistic parents who place blame on another parent or even directly on children can lead to shame. Children under constant scrutiny may feel they aren’t being heard  and thus become disengaged.

“One of the things I see with an overly narcissistic parent, is that they don’t apologize,” Unruh said. Boys often react by lashing out at others, while girls induce self harm, in either the mental or physical forms, “You can still create discipline with love and understanding,” Unruh said.

Working as a divorce mediator for the last 12 years, Unruh says that litigation can often get messy and expensive. Mediation on the other hand can lead to a healthier and more financially prudent separation.

“Think about mediation” Unruh said. “You don’t have to give up your attorney. But I represent a couple equally. My goal is to resolve all of your issues, your assets, and your parenting plan, in a way thats fair and that each of you would leave financially stable”

To listen to the full podcast or learn more about Teen Insight Hour, visit the KHTS Podcast page.