Dracula has reared his narcissistic head at an Australasian conference of psychiatrists.
In one of the more unusual presentations, Dr Derek Johns explained how stories such as the blood-sucking vampire can be useful for talking to patients about what's happening in their lives.
The Byron Bay psychiatrist was addressing a session of the annual conference of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in Hong Kong.
Describing Dracula as a narcissist devoid of mercy and conscience, Dr Johns said the Transylvanian was compelled to take blood from others to live.
"So Dracula can be seen as a symbolic representation of those who exploit others for their own emotional gain.
"There is the establishment of superiority and dominance in the context of an interpersonal relationship."
This type of "emotional vampirism" had been described in many ways by some of his patients involved with narcissistic people who were draining them emotionally.
"These significant people are so engaging, charming and manipulative that their victims invite them into their lives without a second thought and even go back should they (ever) extricate themselves from the relationship at all."
He stressed the approach was not a panacea or useful for everyone.
But he found that using the Dracula or other fantasy character as a metaphor for what was happening in their lives was very rewarding in therapy for some patients.
* The writer travelled to Hong Kong courtesy of the RANZCP.
Share
