A psychologist with more than 30 years of clinical experience, Norman Goldwasser, PhD, clinical director for multidisciplinary practice Horizon Psychological Services, helps people work through mood and personality disorders as well as trauma. Based in South Florida, Dr. Norman Goldwasser has employed EMDR therapy for nearly two decades to help patients cope with traumatic memories and experiences.EMDR, short for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing,” can be an effective treatment option for people with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mood disturbances caused by stress and trauma. This form of treatment involves focusing on traumatic memories and the way they are processed, as opposed to other modalities that focus on emotions.The objective of EMDR is to help people process difficult memories by diminishing their vividness. During EMDR treatment, typically spaced out into weekly and bi-weekly sessions, patients access traumatic memories under the care of their therapist. While accessing difficult memories, patients are instructed to perform commands such as eye movements or tapping. Research suggests that associating such actions with traumatic recollections reduces their stressful impact on a person’s psychological state.
As the executive director of Horizon Psychological Services in Miami Beach, Dr. Norman Goldwasser manages a variety of mental health professionals. Also a practicing clinical psychologist, Dr. Norman Goldwasser leads a therapy group for men with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).Often seen by others as “arrogant” and “haughty,” persons with NPD typically devalue others’ accomplishments while maintaining an excessively high opinion of their own abilities. They expect praise and feel disappointed when it is not forthcoming.Believing in their own superiority, individuals with NPD may feel the need to associate only with other “elite” individuals and insist on being served by “the best.” However, this sense of being special and their strong need for admiration indicates weak self-esteem.NPD is also characterized by a lack of empathy and understanding of the needs of others. This leads to a sense of entitlement that may result in exploitative behavior. People with NPD may form friendships and romantic attachments largely out of self-interest. People who associate with persons having NPD generally find them to be cold and unable to reciprocate their own desires and feelings.Many persons with NPD do not seek treatment unless they cannot cope with stressful life events. Recovery depends on long periods of psychotherapy by a well-experienced practitioner.Dr. Goldwasser has had many years of experience working with patients with narcissistic personalities, and actually has led a group for men with this type of personality for the last 20 years. Because narcissism is toxic for relationships, Dr. Goldwasser’s work helps his patients understand the impact of their personalities are the people in their lives, and to learn how to transition out of narcissism, be more other-centered and interpersonally sensitive, day and function more effectively in all of their relationships.
