Narcissistic parents sometimes weaponize psychiatry and therapy, using medical labels, forced evaluations, and diagnostic gaslighting to discredit their child's autonomy, control their behavior, and project their own pathology onto the victim (a severe form of proxy Munchausen or diagnostic manipulation).
Common Tactics of Psychiatric Control
Pathologizing Normal Reactions:
Labeling a child’s normal anger, boundaries, or independence as "mental illness," "hysteria," or "defiance."
Medical Gaslighting:
Convincing the child and others that their perception of reality is a symptom of a disorder rather than a response to abuse.
Weaponized Therapy:
Forcing a child into counseling not to heal, but to enlist the therapist as an authority figure who will enforce compliance with the parent's...