Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Therapy
Healing Is Possible — Even After Maternal Narcissistic Abuse
Do you recognize yourself in any of these experiences?
You spent years seeking love, approval, and acceptance that should have been given freely. Do you: Feel intense guilt or anxiety when setting boundaries, even when they're necessary? Constantly second-guess yourself and struggle to trust your own thoughts, feelings, or decisions? Feel responsible for your mother's emotions and find yourself prioritizing her needs over your own? Experience chronic stress, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or burnout from trying to keep the peace? Not know who you are outside of meeting other people's expectations and fear disappointing your mother? If these experiences resonate with you, the effects of maternal narcissistic abuse may still be impacting your life today. At Cates Counseling & Consulting, I provide mental health support for adult daughters of narcissistic and emotionally immature mothers. Together, we can heal from the mother wound, rebuild self-trust, establish healthy boundaries, and break generational cycles. With options for individual therapy and coaching, you don't have to carry this burden alone. Healing is possible. Virtual therapy is available throughout North Carolina, while coaching is offered nationwide and internationally.
About Cates Counseling and Consulting PLLC
My Services
About Dr. Nzinga Cates
About Dr. Nzinga Cates
You spent years striving for love, approval, or acceptance that should have been given freely. I provide coaching for adult daughters of narcissistic and emotionally immature mothers, helping them heal from people-pleasing, perfectionism, boundary guilt, and chronic self-doubt. Through individual therapy and specialized intensives, you'll
You spent years striving for love, approval, or acceptance that should have been given freely. I provide coaching for adult daughters of narcissistic and emotionally immature mothers, helping them heal from people-pleasing, perfectionism, boundary guilt, and chronic self-doubt. Through individual therapy and specialized intensives, you'll gain the insight and tools necessary for overcoming the effects of maternal narcissistic abuse, rebuilding self-trust, creating healthier relationships, and breaking generational cycles. You don't have to carry the weight of the past any longer. Mental health support and healing start here.
About Dr. Nzinga Cates
About Dr. Nzinga Cates
About Dr. Nzinga Cates
With over 25 years of experience in the mental health field and a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology specializing in Victimology, Dr. Nzinga Cates, LCMHC, offers both clinical expertise and personal insight as a survivor of narcissistic abuse. She provides coaching and individual therapy for high-functioning adults navigating complex relati
With over 25 years of experience in the mental health field and a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology specializing in Victimology, Dr. Nzinga Cates, LCMHC, offers both clinical expertise and personal insight as a survivor of narcissistic abuse. She provides coaching and individual therapy for high-functioning adults navigating complex relationships marked by narcissistic, coercive, and high-conflict dynamics—whether with a parent, partner, or within family systems. Her approach is direct, strategic, and results-focused, helping clients transition from confusion to clarity, rebuild self-trust, and break free from patterns associated with maternal narcissistic abuse.
What Happens in This House: A memoir of strength
What really happens behind closed doors… especially in families where everything looks fine on the outside?
In *What Happens in This House: A Memoir of Strength*, Dr. Nzinga Cates shares her deeply personal journey of growing up with narcissistic parents, shedding light on maternal narcissistic abuse and navigating the confusion, emotional pain, and silent struggles that often go unseen—and unspoken.
This is not just a story about childhood. It’s about what happens after—when you grow up questioning yourself, overextending for love, chasing approval you may never receive, and wondering why relationships feel so hard.
With raw honesty and clarity, Nzinga brings language to experiences many people have lived but could never quite explain. She unpacks the lasting impact of narcissistic abuse, emotional neglect, and mental illness. She explores how those early, deep, painful wounds shaped her identity, her relationships, and her sense of self.
This is where healing began.
This book speaks directly to the early stages of healing for Dr. Cates—that moment when she started to realize something wasn’t right, but didn't yet have the words, the validation, or the understanding. She began to:
- Recognize patterns that she normalized
- Understand how her past was still showing up in her present
- Put language to the feelings she'd carried for years
- Take the first steps toward reclaiming herself
- Set the boundaries needed to move forward
But this book doesn’t leave you in pain.
It walks you through the journey of moving from pain to purpose, from confusion to clarity, and from surviving to finally understanding yourself—and reclaiming your voice.
As both a survivor and a seasoned therapist, Dr. Cates bridges lived experience with professional insight, even before she was Dr. Cates. Her coaching and individual therapy background help readers not only feel seen but also begin to heal. Her work is grounded in the belief that you are not broken—you were shaped by what you experienced, and you can choose something different moving forward.
If this sounds like you…
- You feel like you’re always second-guessing yourself
- You were often blamed or made to feel like the problem growing up
- You learned to walk on eggshells to keep the peace
- You struggle with boundaries and feel guilty putting yourself first
- No matter what you do, you still feel like it’s never enough
This book will meet you right where you are.
You are not alone—and you don’t have to stay stuck.
*What Happens in This House* is more than a memoir. It’s a starting point, a guide for those just beginning to understand their story—and a reminder that mental health support and healing is possible.