From films to novels to real life situations, we have heard the term narcissist and wondered – What are the characterizes a Narcissist? What does it mean to love a Narcissist? Rarely do we have the opportunity to learn the origins and the differences between Narcissism as a healthy sense of self-esteem and the pathology of someone with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In this show, psychologist and psychoanalyst, Dr. Anthony Mazzella joins us to look closer at Narcissism, its origins, ways to understand and ways to cope whether you recognize your own narcissistic behavior or the behavior of the narcissist you love and care about.

Dr. Anthony Mazzella is a psychoanalyst with over 20 years of experience helping individuals and couples navigate complex personality dynamics. He specializes in psychodynamic treatment, with a focus on narcissistic and borderline presentations, using a deeply attuned, insight-oriented approach. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Mazzella is a faculty member and supervisor, mentoring the next generation of mental health professionals. He's also the creator and host of The Narcissism Decoder, a podcast and video channel that brings complex psychoanalytic ideas to life—making them relatable, practical, and especially relevant to understanding personality disorders and relationships.

In this show, Host Dr. Suzanne Phillips welcomes Dr. Elliott Zeisel, Psychoanalyst and Group Therapist whose award-winning televised series of an ongoing therapy group inspired Alexis Lloyd's award-winning film, 'Group: The Schopenhauer Effect,' just being released and starting to be in theaters across the US. In this film, Dr. Zeisel plays the role he has lived for over 40 years as a Group Therapist of an ongoing group of diverse members who have been with him for many years. In the fascinating new film, leader and group face a crisis in the leader's life that illuminates their personal issues and their relationship as group members in painful, powerful and profound ways. The film draws upon the theme of Dr. Irwin Yalom's renowned novel, The Schopenhauer Cure, which captures the pain, possibility, power and intensity of group therapy when the health of the leader is threatened. It is a riveting insider experience of group.

Dr. Elliot Zeisel is a psychoanalyst and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. He has served as the Vice -Chair of the Foundation for Advancing Mental Health. He is a founder of the Center for Group Studies and serves on the faculty. Dr. Zeisel has maintained practices in New York City, Austin, Texas and Rochester, NY. He is an executive producer and actor in an earlier web series GROUP which ran for two seasons, released on YouTube and premiered at the Naples International Film Festival, where it won the Programmer's Choice Award. This feature film was shot three years later with the same cast and crew, with the addition of Thomas Sadoski in the role of the newcomer. It is already being released in theaters to much acclaim. We have the rare privileged to speak today to the man behind the film and group therapist who plays himself in "GROUP - The Schopenhauer Effect."