r/Empaths•
kaym94

Tips to help my narcissist father?

Discussion Thread

Hello everyone. I'm writing this post to see if you have similar experiences or perhaps some tips to help my narcissist dad become a better person?

I hate labels, but for the sake of making the story short:

  • My dad is an abusive narcissist (probably because of all the trauma caused by his own mother)

  • My mother died recently of a neuroendocrine cancer, probably caused by the extreme amont of stress that my father caused

  • I'm the "awakened empath" son who finally got over his family traumas

I confronted my dad yesterday to inform him that I do not want him in my life because of everything he did. However, I was (positively) shocked by his behaviour. After I accused him of all the abuse, cheating, manipulations, etc.. he had the typical narcissist reactions - anger, denial, and accusing me of being crazy. He even ran away like a child to the garage. But after I followed him, he actually calmed down and acknowledged a lot of the bad things he did. We even drank a beer together, talked a bit more, and then I went home.

It gave me hope that I could actually help my narcissist dad to change. I don't expect his narcissism to be healed, but if people around him suffer less then I'm fine with it. After my mom passed away, he started seeing a therapist. I know that he keeps lying to the therapist and is not telling all the truth. But with the current situation (especially if he accepts that I participate to his therapy sessions), I think that there is a decent chance to help him become a better person.

Do you guys think that there is a slight chance or am I just delusional/naive? Perhaps do you have similar experiences or some tips to help him?

Posted Jun 4, 2026, 12:48 AM UTC

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