Clinically, we observe that patients whose self-esteem is especially brittle require certain considerations in formulating a treatment plan (e.g., Gold & Stricker, 2011). We refer to such patients as narcissistically vulnerable, but we are not using the term narcissistic pejoratively or as an equivalent to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) category of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In contemporary psychoanalysis, as informed by self psychology (Kohut, 1977, 1984) and relational theory (e.g., Mitchell, 1986), narcissism is appreciated as a normal part of being human, and healthy self-love has its own developmental course intertwined with that of developing love for others. Regulating self-love and self-worth-that is, self-esteem-through life's inevitable failures, successes, losses, accomplishments, disapproval, and praise is a universal challenge requiring multiple adjustments, calibrations, and stabilizations daily. Some people, however, because of developmental setbacks and insufficiencies, struggle significantly with restoring a realistic, positive, and integrated sense of themselves through the upturns and downturns of fortune and misfortune. 7 EXPERIENCE OF SELF AND OTHER: NARCISSISTIC VULNERABILITIES