If the Shoe Fits, Wear It? Working Through the Cinderella Complex

The premise of Colette Dowling's The Cinderella Complex was a scalding one when it was first published in 1981, but the book struck a deep chord and became an instant bestseller. Nowadays the "Cinderella Complex" might seem like a dated concept, but it remains strikingly relevant for two of my patients. Both hold deeply entrenched Cinderella fantasies that arose from having served as narcissistic extensions. Through exploring and reconsidering various versions of the fairytale that parallel my patients' own histories, I attempt to work through their deep sense of emotional impoverishment, from which they might only be rescued by a more powerful other.