One of the most painful questions after narcissistic abuse is not usually theoretical. It is personal. People ask whether a narcissistic partner, parent, sibling, adult child, or co-parent can change because their own future feels tied to the answer.
The realistic answer is that change can happen, but it is usually slow, demanding, and dependent on the other person's genuine motivation. Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder is centred on psychotherapy, and reputable clinical sources describe therapy as the main route for improving relationships, responsibility, emotional understanding, and functioning. That does not mean a distressed family member can argue someone into doing the work.
Meaningful change looks less like a dramatic apology and more like consistent behaviour under stress: less retaliation when criticised, more capacity to repair harm, fewer entitlement-driven demands, and a willingness to stay with therapy when shame or vulnerability appears. It is measured over time, not during the temporary softness that can follow conflict, exposure, or loss.
For the person who has been harmed, the useful question is often not, 'Can they change?' but 'What am I organising my life around while I wait?' Your suffering does not become a treatment plan for someone else. Hope can be humane, but it becomes costly when it asks you to abandon your own safety, clarity, finances, parenting, health, or reality testing.
Bailey can help you think through the pattern without pressuring you to diagnose anyone. The work is to separate possibility from probability, promises from repair, and compassion from self-abandonment.