Dr. Lyndsay Elliott

Hoovering is a manipulation tactic in which a narcissist attempts to re-establish contact and pull someone back into a relationship after a period of distance, conflict, or discard — using whatever approach is most likely to work on that specific person, whether that's affection, guilt, crisis, or anger.

I specialize in narcissistic abuse recovery because it sits at the intersection of two things I've spent my entire career working with: complex trauma and the ways people lose — and rebuild — trust in their own perception.

Flying monkeys are people who act on behalf of a narcissist — carrying messages, gathering information, applying pressure, or harassing the narcissist's target — often without fully understanding they are being used to do so.