Dark Contracts: Breaking the Nex of Narcissistic and Psychopathic Control

By Deirdre Rolfe

Some bonds aren’t relationships. They’re psychological contracts, unspoken, coercive, and invisible to the outside world.

Dark Contracts is Part One of a complete therapeutic system designed to illuminate, deconstruct, and ultimately heal the invisible damage caused by narcissistic, psychopathic, and coercively controlling relationships. Written by psychotherapist Deirdre Rolfe, this book introduces the concept of the Nex, a parasitic psychological tether formed through gaslighting, trauma bonding, emotional deprivation, and the systematic dismantling of a survivor’s truth. These contracts are not chosen; they are conditioned and this book shows you exactly how.
Blending clinical frameworks, attachment science, psycholinguistics, and trauma-informed neurobiology, Dark Contracts provides a foundation of understanding for survivors and clinicians alike. It decodes the behaviors of Dark Triad personalities, explains the mechanisms of psychological entrapment, and offers a path back to sovereignty through truth, language, and embodied awareness.

This book is the education and foundation of a larger healing model:
Part Two, The TR6 Model (forthcoming), maps the progressive emotional shadows and survival states trauma survivors often get stuck in such as rumination, re-injury, and rage and offers a structured therapeutic framework to process and climb out of them.
Part Three, TraumaCode, is a 96-card healing deck with guidebook and online training program designed for both personal use and practitioner integration. It offers a daily reflective and ritual-based practice that deepens healing through metaphor, somatic awareness, and narrative repair.

Together, these three works form a complete therapeutic system for survivors ready to heal, for professionals ready to support them, and for anyone seeking to name, unbind, and transform their trauma into power.

Deirdre came from the perfect family or at least that's what's so many people thought, looking from the outside in. Trauma hides. It's a nice thought to think people don't care how you dress or how big your house is, whether your parents are good-looking, what kind of car you drive or what school you attend. Deirdre learned most people care, a lot. It's a different world for the privileged and it's not just the material perks. Beyond the illusions of perfection, dark secrets can hide. Total chaos can live undisturbed by social welfare, the police and the laws imposed on everyone else. You see money is a law unto itself. People can and do look away. Money is power and in the hands of a psychopath, that level of power is as important to him as the need for one's own breath.

You Are as Sick as Your Secrets is a deeply personal and unflinching memoir by Deirdre J Rolfe, chronicling her experiences growing up in a family that, while appearing perfect from the outside, was riddled with multifaceted trauma. The book delves into the hidden chaos that can exist behind facades of privilege, exploring themes of psychological, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. Rolfe’s narrative sheds light on how societal structures and wealth can mask deep-seated dysfunctions, allowing trauma to persist unchecked. Beyond recounting her own story, Rolfe offers insights and encouragement for readers to confront and triumph over their own traumas, advocating for healing, love, and a fulfilling life. 

About the Author

Deirdre J Rolfe is a Clinical Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Clinical Hypnotherapist based in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia. With over 30 years of experience, she specializes in treating complex trauma, narcissistic & psychopathic (Dark Triad ) abuse recovery, addictions, anxiety, and other mental health challenges with a focus on resilience, radical acceptance and adaptation .Rolfe integrates evidence-based therapies with holistic approaches, including Jungian psychology, somatic body work, Symbols, Metaphors and Rituals and mindfulness practices. She is also the creator of TraumaCode, a 96-card therapeutic system designed for personal development and professional use. In addition to her clinical work, Rolfe conducts workshops, offers supervision for other therapists, and is available for public speaking engagements.

Deirdre is also the author of Dark Contracts: Breaking the Nex Of Narcissistic and Psychopathic control a powerful resource for survivors of Dark Triad abuse, for those trying to get out or for those who love someone entangled. This book is also highly recommended for therapists who work with survivors of these layered and complexed forms of abuse.

For more information or to connect with Deirdre Rolfe, you can visit her website:

www.counselloroncall.com.au

or find her at CounsellorOncall on Instagram and tictok