Vanessa Reiser

Vanessa Reiser is a clinical social worker, LCSW, licensed in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida. She is the author of the book, "Narcissistic Abuse: A Therapist's Guide to Identifying, Escaping, and Healing from Toxic and Manipulative People," which aims to fuse the concepts of cult abuse and narcissistic abuse. Her book is endorsed by Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Dr. Nadine Macaluso, Gretchen Carlson, Debra Newell and Mark Vincinte.

Reiser hosts the podcast, Narcissistic Abuse with Vanessa Reiser, and is a continuing education instructor for Pesi. She is a psychotherapist and founder of the nonprofit TellaTherapist. A long-distance runner and two-time Ironman, Reiser is best known for running the state of New York, 285 miles in 11 days, in a wedding dress to raise awareness for narcissistic abuse. A survivor of narcissistic abuse and a psychotherapist in private practice, Reiser specializes in narcissistic personality disorder and focuses her practice on treating victims and survivors of cults, narcissists, domestic violence and narcissistic abuse. Her insights are both personal and professional, giving her a unique lens into this insidious form of domestic abuse.

Reiser holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and government from SUNY Empire State College and a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California. She is an activist who served on the board of Rockland County’s Center for Safety and Change, a victim-centered nonprofit organization offering free programs and services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes. Reiser also served as a patient advocate at the Global Healthy Living Foundation in Nyack, New York, where she worked to strengthen awareness around people living with chronic illness and to change legislation that would give chronically ill patients better access to care, education, support, advocacy and patient-centered research.