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“There was no evidence for the hard claim that a psychopath cannot be treated successfully. There was also no evidence that treating a so-called psychopath will result in faster recidivism or that they will be worse afterwards.
Can psychopathy be successfully treated?
- Feeling the same emotion as the other person
- Feeling our own distress in response to their pain
- Feeling compassion toward the other person
How to cure psychopathy?
Since the term psychopath is not an official diagnosis, experts refer to the signs described under ASPD. According to Masand, some of the more common signs to be aware of include: Other behaviors that may be signs of ASPD include a tendency to take risks, reckless behavior, and being deceitful with frequent lying.
What is the criteria to be diagnosed as a psychopath?
The most dangerous is the serial killer who has no regard for human life, operates without conscience and often gets away with it because of cunning and a well thought out execution of the plan. He is the organized psychopath.
What is the worst kind of psychopathy?
What would happen if we didn't treat psychopathy?
If we continue without effective treatments for psychopathy, this could place the public, particularly unknowing, trusting romantic partners, at great risk. Without treatment there are no global tools to protect our society (even to a small degree) from the impact of psychopathic behavior, thought styles and influence.
What happens when a partner expects a change from a psychopathic partner?
Hence, when partners expect a change from a psychopathic partner through the process of love or pointing out his/her hurtful behaviors, the outcome is never change. The outcome is usually a ramping up of the abuse.
Is psychopathy a disinterested person?
As you probably already know, many people with psychopathy are disinterested in treatment. And even the suggestion that something is wrong with them can ignite rage and place others at risk. Most tend to be arrogant and consider their personality status a reflection of superiority, not dysfunction. It is not uncommon that they view those who are ’emotional’ or have capacity for a full range of emotions, as weak in comparison to them.
Is psychopathy a problem?
To date, the treatment of psychopathy has been challenging. There have been very few research studies and dollars put toward modifying this condition in comparison to other psychiatric disorders. Psychopaths represent a small portion of our population, however their behaviors can impact millions. Perhaps even billions if they are a politician.
Do psychopaths have emotional processing problems?
Research indicates that this disorder far exceeds antisocial behavior alone, but rather is associated with significant emotional processing problems. Psychopaths do not process emotional information and social experiences in the same manner as a non-psychopathic individual does.
Do behavioral changes require emotional processing?
Specific behavioral changes do not necessarily require alterations in emotional processing. Skeem and colleagues (2002) studied a group of violent psychopaths and concluded that these individuals actually benefited from frequent and consistent therapeutic interventions.
Is it difficult to modify the brain?
The outcome is usually a ramping up of the abuse. It is extremely difficult to modify brain functions when there are neurobiological limitations of this complexity (e.g., inability to process empathy, lack of bonding, incapable of remorse).
What is the traditional view on the treatment of psychopaths?
Traditional Thought on the Treatment of Psychopaths. The traditional view on the treatment of psychopaths is that treatment just doesn't work. Study after study has shown that the behaviors of the psychopath do not change in response to psychoanalysis, group therapy, client-centered therapy, psychodrama, psychosurgery, ...
Is there a cure for psychopathy?
So it seems that while a 100% cure for psychopathy has not been found, an effective treatment in the psychopath juvenile population has been.
Can juveniles be psychopathic?
Treatment of Juvenile Psychopaths. There is hope for curing psychopaths, however, and that comes in the form of the treatment of juveniles with psychopathic tendencies (" child psychopaths " - psychopathy can't formally be diagnosed until adulthood).
Is psychopathy a genetic disorder?
What we do know is that the majority of prominent theories suggest a predisposition to the disorder. Specifically, temperamental style, low fearfulness, deficiency in psychopathy constraint, or a similar deficit, are frequently mentioned. Psychopathy researchers have also begun to show a genetic link to the disorder. Other theories suggest that psychopathy develops through a specific set of environmental conditions (e.g., poor attachment due to maltreatment). There is little in the theories themselves, however, even those emphasizing genetic factors, that could rule out the potential for treatment.
Is psychopathy untreatable?
In many clinical settings, psychopaths are seen as untreatable de spite a lack of scientific support for this claim. Three problem areas are clear from the research that exists on the topic. First, classification is a critical issue with regard to treatment. Further clarity regarding the features of the disorder is necessary to accurately assess treatment amenability. This clarity can be gained in part by specifying the conceptualization of psychopathy used in treatment-outcome studies as well as the specific symptomatology present that makes it difficult (or easy) to treat them. Also necessary for understanding treatment effectiveness is work on the temporal stability of psychopathy. Few studies have examined the psychopathy-treatment relation from contemporary concepts of the disorder or compared treatment effects across broad models. In a meta-analysis by Salekin, the Cleckley psychopath was the most frequently investigated conceptualization of psychopathy in treatment-outcome studies, yet most current research uses Hare’s conceptualization of psychopathy. Given that his definition differs from Cleckley’s, treatment-outcome studies that employ this definition are necessary, particularly if psychologists are to make statements about treatment amenability based on the PCL-R.
What should families create for treatment?
Families should create a list of priorities for what they are seeking in a treatment program. Priorities can include the specific treatment approach, out-of-pocket costs, proximity of the program to the child’s home, living arrangement (for example, will the child have roommates), and school options (online, on-campus school, local public school).
What are the sources of funding for a child with emotional disturbance?
Possible sources of funding include: Private insurance. Medicaid (some states provide waivers for youths with serious emotional disturbances that increase access to Medicaid beyond typical family income-based limits) ...
Why is residential treatment necessary for youth?
However, because of the complex issues involved in treating youths with psychopathy (including safety concerns, lack of community support, and low access to effective treatment options) residential treatment is a necessary option for many families.
What are the different types of residential treatment?
Residential treatment programs vary in the type, intensity, and length of care they provide. Residential program types include: 1 Psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF) - These programs typically provide the highest level of care. They can be very costly if families are paying privately, but some private insurance plans and Medicaid will cover placement in these programs 2 Non-psychiatric residential treatment facilities (non-PRTF) - These include a wide variety of program designs and treatment options. They are typically not covered by Medicaid, but private insurance plans and other funding sources may support placement in these programs depending on medical necessity 3 Group home models - Group homes provide a lower level of care and less structure, and they allow more connection to the local community
Is non-psychiatric residential treatment covered by Medicaid?
Non-psychiatric residential treatment facilities (non-PRTF) - These include a wide variety of program designs and treatment options. They are typically not covered by Medicaid, but private insurance plans and other funding sources may support placement in these programs depending on medical necessity.
What are some medications that can help with psychopathy?
For example, it is possible antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers may help address the irritability, aggression, and impulsivity associated with the disorder.
Can psychopathic treatment be effective?
Another possible interpretation is that treatments may be more effective for some youth with psychopathic traits than for others. Finally, it is possible that a treatment can be effective even if some participants are less compliant with the treatment than other participants.
Is psychopathy a personality disorder?
Although psychopathy is not currently listed as a personality disorder in the official psychiatric tax onomy (the D SM-IV), it is comprised of enduring affective, behavioral, and interpersonal components and may be conceptualized as a personality disorder.
Do psychopathic patients benefit from treatment?
Another study (Skeem, Monahan, & Mulvey, 2002) examined the relationship between psychopathy, community treatment, and subsequent violence among adults. They found that psychopathic patients showed similar benefits to nonpsychopathic patients in terms of violence reduction following treatment, consisting largely of psychotherapy or psychotherapy and medication, providing they attended a sufficient number of treatment sessions. However, other studies have reported that youth with psychopathic traits do not benefit from treatment, (consisting largely of individual/group therapy and classroom schooling); they exhibited more behavioral problems during treatment, less improvement upon discharge from the treatment setting, poorer participation and attendance in treatment, and higher rates of re-commission of crimes after release (O’Neill, Lidz, & Heilbrun, 2003).
Does psychopathy affect treatment?
Aside from medication, there is some evidence for the effectiveness of treatment in those with psychopathic traits, although findings have been conflicting. A study by Caldwell and colleagues (2007) showed that adolescents rated high in psychopathic features showed improvement following a forensic inpatient treatment which emphasized the development of appropriate interpersonal skills and relationships. Although youth who scored higher in psychopathic traits exhibited poorer behavior during the baseline period and at the time of release than youth low on psychopathy, all of the youth exhibited improved behavior during treatment, regardless of their level of psychopathy. Furthermore, psychopathy scores did not have a significant effect on treatment response, and youth who spent substantial time in treatment were less likely to commit additional violent offenses following release (assessed over a period of four years).
How does psychopathy affect violence?
Psychopathy reflects a pathological form of personality that predisposes individuals to risk for perpetration of chronic and severe violence across their lifespan. The violence attributable to psychopathic persons constitutes a substantial portion of the societal burden to the public health and criminal justice systems and thus necessitates significant attention by prevention experts. However, there is a relatively nascent literature that has examined psychopathic persons' response to treatment, especially considering violence as an outcome. Nevertheless, there have been repeated averments about the amenability (or lack thereof) of psychopathy to treatment. In the present paper, we attempt to provide a comprehensive review of studies assessing the relation of psychopathy to violence outcomes following intervention. Our review of studies suggests there is reason to suspect that specific and tailored interventions which take into consideration psychopathic persons' unique patterns of behavioral conditioning and predispositions may have the potential to reduce violence. However, equally important, certain interventions may potentially exacerbate these persons' violent behavior. The nature of the outcomes is likely highly dependent on the specific components of the intervention itself. We conclude that future research should increase methodological rigor by striving to include treatment control groups and increasing the transparency of the implemented interventions.
What is a psychopath score?
As such, the term psychopath is commonly interpreted to mean individuals scoring at or above 30 (sometimes 25) on the PCL-R. However, for the sake of brevity and in recognition of the dimensional nature, we use the terms psychopath and nonpyschopath to refer to those individuals scoring at the higher or lower ends of the spectrum respectively, and not to suggest reference to any cut score or dichotomous classification.
How many studies have used forensic psychiatric populations?
Three studies used forensic psychiatric populations; two of the three ( Chakhssi et al., 2010; Rice et al., 1992) reported potential iatrogenic effects within the psychopathic groups. Notably, there were significant group differences at baseline in the Rice et al. study, which could have implications for differences in treatment outcomes. The third study ( Skeem et al., 2002 ), reported a dose effect in which high psychopathy patients receiving 7 or more treatment sessions were less violent than those psychopathic patients receiving fewer sessions. However, these significant differences dissipated after the first follow-up period so that there were no differences between high and low treatment psychopathic groups at the remaining follow-up assessments. Additionally, there are significant limitations placed on interpretation due to selective attrition rates in this study.
Is there research on psychopathic violence?
Despite strong speculations for and against the efficacy of treatment for psychopathic individuals, there is a relative dearth of research on this topic, particularly when addressing violence as an outcome. Setting aside the methodological limitations of extant research for a moment, the literature on treatment outcomes for psychopathic violence paints a potentially bleak picture in that there is a general lack of consensus. The most optimistic interpretation is that with intense and rigorous intervention, risk for violence can be reduced in psychopathic persons, but data supporting this supposition are seemingly the minority ( Caldwell, 2011; Caldwell, Skeem, et al., 2006. Alternatively, the less encouraging interpretation is that treatment, or certain variants of treatment, are iatrogenic with at least a subset of adult psychopathic persons ( Chakhssi et al., 2010; Rice et al., 1992 ). Skeem et al. (2011) suggest that “until proven otherwise (via RCTs or other rigorous quasi-experimental studies), the default assumption should be that individuals with psychopathy can be effectively treated” (p. 132). However, considering the potential for iatrogenesis with at least some psychopathic persons under certain treatment conditions, a more conservative/neutral assumption may be warranted when considering violence as an outcome until more methodologically rigorous investigations can identify specific treatment components that reliably lead to reductions in psychopathic violence. In the interim, there are several steps researchers can take to enhance our knowledge of treatment outcomes for psychopathic individuals and to form stronger conclusions about the efficacy of these treatments at reducing future violence.
Is psychopathy a risk factor for aggression?
Additionally, laboratory-based research utilizing college and community samples has repeatedly confirmed that psychopathy is a risk factor for aggression and violence (e.g., Lotze, Veit, Anders, & Birbaumer, 2007; Reidy, Zeichner, & Seibert, 2011 ). The consequences of psychopathic violence reflect a significant cost to society reaching far beyond the individual victims of each violent act. For example, although psychopaths represent less than 1% of the general population and approximately 20% of prison populations ( Blair, Mitchell, & Blair, 2005 ), they perpetrate twice as many violent crimes ( Hare & Jutai, 1983; Porter, Birt, & Boer, 2001 ), and as much as 30–50% of all violent crimes ( Hare, 1993, 1996, 1999; Hare & McPherson, 1984 ), and are estimated to cost the criminal justice system $250–460 billion annually ( Anderson, 1999; Kiehl & Hoffman, 2011 ). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1992), nearly half of all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty were killed by perpetrators matching the personality profile of a psychopath. Moreover, psychopathic offenders have a high risk for recidivism ( Hemphill, Hare, & Wong, 1998; Olver & Wong, 2006; Salekin, 2008) and are five times more likely than nonpsychopathic offenders to recidivate violently ( Serin & Amos, 1995 ). Clearly, psychopathic individuals contribute a significant proportion of the burden that violence imposes on the public.
Is psychopathy a female trait?
At this stage, less is known about female psychopathy and how women's psychopathic traits and treatment needs may vary from the more heavily studied male population. However, it seems particularly noteworthy that among investigations utilizing general forensic populations, only the Richards et al. (2003) study of incarcerated women reported a reduction in violent behavior. In fact, this was the only study we identified that included women in the sample. 8 This could suggest violence perpetrated by psychopathic women could be more amenable to treatment than that of males. It is generally the case that women are less violent than men ( Archer, 2004; Bettencourt & Miller, 1996; Zeichner, Parrott, & Frey, 2003) which may be due to empathy, a known protective factor for aggressive and violent behavior that is present to greater degrees in women ( Yildirim & Derksen, 2012 ). Laboratory research suggests that the emotion dysfunction central to psychopathy may be less dysfunctional for women relative men (e.g., Ragbeer & Burnette, 2013; Reidy, Zeichner, & Foster, 2009; Reidy, Zeichner, Hunnicutt-Ferguson, & Lilienfeld, 2008 ). Future research on psychopathy may benefit from examining whether protective factors for aggression are also more present in female psychopaths and whether high psychopathy women may be more responsive to treatment than their male counterparts. The reduction in violent infractions identified by Richards et al. (2003) are encouraging regarding the amenability to treatment of female psychopaths, but it is also premature to rule out other potential explanations for the results of this study. For example, there were several methodological limitations, including the use of a restricted range for psychopathy scores (i.e., exclusion of women with PCL-R scores over 30) and significant attrition among high risk women. In addition to using an exclusively female sample, this study was also unique in that the treatment applied was aimed primarily at substance abuse, unlike other treatment approaches described in this review, and higher levels of psychopathy remained associated with community recidivism upon release. Thus, there may be alternative explanations for the effectiveness of this treatment that go beyond its focus on women as a subtype of psychopathic persons. Verona and Vitale (2006) note that, “only a few researchers have taken on the pioneering work of attempting to validate measures of psychopathy, and the construct itself, in women” (p. 415). It is, therefore, unclear whether the phenomena identified in men parallel those in women. It will be important for future research to identify which treatments reduce violence with psychopathic women as well as men.
Treatment
- To date, the treatment of psychopathy has been challenging. There have been very few research studies and dollars put toward modifying this condition in comparison to other psychiatric disorders. Psychopaths represent a small portion of our population, however their behaviors can impact millions. Perhaps even billions if they are a politician. Alth...
Causes
- From a neurobiological standpoint (in my opinion), emotions cannot be developed within an adult if they do not have the emotional capacity available to generate and feel those emotions.
Prognosis
- As you can see, our current medication and non-medication interventions do not reduce the core symptoms of psychopathy. Research indicates that this disorder far exceeds antisocial behavior alone, but rather is associated with significant emotional processing problems.
Characteristics
- Psychopaths do not process emotional information and social experiences in the same manner as a non-psychopathic individual does. For example, they use people, rather than connect with them and often view interactions or situations in basic, binary terms:
Symptoms
- It is extremely difficult to modify brain functions when there are neurobiological limitations of this complexity (e.g., inability to process empathy, lack of bonding, incapable of remorse).
Effects
- If we continue without effective treatments for psychopathy, this could place the public, particularly unknowing, trusting romantic partners, at great risk. Without treatment there are no global tools to protect our society (even to a small degree) from the impact of psychopathic behavior, thought styles and influence. This presents a problem, because that means there will b…
Crime
- Unfortunately, we are at risk with psychopaths in the community. As Dr. Hare stated, this condition spells trouble for the rest of us. There is not much the public can do until the crime has been committed or the loss suffered. Although we may not be successful at protecting ourselves from the random criminal acts or influence of individuals with psychopathic traits (e.g., mass shooter…
Future
- There are several researchers working on creating treatment interventions. This would benefit us all, as there would be a chance of making our society a little safer.
Reactions
- Psychopaths Reactions to causing pain within their intimate relationships 4 1 5Shares Psychopathy: Common reactions to causing pain within their relationships © 2013 NeuroInstincts | All Rights Reserved There are many differences between a psychopathic love relationship and a normal intimate relationship. Were going to look at one of those differences their reaction to the …
Selected bibliography
- Skeem, J., Monahan, J., & Mulvey, E. (2002). Psychopathy, Treatment Involvement, and Subsequent Violence Among Civil Psychiatric Patients. Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 26, No. 6, 577 603.
Traditional Thought on The Treatment of Psychopaths
Treatment of Juvenile Psychopaths
- There is hope for curing psychopaths, however, and that comes in the form of the treatment of juveniles with psychopathic tendencies ("child psychopaths" - psychopathy can't formally be diagnosed until adulthood). In this population, a treatment that is a conglomeration of other theories and practices called "decompression treatment," has been used with some success. Init…
The Costs of Psychopath Treatment
- Of course, any treatment that lasts up to and beyond a year is very expensive, however, the cost of criminals getting out of prison only to re-offend (recidivism) is even higher. In the computations done by the study, The Criminal Psychopath: History, Neuroscience, Treatment, and Economics, using conservative treatment effectiveness numbers, it found that if decompression treatment …
Defining Features of Psychopathy
Etiology of Psychopathy
- The etiology for psychopathy is not well understood. Even for proposed theories, the specific linkage between etiology and treatment is not always well developed or articulated. What we do know is that the majority of prominent theories suggest a predisposition to the disorder. Specifically, temperamental style, low fearfulness, deficiency in psychopathy constraint, or a sim…
Treatment-Outcome Studies of Psychopathy
- Another area of concern with respect to the treatment of psychopathy is that there are not many well-controlled treatment-outcome studies. The meta-analysis mentioned earlier showed that there may be some treatment effect for psychopathic individuals. Specifically, treatment may be beneficial if it is intensive and of long duration. This meta-analysis also found that youths eviden…
Directions For Future Studies of Psychopathy
- In many clinical settings, psychopaths are seen as untreatable despite a lack of scientific support for this claim. Three problem areas are clear from the research that exists on the topic. First, classification is a critical issue with regard to treatment. Further clarity regarding the features of the disorder is necessary to accurately assess tre...