Brown, Jerrod

Peterson, Jillian K.

English

Hamline University: DigitalCommons@Hamline

Hamline UniversityDigitalCommons@HamlineCollege of Liberal Arts All Faculty Scholarship College of Liberal ArtsFall 2015Psychopathy: What Mental Health ProfessionalsNeed to KnowJillian K. PetersonHamline University, jpeterson68@hamline.eduJerrod BrownFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cla_facultyPart of the Clinical Psychology CommonsArticle originally published int the Newsletter of the Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. All rights reserved.This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts at DigitalCommons@Hamline. It has been accepted for inclusionin College of Liberal Arts All Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Hamline. For more information, please contactdigitalcommons@hamline.edu.Recommended CitationPeterson, Jillian K. and Brown, Jerrod, "Psychopathy: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know" (2015). College of Liberal ArtsAll Faculty Scholarship. Paper 6.http://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cla_faculty/6www.mamft.net16 • Vol. 33, No. 3 Fall 2015by Jillian Peterson and Jerrod BrownThe media commonly uses the term “psychopath” to refer to persons, generally criminals, who act outside of the moral sphere. They may be real, like Ted Bundy or Charles Manson, or charac-ters such as Hannibal Lector or Dexter Morgan – the lines between the fanciful and the factual can become blurred in our imagination. However, psychopathy is an important concept in forensics, and is increasingly prominent in mental health studies, and thus deserving of measured consideration.Characteristically, a psychopath is defined as having such traits as charming, manipulative, deceitful, emotionally shallow, callous, impulsive, irresponsible, blasé, extravagant, and directionless (Hare, 2003). While the prevalence of psychopathy among the general population is estimated to be around 1-2% (Newman & Hare, 2008), it is thought to exist in around 30% of prison populations (Hart & Hare, 1997). Mental health professionals must be aware of several key points when dealing with the label of psychopathy.•  Although considered to be a disorder of personality, there has never been an entry for psychopathy in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as of its 5th edition. Psychop-athy is sometimes considered to be similar to Antisocial Personality Disorder, which is an Axis II disorder in the DSM; yet, there are a number of important differences. Namely, Antisocial Personality Disorder does not feature the emotional deficits and lack of complex human emotions and attachments that are the hallmark features of psychopathy. •  When psychopaths are portrayed in the media, it is often as violent serial killers (i.e. Dexter, Hannibal Lector). However, violence and criminality are actually not diagnostic features of psychopathy (Skeem & Cooke, 2010). Individuals with psychopathic personality features can be found in a number of professions such as business, politics, law enforcement, and entertainment (Lykken, 1995). •  Psychopathy is often assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: a 20-item semi-structured interview that takes about three hours to administer (PCL-R; Hare, 2003). The assessment must be adminis-tered by a trained clinician. Each item is scored as a 0, 1, or 2, and a total score above 30 typically classifies an individual as a psychopath. The PCL-R is used for assessing psychopathy in wide variety of clinical, legal, and research settings. •  Many scholars believe that there is more than one type of psy-chopath. A common distinction is between primary psychopaths (who show an emotional deficit and are charming, grandiose, and cunning) and secondary psychopaths (who show an emotional dis-turbance and are impulsive, irresponsible, and have poor behavioral control (Skeem, Polaschek, Patrick, & Lilienfeld, 2011). Theoret-ically, primary psychopathy is more biologically based, resulting in an emotional deficit. In contrast, secondary psychopathy is more environmentally based, resulting in an emotional disturbance. •  Studies have found that psychopathy is about 50% genetic and 50% environmental (Blonigen, Hicks, Krueger, Patrick, & Iacono, 2005). Environmental risk factors include child abuse, social disadvantage, and lack of parental involvement (Peterson, Skeem, Kennealy, & Camp, under review). •  For many years, psychopathy was considered impossible to treat. However, new studies are showing that although psychopaths are difficult to treat (as they are often unpleasant, disruptive, noncom-pliant), they still show improvement if they receive adequate doses of treatment (Salekin, 2002). Cognitive-behavioral programs to treat psychopathy are currently being developed and evaluated. There are a number of controversies still surrounding the definition, assessment, and treatment of psychopathic individuals. For example: is psychopathy a category of people, or should psychopathic per-sonality features be scored along a continuum? Are there “successful psychopaths” who do not engage in antisocial behavior? Whether the designation of psychopath is valid across gender, race, and culture is also unsettled. For mental health professionals, “psychopath” is a label that may carry important implications for treatment and programming. Rather than cast aside psychopathic individuals as untreatable, it is important to understand that there are different forms of psychopathy with differ-ent etiological backgrounds. Psychopathic patients can be approached in mental health settings as high-risk individuals who are appropriate targets for intensive services. Jillian Peterson, Ph.D. Dr. Jillian Peterson is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Hamline University in St. Paul, where she teaches classes in forensic psychology and research methods.  She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine with an emphasis on Psychology and Law.  Dr. Peterson previously worked as a special investigator on death row cases in New York City, as a research coordinator at the University of Minnesota, and as a jury and trial consultant.  She has published multiple articles related to risk assessment, psychopathy, mental illness and crime, and school shootings.  Jerrod Brown, MA, MS, MS, MS, is the Treatment Director for Path-ways Counseling Center, Inc. Path-ways provides programs and services benefiting individuals impacted by mental illness and addictions. Jerrod is also the founder and CEO of the American Institute for the Advance-ment of Forensic Studies (AIAFS), lead developer and program director of an online graduate degree program in Forensic Mental Health from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Editor-in-Chief of Forensic Scholar Today. Jerrod is currently in the dissertation phase of his doctorate degree program in psychology. For additional questions or a complete list of references on this article, contact Jerrod Brown at jerrod01234brown@live.com.Psychopathy: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know

Psychopathy: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know

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Psychopathy: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know

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