Ask a Psychiatrist - How do you treat Psychopathy

We all know someone with psychopathy.
But few know the truth about it. We’re helping change that… by helping you know the signs. Know about treatment options and resources. And know you’re not alone.

Carrie Barron, M.D., is director of Creativity for Resilience at Dell Medical School and an associate professor in the Department of Medical Education. She is also a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Positive Psychology Coach

She joins us today on zoom to discuss treating people with Psychopathy.

[invisiblemissx]

3:12 - I've found that videos like these-- mental health professionals explaining these difficult concepts in a straightforward way-- has been so helpful in understanding the confusing and contradictory experiences that come from being in a close relationship with someone with psychopathy.

I can't thank you enough for sharing your insights.

[reformerx]

Living with psychopaths, especially when there is schizophrenia thrown into the mix, can be very challenging. This video is validating and helpful. I never thought there was a way of helping them fit in better. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[frankcastle]

Thank you! Finally! It gets irritating, anfter decades of abuse, tolerating human people's ignorant remarks towards us. They all have a programmed idea of what they think we are.

[erickrick]

I have Asperger’s and am currently seeking Diagnosis for Classical Ehler’s Danlos. My behavior to others may appear as “psychopathic”, but I have been trying for 37 years to live normally and cannot. Nosology is so important, but psychiatric diagnoses are based purely on observed behavior while the subjective experience of the so called psychotic person is often one of awareness without ability to act in accordance to this awareness. Dopaminergic reward circuitry in the brain is not sufficiently developed to effectively do what I need. Not fully disagreeing with everything said here, but understanding cause and effect is important, and “psychopathic” individuals at least with my diagnostic profile actually feel environmental stimuli very, very strongly, and are highly sensitive people. If I had the support I needed as a child, I would be a very different person, but then this becomes intergenerational. My parents’ parents should have done a better job. I have near constant severe fatigue, but was not allowed to show anger to my mother probably even as a baby crying in my crib. The world was not made for me, then people tell me to do what I cannot do and become upset when I can’t do those things even after I tell them something won’t work for me and I have to fail to demonstrate to them that I cannot do the thing they are requesting and it appears against authority. They do not relate to or want to understand my experience, because it reveals that humans are made of biological machinery, which can go awry. Sick people get abandoned. I look normal, perhaps even Knowing my cognitive profile and that I have a very poor working memory, poor cognitive shifting between different modes of thinking, likely because of metabolic problems in the protein machinery of my neurons and brain areas, brain vasculature, particularly the anterior cingulate cortex, and other frontal pyramidal cortices which represent different “functions” of typical thinking, or connect different brain areas so they are too far apart to function normally or in the proper amount of time, strong deviation from shared cultural norms not because I’m not aware of them, but because I cannot play the roles that society has thrust onto me without becoming deeply fatigued having to “play along”, had untreated but obvious ADHD as a child, and lots of trauma passed down from “loving” parents who perhaps do love me, but have their own problems, and BLAME is very convenient to push onto a “bad” person whose life is going poorly and society refuses to accomodate their differences and its just sad all around, and doesn’t have to be this way. This is while my mother has the appearance of “success”, yet with her background as a corporate lobbyist, her 2 sisters’ greed and own interpersonal problems, I actually recently caught my mother embezzling money from my grandparents family estate and she has not properly executed the will despite her strong legal background. My reputation is destroyed as she is financially withholding while I am trying to offer her a way out of being a criminal who I will send to jail if i have to, and not having a truly loving and understanding mother has caused many, many difficulties that look like me being surly, aloof, uncooperative, but even as a victim of crime I am not believed even by my own therapists. Gaslighting and blameshifting are the same thing. I am not schizophrenic, bipolar, although I might technically meet criteria for BPD, but consider this an outcome of poor parenting which could have been prevented had my neurodevelopmental needs been taken seriously. The problem with psychiatric diagnoses like psychopathy is that victims of abuse appear “psychopathic”. Like me. Because I was victimized by my mother and father in serious life altering ways which they can’t fully take responsibility for and cannot be undone. Imagine knowing that your corporate lobbyist mother took LSD and partied in her first trimester of pregnancy but then realized she was pregnant and kept me anyways. I am both highly intelligent, but have key cognitive deficincies which can be worked around if properly diagnosed and understood in adulthood. These deficincies are not my fault, and my workarounds are seen as “suspicious”. I am both a victim and have received serious moral injury by having to behave in ways that cause great problems for me while society shakes their head and thinks, “don’t be like that guy”. This will be seen as medieval in 50 years or less.

[scottflannigan]

Too many Managers in the work place and a lot of Politicians, CEO of Companies have this or other Anti-social personality disorders and we continue to not address the problem, we get people lives an absolute misery, this is one reason we have wars and other in direct killings of human beings Climate change the amount of people that are dying and not being addressed, it needs to be addressed, we have to get them out of power.

[switzerlandful]

4:12 TRUE... when too much liberty is allowed... weakness is the result.

[JohnSmith-plsf]

Can there be mild forms of psychopathy?

[beeswaxer]

My experience is that some have been taught (through good intentions) by their parents how to “act, ” and thus they have an uncanny ability to get away with behavior by seeming to fit in or faking it.

[DNortRyan]

Possibly Ayahuasca or MDMA..In a sensible setting, and lots of research done beforehand and with a shaman and or doctors.

[AnotherFancyUser]

Incurable, avoid them at all costs if you happen to see behind their lies (which is super difficult).
I have this strange sensation that these people were meant to 'cull the herd' from nature standpoint knowing that other apex predators could not make the job. Even though not all of them are killers, a lot of them manipulate to have power, money and sex (on both genders btw). The lowest of impulses.

[cosmoplakat]

It seems like most psychopaths also charming in some way, and I don't understand the correlation. Jeffrey Dahmer was able to charm the cops into handing one victim back to him!

[backforblood]

So does the objectification of things by psychopaths extend to their perceiving things more in accordance with the shapes, colors, etc., rather than interpreting things like form, etc. based on the highlights, midtones, shadows, etc. as the brains of non-psychopaths do primarily by nature?

[martinhommel]

I dont get that part where "punishment doesnt work but rewards do".
There is no difference between punishment and reward, its just a matter of reframing.
For example in prison (where theres a lot of psychopaths) inmates dont have sweets, coffee, cigarettes unless they behave well.
What is that? a punishment for bad behavior or a reward for good behavior? Its a matter of framing, so how can one work and not the other?

[hillarybillary]

I was waiting for you to talk about when psychopaths get old. Natures karma.

[zacharyb]

Are you worried that by teaching psychopaths how to act, you're helping them become better predators?

[cristinachaliandroi]

It's not treatable i believe How you change the brain structure?

[joellenklemek]

She says getting through guilt and shame. They don’t have any of that.

[IdaKiss]

Perhaps one who goes to therapy, is not psychopath at all.

[Poppy-yxjs]

It’s really hard to understand why this channel agreed to gaslight me when at the time this began I certainly had no conversation about psychopathy anywhere. And don’t work in the mental health field. This channel agreed to participate in a hate campaign against me. I’m a disabled American . I have dyscalculia and this was not diagnosed until I was 40. It has caused me a lot of employment problems because I didn’t know what was wrong with me. The individuals who have been harassing me in the online disruption and hate campaign have caused me very serious mental health issues after I was just recovering from a violent crime against me. I’m now frightened every day and don’t understand why someone did this to me. Locally the person stalking me has burglarized my home over 30 times taking things from my travels and anything that matters to me / including TIME = I’ve been harassed online for 7 years and prior to this locally for another 10 years- this is probably going to k*ll me - and im tired of the nonsense accusations directed at me- hidden cameras were placed in my house- why does this channel not come forward to say why you did this??

[Poppy-yxjs]

I don’t have psychopathy. Why are they so angry when tell them they need to stop gaslighting and get some help?