By Carrie Barron – A psychopathic person can have a profound impact on others. Determining if someone actually has this condition can be a challenge but matters for treatment and prognosis. Diagnosis can be confounding because some of the criteria listed in the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R, below) overlap with other similar conditions…

By Lillyth Quillan – When you hear the word psychopath, what is the first image that comes to mind? An iconic film character like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs, or Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange? Or a real-life example like Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), Joseph James DeAngelo…

By Mary Turner Thomson – A couple of decades ago I met my perfect partner, Will Jordan. An American businessman living in Scotland, who was charming, funny, intelligent, seemingly kind and generous, and appeared to love me unconditionally. After a two-year engagement we got married and – even though he (and his parents) told me it was a medical impossibility – we had two children together…

By Jen Griffis – Several years ago, I sat in the passenger seat on a chilly winter evening, my phone screen glowing in my hand as we headed to the treatment center. Our child had been displaying increasingly dangerous behaviors at home and – after a long struggle trying to convince professionals we needed help…

By Carrie Barron – What’s the difference between these two common and often-confused conditions? Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by instability in identity, mood, and feelings of security. In the DSM 5, it is a Cluster B personality disorder, which captures disorders marked by dramatic or unpredictable behaviors.

By Dean Fido – Humans share a well-documented and powerful connection with the natural world. Research has consistently found that individuals whose lives are interwoven and connected with nature experience benefits and improvements across many domains: quality of life, body image, and both mental and physical wellbeing.

By Hedwig Eisenbarth – While it might not be intuitive to think about shame when thinking about psychopathy, there might be actually relevant mechanisms to consider when it comes to internalising negative emotions, such as shame. In a recent publication, Carlo Garofalo and Patrizia Velotti (Garofalo & Velotti, 2021)…

By Lillyth Quillan – Not everyone knows that cruelty to animals is illegal. And not everyone knows that children with Conduct Disorder (CD), in addition to their other behavioral challenges, are more likely to engage in animal cruelty than other neurotypical children. What they also don’t know is: all too often, officials don’t seem to know or care themselves. This is a big problem. I’ve heard many stories of animal cruelty over the years, but three stand out.