The Psychopathy Blog

By now, we all know about the crimes committed by Elizabeth Holmes and Ghislaine Maxwell. We also know how many lies they told, including lies falsely blaming other people for crimes like abuse. 

“Your child is not normal”. Can you imagine feeling happy and relieved at reading these words about your child–words that were written to me by an experienced therapist?  

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

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

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

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

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)…