Being a sociopath and a psychologist.

[CogNeuroGuy]

It's been a little while since I posted; mainly due to the start of school almost two months ago, but I wanted to pose an interesting question and see the reactions.

Simply put, is it possible to be a sociopath and to be a psychologist?

With a not so clear-cut view of being a psychopath vs. a sociopath, I realize that they are measured on a continuum and there are at least 4-5 versions of sociopathy (off the top of my head I can think of).

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[WisNeuro]

I manage.

But, all kidding aside, I think so. I imagine in academia it's much easier. And in clinical work, I imagine there are certain specialties that are more amenable (neuropsych being one). As you alluded to though, this isn't a categorical or even unidimensional construct, so there are so many caveats here that the question is difficult to answer.

 

[erg923]

Simply put, is it possible to be a sociopath and to be a psychologist?

Of the Cleckley kind, yes.

 

[CogNeuroGuy]

Surprisingly today....I managed to make my therapist cry and become very apprehensive to work with me further after our session today, she had told me she personally believes that sociopaths and psychopaths cannot be rehabilitated or treated. So, I did some brief research to see what has been done, and little research is actually out there on the efficacy of CBT treatment, but that's mainly due to a lack of focused research on that modality itself (catch 22).

Otherwise, I find myself in the "disempathetic type" subgroup of sociopathy. Without going into a grand analysis of myself on here, I will say that I am finding it difficult. I left my position at the medical university, and I am unsure if I should be someone in a position that is paid to be empathetic towards others. Evidently I was unable to master the art of psychometrics in the "1.5 month" time frame that I was supposed to achieve. According to my mentor (whom I have a high amount of respect and regard for), simply mentioned that if I couldn't hack it in 2 months, I was never going to get it.

Back on topic, I would imagine this isn't a desirable trait that most doctoral programs would want in a future psychologist. I do remember a story about the head of psychology for Southern Illinois University who is a psychopath, he had killed his family as a teenager, and managed to come out as a psychologist and eventually a head of a department. I suppose this is a good example of an outlier.

 

[erg923]

Commission of murder does not equal psychopathy. Similarly, difficult leveraging empathy does not equal psychopathy. All of us, sans Jesus Christ himself, struggle to put all on the same level pestastal.

I think your therapist is being a bit mellow-dramatic.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My general rule of thumb is: if a person is worried about being a sociopath, then he or she probably isn't one. I used to really struggle with empathy at one point in my life, but that had more to do with my own defenses against emotions. During my training, those walls broke and then I really had to struggle with containing those emotions. Quitting smoking played a role in that, too.

 

[Nahsil]

My general rule of thumb is: if a person is worried about being a sociopath, then he or she probably isn't one. I used to really struggle with empathy at one point in my life, but that had more to do with my own defenses against emotions. During my training, those walls broke and then I really had to struggle with containing those emotions. Quitting smoking played a role in that, too.

This is my experience with empathy as well, blocked off by a defense mechanism targeting some other really powerful emotions. (hooray, not a sociopath!)

 

[PsychBiker]

On another note:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/is-being-a-clinical-psychologist-depressing.267844/

 

[Spydra]

OP, in general I don't think it is a good idea to self diagnose because any one of us could drive ourselves crazy thinking we have this or that. I can't say whether you're a sociopath or not, but if you struggle with empathy I would say its important to consider other reasons why that may be. Just because sociopathy is a reason one could find themselves empathy challenged doesn't mean that it is your reason.

 

[Nahsil]

OP, in general I don't think it is a good idea to self diagnose because any one of us could drive ourselves crazy thinking we have this or that. I can't say whether you're a sociopath or not, but if you struggle with empathy I would say its important to consider other reasons why that may be. Just because sociopathy is a reason one could find themselves empathy challenged doesn't mean that it is your reason.

yes, related to my and smalltown's posts, I do think there are multiple potential "causes" for lack of empathy or at least lack of its manifestation as such.

btw off-topic but Jethro Tull have the awesome lyrics: "and it's only the giving / that makes us / what we are"

 

[deadmau5]

I think i have too much empathy

 

[smalltownpsych]

I think i have too much empathy

I don't know if it is possible to have too much empathy, but it is important to be able to separate yourself from your patient's experience and to be able to manage your own emotional experiences. Also, be careful about misplaced empathy. Kohut talks about the concept of accurate empathy which I think is helpful in that regard.

 

[deleted176373]

Surprisingly today....I managed to make my therapist cry and become very apprehensive to work with me further after our session today, she had told me she personally believes that sociopaths and psychopaths cannot be rehabilitated or treated. So, I did some brief research to see what has been done, and little research is actually out there on the efficacy of CBT treatment, but that's mainly due to a lack of focused research on that modality itself (catch 22).

Cluster B is Cluster B. In my opinion, Sociopaths are not different than Borderlines from the standpoint that they are capable of being treated and capable of responding to treatment. The relevant question becomes is the provider/patient dynamic capable of generating an environment in which productive work can be achieved. I cry for those who believe that personality disorders are intractable.

Mark

 

[smalltownpsych]

Cluster B is Cluster B. In my opinion, Sociopaths are not different than Borderlines from the standpoint that they are capable of being treated and capable of responding to treatment. The relevant question becomes is the provider/patient dynamic capable of generating an environment in which productive work can be achieved. I cry for those who believe that personality disorders are intractable.

Mark

You are conflating sociopath with Antisocial PD. Many who meet criteria for Antisocial PD are substance abusers that can be treated for their substance abuse and then no longer meet the criteria. From what I know, as a psychologist who has friends who are forensic psychologists , a sociopath is a whole different type of person and the research is pretty sparse on effective treatment. From my own clinical experience it seems that the motivation to change seems to be lacking. After all, it is everybody elses fault. Have you ever sat in a jail cell with a violent offender and heard them justify why he "had to beat her down"? I tend to think the best "treatment" at this point in time is the legal system, but I am open to hearing about research that demonstrates otherwise.

 

[postitnote]

This is a nice paper:
http://psi.sagepub.com/content/12/3/95.full?ijkey=JZXNgVmoiiDLI&keytype=ref&siteid=sppsi

Toward the end, Skeem et al. review the few relevant studies of treatment, showing the number of complications with this kind of research question.