Are Sociopaths and Psychopaths Doomed for Eternity?
Dottie went through tough times in her younger days, but she has been clean and sober for more than a decade. She admitted at A.A. recently that she once was an unholy terror and probably was a sociopath. Then she wondered out loud to the group, "Can a sociopath really be cured?"
And, I wondered, what are sociopaths and psychopaths? Are they the same thing? And can they be cured? I turned to my good friend Mr. Google. According to L. Michael Tompkins, EdD, a psychologist at the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Center, a key difference between a sociopath and a psychopath is conscience, "the little voice inside that lets us know when we're doing something wrong."
A psychopath has no conscience at all. "If he lies to you so he can steal your money, he won't feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to. He may observe others and then act the way they do so he's not 'found out.'"
A sociopath has a conscience, but it is weak. "He may know that taking your money is wrong, and he might feel some guilt or remorse, but that won't stop his behavior." (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference#1)
Neither has empathy, but a psychopath has less regard for others. Most doctors prefer the term "antisocial personality disorder," which takes in both disorders. Now, to Dottie's question: Is there a cure?
"While it can be quite resistant to change, research shows there are a number of effective treatments for this disorder. For example, teenagers who receive therapy that helps them change the thinking that leads to this maladaptive behavior (cognitive behavioral psychotherapy*) experience a significant decrease in the incidence of engaging in repeat antisocial behaviors....
"Firm but fair behavior therapy to reward appropriate actions, and programming that emphasizes ... the skills that one can use to live ... within the rules and limits of society (have) been effective treatment...." (https://www.medicinenet.com/antisocial_personality_disorder/article.htm)
(*For more on cognitive behavior therapy, see http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt-htm/)
Medications don't directly treat behaviors of antisocial personality disorder, but can help in addressing other conditions that can co-occur, such as depression, anxiety, and impulsive anger.
I interpret all this mumbo-jumbo to mean sociopaths and psychopaths can be cured, or improved, with the right kind of therapy. Based on what I hear at A.A. meetings, nearly all members have been through various kinds of therapy and medications to treat addiction. Open-discussion A.A. meetings is a form of therapy as people share what does and doesn't work to keep them off alcohol.
So Dottie, your professional treatments may have cured you or softened your symptoms. Honestly sharing at A.A. meetings and individually with other recovering alcoholics adds to your treatment, because doing so strengthens your empathy and your conscience.
Without empathy, why would anyone care to attend A.A. to learn from listening and sharing? Sociopaths and psychopaths would attend only if they took away something of value for themselves, not to help others with addiction.
And, I wondered, what are sociopaths and psychopaths? Are they the same thing? And can they be cured? I turned to my good friend Mr. Google. According to L. Michael Tompkins, EdD, a psychologist at the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Center, a key difference between a sociopath and a psychopath is conscience, "the little voice inside that lets us know when we're doing something wrong."
A psychopath has no conscience at all. "If he lies to you so he can steal your money, he won't feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to. He may observe others and then act the way they do so he's not 'found out.'"A sociopath has a conscience, but it is weak. "He may know that taking your money is wrong, and he might feel some guilt or remorse, but that won't stop his behavior." (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference#1)
Neither has empathy, but a psychopath has less regard for others. Most doctors prefer the term "antisocial personality disorder," which takes in both disorders. Now, to Dottie's question: Is there a cure?
"While it can be quite resistant to change, research shows there are a number of effective treatments for this disorder. For example, teenagers who receive therapy that helps them change the thinking that leads to this maladaptive behavior (cognitive behavioral psychotherapy*) experience a significant decrease in the incidence of engaging in repeat antisocial behaviors...."Firm but fair behavior therapy to reward appropriate actions, and programming that emphasizes ... the skills that one can use to live ... within the rules and limits of society (have) been effective treatment...." (https://www.medicinenet.com/antisocial_personality_disorder/article.htm)
(*For more on cognitive behavior therapy, see http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt-htm/)
Medications don't directly treat behaviors of antisocial personality disorder, but can help in addressing other conditions that can co-occur, such as depression, anxiety, and impulsive anger.
I interpret all this mumbo-jumbo to mean sociopaths and psychopaths can be cured, or improved, with the right kind of therapy. Based on what I hear at A.A. meetings, nearly all members have been through various kinds of therapy and medications to treat addiction. Open-discussion A.A. meetings is a form of therapy as people share what does and doesn't work to keep them off alcohol.
So Dottie, your professional treatments may have cured you or softened your symptoms. Honestly sharing at A.A. meetings and individually with other recovering alcoholics adds to your treatment, because doing so strengthens your empathy and your conscience.Without empathy, why would anyone care to attend A.A. to learn from listening and sharing? Sociopaths and psychopaths would attend only if they took away something of value for themselves, not to help others with addiction.
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