Is there any help for a sociopath esp if they want to do better?

Answer 1

(1) Since most one-on-one therapy styles are not designed around the special needs of a sociopath, the therapist needs to be someone trained to offer a particular style of therapy in which a sociopath's limitations in interpersonal relations are taken into account. (Example: most sociopaths lie frequently; a therapist who expects this will not be personally upset by or fooled by what might not seem to other therapists to be obvious lies. The lying and other undesirable behavior are designed to cope with a near-total inability to trust other people on the part of the sociopath. Since most regular therapies are based upon trust and something called "transference" -- in which the therapist begins to seem to a regular patient to be something like a family member or spouse, and feelings normally directed at such intimates are instead 'transferred' onto the therapist as part of the normal therapy process -- they cannot usually help a sociopath or psychopath. This does not mean nothing can help a sociopath, but it is still very rare to find clinicians equipped to treat this far from rare disorder!)

(2) Still in its infancy is the study of the neurological basis for true sociopathy or psychopathy. There is a genuinely physical cause of this condition, and right now all that can be done is to find medications (such as the anti-seizure drug Depakote) that partially control or reduce the most disruptive aspects of this condition. In the future, there will almost certainly be neurosurgeries designed to correct the deficiencies in the brain, especially in the cerebral cortex, that are the seed of sociopathy. But just because this isn't yet possible, don't assume nothing can be accomplished; something done well and wisely by someone who knows what he or she is doing is better than nothing.

(3) Staying out of jail (or worse) isn't always easy for the sociopath, yet experts (such as Dr. Robert Hare, author of "Without Conscience," a book about dealing with sociopaths, whom he prefers to call psychopaths) estimate that only about 20% of the prison population consists of sociopaths, and that the vast majority of the roughly four per cent of the entire population of the world who are sociopaths do not reside in prisons. Psychiatric treatment is available in most prisons, but it is often not as helpful as it could be, although Dr. Hare reports that prison officials today are generally wiser about this condition than they were a generation or so ago. As long ago as the 1930s, the neo-Freudian psychoanalyst Lindner reported successfully treating a psychopath in prison, and stated that it might not have been possible elsewhere, because the structured routine of the well-run prison in which he worked made treatment possible. The book in which Lindner reported his experience with the inmate he treated is called "The Fifty Minute Hour," and is probably still available in print.

(4) Some people who are misdiagnosed as sociopathic are actually harmed rather than helped by techniques aimed at dealing with sociopaths. For example, DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), a trauma-based condition that has been mistaken for sociopathy even by seasoned clinicians, almost always will get worse, sometimes leading to the patient's suicide, if the patient is treated as a sociopath. Even other "personality disorders," or character disorders, such as BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), can easily be made dangerously worse by being treated as if it were sociopathy (often termed Antisocial Personality Disorder). If you believe you are not a sociopath, but one psychologist or psychiatrist has claimed that you are, find another and get another opinion. Testing should be intensive and the diagnosis arrived at quantitatively, not just as a knee-jerk reaction of opinion or even personal dislike.

(5) People are very fond of saying that sociopaths are "evil" and even claiming that they are not really human, or that they are not real people! They do this -- oddly enough -- out of conflict with their own conscience. Why? Because they think they need to reject sociopaths as "evil" in order to justify being angry at them for the trauma that sociopaths inflict upon others much of the time. But this only makes the situation much worse. Labels like "good" and "evil" are natural in human thought, but they don't belong in a scientific assessment and report. Objective facts and subjective judgments don't mix well. Sociopaths present a problem, but solving it requires those who deal with sociopathy and psychopathy to THINK CLEARLY and rationally. For a clinician to take the patient's problems as a personal insult is bad news for all involved.

(6) Diagnosing children as sociopathic is risky and may actually cause a child with a neurological predisposition toward sociopathic behavior to develop the condition. Most clinicians agree that the diagnosis should be given only to adults, and that preventative measures based on what is known right now about child psychology and parenting should and must be given to children who are very clearly moving in that direction. But beware of any therapist who, for example, calls a child "seductive" or even seeks to blame a child for a pedophile's assault! This is not appropriate, period. And the diagnosis of sociopathy is not supposed to be given as a punishment.

(7) No matter the age of the individual, and no matter whether the diagnosis is or is not accurate, if it is directed as an intended insult or punishment, nothing can be gained based on trust.

Answer 2

No, sociopaths do not respond to traditional therapies, i.e., talk therapy--they only use it to hone their skills at reading people, saying what the other wants to hear. Sociopaths are very convincing at being who and what others suppose or expect them to be and they enjoy the "game" of getting over, not being discovered. There is no medication for sociopaths. They are self-centered, take no responsibility for their actions and blame others for their problems. They lack impulse control, can be and often are violent, are expert at targeting victims and their criminal activities can range from small-time cons like pick-pocketing, b&e, and petty theft to spousal abuse and serial killing. The think they are smarter than everyone else, especially law enforcement. If you have the least little inkling someone in your life may be a sociopath, listen to your gut and run.

Answer 3

By not being embarrassed to make an appointment with a mental health doctor to tell them the symptoms and thoughts the psychopath is experiencing. As well as always remembering not to turn bad thoughts into actions ever.