Life Stealers...how to stop them
No Conscience -
No limit to the Lies.....
.......until we set them.
Articles & Books - Video Links
Articles by Members of our Board
By Rebecca Potter, Psychotherapist, Board Member
Sadly, on February 11, 2012, the world lost another woman’s voice when Whitney Elizabeth Houston died in her hotel room. The press talked about her drug and alcohol use, her bizarre behavior, etc. Reporters briefly mentioned her tumultuous marriage. Did we lose another beautiful woman’s voice to the tragic, permanent, emotional and physical side effects of leaving an abusive marriage, and/or the struggle of trying to protect her young child from a dangerous man in the legal system?
Six years ago when I struggled to leave an abusive husband, I believed in the legal system. I believed we were blessed with a legal system that was a professional organization where my rights and property would be protected. I went to family court believing what I had been taught, the words of "And Justice For All" drilled into my mind with my morning prayer as I began my school day, were replaced with reality that our system of justice is broken. I now know there is no justice in family court and in fact there is extreme injustice.
The Sociopath has an amazing ability to determine who can be manipulated or is vulnerable. When I separated from my sociopath, I had to recognize how I was conditioned as a child to be trusting and compliant. I was rewarded when I took care of others, my parents wanted a kind child. Their shaping was successful and I care very well for others. What I lacked was the ability to care for myself and to discern who deserved my care; who would return the love and respect that I gave. Lack of this discernment exposed me to many abusive personalities. I became a magnet for abusive personalities and I did not know how to transcend betrayals of abusive people.
By Melinda Pillsbury-Foster, Journalist, Board Member
Books - Recommended Reading
Students, Researchers and Clinicians:
by Whitney Hughlett from Online Psychology Degree
In 1998, a federal law was passed by the United States Congress, entitled The Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998 which included a possible official definition of a serial killer as one who commits “a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” But in no way does that even come close to identifying the complex brain and thought patterns that define a serial killer. MORE
Edited by Hugues Herve, Ph.D., and John C. Yuille, Ph.D., R. Psych., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Mahwah, NJ, 2007, 578 pp.
by James Blair Ph.D., Derek Mitchell, Ph.D., and Karina Blair, Ph.D., Blackwell Publishing, Malden (MA), Oxford, Carlton (AUS), 2005.
Unmasking the Psychopath: Antisocial Personality and Related Syndromes (1986) Edited by William H. Reid, Ph.D., Darwin Dorr, Ph.D., John I. Walker, Ph.D., and Jack W. Bonner III, Ph.D., W. W. Norton & Company, New York, London, 1986.
Edited by Carl B. Gacono, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah (NJ), London, 2000.
Edited by: Theodore Millon, Erik Simonsen, Morten Birket-Smith, Roger D. Davis, The Guilford Press, New York, 1998.
by David T. Lykken, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., New Jersey, 1995, 259 pp. (ISBN 0-8058-1974-6)
(Hardcover), Christopher J. Patrick Ph.D. (Editor), The Guilford Press, 2005, 639 pp. (ISBN 1-59385-212-6)
Criminal Justice Professionals:
by Bud Allen and Diana Bosta, Rae John Publishers, 1981 (ISBN-13: 9780960522606)
Game over: Strategies for Redirecting Inmate Deception Bill Elliott Ph.D. and Vicki Verdeyen Ph.D., American Correctional Association, 2002.
Jack Katz, Ph.D., New York: Basic Books, 1990.
Biographies and Fiction:
Frank Partnoy, PublicAffairs 266 pp., April 2009 (ISBN 9781586487430) From the book jacket: “The Match King is a skillfully told tale of the romance and the corruption involved in attempting to be on top of the world. How did Kreuger enlist the loyalty of the people essential to him? Yes, some he bought, but most—he beguilded.”
—Robert A.G. Monks, author of Corpocracy and The New Global Investors
Geoffrey Wolff, Vintage Books USA 304 pp., 1979 (ISB0-679-72752-3)
From the book jacket: “Duke Wolff was a flawless specimen of the American clubman—a product of Yale and the OSS, a one-time fighter pilot turned aviation engineer. Duke Wolff was a failure who flunked out of a series of undistinguished schools, was ‘passed up for military service, and supported himself with desperately improvised scams, exploiting employers, wives, and, finally, his own son.
The Stranger Beside Me (Ted Bundy – His Shocking True Story) : The Book on Two Cassettes
Ann Rule, W.W. Norton & Company USA
From the book jacket: “The most fascinating killer in modern American history. . . . Ann Rule has an extraordinary angle that makes The Stranger Beside Me as dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at midnight.”
—Thomas Thompson, New York Times
Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death Ann Rule, Mass Market Paperback, 480 pp., September 2004 (ISBN 9780743410137)
From the book jacket: “A convincing portrait of a meticulous criminal mind.”
—The Washington Post
General Audience (Psychopathy and Healing/Recovery)
Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the
Psychopaths Among Us, Robert D. Hare, Ph.D. New
York: Guilford Press, 1999, 236 pp. (ISBN
1-57230-451-0)
“The world’s most renowned psychopathy researcher
has leavened sharp scientific insights with page-turning case descriptions in a rare publishing feat: a book that is both highly readable and highly reputable.”
—John Monahan, Ph.D.
The Sociopath Next Door, Martha Stout, Ph.D., Broadway
Books, NY, 2005, 256 pp. (ISBN 978-0-7679-1581-6)
“A fascinating, important book about what makes good
people good and bad people bad, and how good people
can protect themselves from those others.”
—Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Just Like His Father? A Guide to Overcoming Your Child’s
Genetic Connection to Antisocial Behavior Addiction &
ADHD, Liane J. Leedom, M.D., Health and Well-Being
Publications, Fairfield, CT, 2006, 245 pp. (ISBN
978-0977801305
From the book jacket: “Do either of your child’s parents have alcoholism or another addiction or ADHD? Do these problems exist in your extended family? Is your child adopted? Do you know the birth parents’ genetic background? If you answered yes to any of the questions, you may be caring for a genetically at risk child. . . . Just Like His Father presents the latest scientific advances in parenting in an easy to read format.”
Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work, Paul
Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.,
HarperCollins, New York, 2006, 352 pp. (ISBN
978-00 61147890)
From the book jacket: “Only a fraction of psychopaths
are in prison. The rest thrive in the many target-rich environments that make up society, including business, religious, political, and social organizations, and the internet. Snakes in Suits blows their cover and arms the reader with knowledge and insight. This book is a must read for those in the criminal justice system and will impact economic crime investigations worldwide.”
—Staff Sergent Matt Logan, PhD, criminal and investigative psychologist, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of
violence—from domestic abuse to political terror,
Judith Herman, M.D., Basic Books, 1992, 290 pp. (ISBN
10 0-465-08730-2)
“A stunning achievement . . . a classic for our
generation.”
—Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D., Harvard Medical School
“Herman’s brilliant insights into the nature of trauma and the process of healing shine through in every page of this rich and compassionate book.”
—Lenore Walker, Ed.D., Director, Domestic Violence Institute, author of Terrifying Love
Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide
to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents
Nina Brown EdD LPC (Author)
Hidden Agendas: What’s Really Going On in Your Relationships—in Love, at Work, in Your Family, Marlin S. Potash, Ph.D. Delacorte Press, 1990, 268 pp. (ISBN 0-385-29997-4)
From the book jacket: "In this highly readable book, Marlin Potash helps us to understand how we get trapped in repetitive conflict by our own hidden agendas and those of others. Readers will find that Dr. Potash’s tips on recognizing when they’re being manipulated by others and how to short-circuit those manipulation are particularly helpful.”
—Harry Levinson, Ph.D., President, The Levinson Institute; clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School
Further reading on psychopathy and related issues:
Cognitive Policy Works - How Will the 99% Deal with 70 Million Psychopaths?
by Joe Brewer on July 24, 2012
Did you know that roughly one person in a hundred is clinically a psychopath? These individuals are either born with an emotional deficiency that keeps them from feeling bad about hurting others or they are traumatized early in life in a manner that causes them to become this way. With more than 7 billion people on the planet that means there are as many as 70,000,000 psychopaths alive today. These people are more likely to be risk takers, opportunists motivated by self-interest and greed, and inclined to dominate or subjugate those around them through manipulative means. MORE
NY Times Magazine - Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath? by Jennifer Kahn May 11, 2012
One day last summer, Anne and her husband, Miguel, took their 9-year-old son, Michael, to a Florida elementary school for the first day of what the family chose to call “summer camp.” For years, Anne and Miguel have struggled to understand their eldest son, an elegant boy with high-planed cheeks, wide eyes and curly light brown hair, whose periodic rages alternate with moments of chilly detachment. Michael’s eight-week program was, in reality, a highly structured psychological study — less summer camp than camp of last resort. MORE
What "Psychopath" Means
By Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz | November 28, 2007
"We have all heard these phrases before. “Violent psychopath” (21,700). “Psychopathic serial killer” (14,700). “Psychopathic murderer” (12,500). “Deranged psychopath” (1,050). The number of Google hits following them in parentheses attests to their currency in popular culture. " MORE
Posted on March 4, 2012
By D. Sherman Okst of Psychopathic Economics
Bizzaro Foreshadowing
Mark Glover of Marfa Public Radio wrapped up our interview with words to this effect, ‘Is this what America is heading for? Two classes? The very rich huddled behind gated communities and the impoverished starving outside the walls?’
The black and yellow image of a torch-lit night and an angry mob carrying pitchforks staked with the “Dark Triad’s” head popped into my mind. Call me an optimist. I know. MORE
Op-Ed Contributor
By GREG SMITH Published: March 14, 2012
TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it. MORE
Yet another reason to reduce stress: it shrinks your brain From Our Press Services - Monday, March 12, 2012
DALLAS -- After her husband passed away, Sandi Bond Chapman says she "could feel it immediately." MORE
As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline by Daisy Grewal | April 10, 2012 Scientific American MORE
Websites, Blogs, and other Resources
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 by Charles Pragnell
CFA Magazine bySherree DeCovny March/April 2012, Vol. 23, No. 2: 34–35
Site and articles: Neurological Correllates - The Neuroscience of Dysfunctional Behavior – Mostly Psychopaths and Sociopaths, Narcissists, Obesity and Addiction
Psychopathic Economics - Great site with lots of resources.
by Dr. Liane Leedom, Board Member
President Bush designated the 1990s as the Decade of the Brain: “to enhance public awareness of the benefits to be derived from brain research” through “appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”
