HatesSociopaths - you seem to have some background or expertise in this. So, do you think sociopathy like hers can really be addressed in therapy? What do you think of the idea that empathy can't be taught or created in someone who doesn't have it? Do you think that the need to cover the lies stamps out the empathy, or that the lack of empathy underlies all the other behaviors including the lies?
Just curious....
I've been a counselor for twenty years. I have no degree in psychology or psychiatry. My techniques are not orthodox. I'll give you my thoughts. Thanks for asking.
I am sure I am going to state some things that others don't agree with. These are just my opinions, and I respect yours.
I operate on principles that include spirituality, that we are basically good, that we have past lives, that those spiritual issues can be complex and travel into controversial and religious realms. I also operate on the principle that a sociopath is motivated by evil intentions; that their basic purpose in life is EVIL, unlike the rest of us. How this can happen to a spirit who is basically good is complex, but the long and short of it is they are stuck in the past. It is the job of the therapist to get them unstuck, the evil purposes confronted and examined, and back in communication with the world.
The lack of empathy is actually connected with her lies and the lack of reality she has for the real world. Consider it a triangle - one goes up, the rest go up. One goes down, the rest go down. Empathy on one corner, reality and agreement on another, communication on the other. You can see this in life when talking to an angry person. They are hard to get agreement with and they are less truthful than when calm. Casey is of course an extreme of this, where there is no empathy, no reality, and no real communication. She is basically not there! (In a spiritual sense that is. I mean that literally - she isn't there. Compare that to a person for example with a person you consider very warm - you can "feel" them. You can't "feel" Casey, there is just a body there. It's so unsafe - and really that particularly means she knows she will do harm - the spirit has removed itself from the area.)
But if you can raise her reality, something could be done about the empathy and lies. Someone mentioned the idea of her being on a ranch, working on fences, etc. That is brilliant. In fact I've heard of mental patients being handled with success like that in Germany (if anyone has more info on that I've been looking online for info). Such activities can raise the reality of the person, and that can open the door.
One of the reasons I think Casey might be able to respond to therapy is something she said to Annie Downing in 2007. She said she felt like she was going insane and that she might have to go away for awhile (be institutionalized.) That's a very interesting statement to me. It shows there was a little bit to work with there, at least at that time. Reaching for help ever so slightly. Without a reach for help, little progress could be made.
I would start with secluding her in a ranch-like setting like it was suggested, with jobs to do, friendly people there, safe. I would try to make the world around her more real to her, including drills that help bring this about (looking at things, etc.)
Eventually, a point would hopefully be reached where she was talking with more reality about her life. Then I would engage in actual counselling, avoiding the real tough points of her past, instead trying to build her empathy, reality and communication level through discussion about happier periods in the past. Building as much rapport as possible with her would be vital, including a total trust that nothing would be shared with others and be kept confidential between us, no matter what was said.
Over time, seeing progress, I would discuss the mistakes she has made in life, and the things she has done. Getting her to confess lies told, etc. Eventually, I would discuss what happened to Caylee, and whether we have gotten anywhere would reveal itself. If she is to get better, she would have to confess what happened, the truth. This would be a make-break point in whether we were getting anywhere.
If that had a positive outcome, I would then work with her further to uncover the basic evil intentions she has been manifesting and get those in view. I would also help her discover why those decisions were made in the past, so they could be washed away and new decisions about life could be made.
It's a long runway, this would take many months. I have not had the misfortune to have to deal with someone as bad off as Casey, but I've definitely dealt with some people who were prone to do evil. They were helped with similar strategies. With Casey, the key would be gaining her trust. That would take some work.
:twocents:
