re: Some thoughts on the mentally ill, violence and mass shootings.

quote:

---

quote:
There is no answer for these types as they are beyond treatable - medications do not work, therapy does not work


How do you know it doesn't work? Perhaps not all the time but that seems hard to determine

---

In children and adolescents. The characterological disorder that blossoms into what we see in adulthood is called conduct disorder. It's the kid version of anti-social personality disorder.

If caught early in childhood and put on the couch, therapy can have an impact. Otherwise once crystallized in adulthood, anti-social personality disorder is hopeless. It's over.

In fact there's a clinical school of thought that says make no attempt to treat the disorder in adults at all. It's thought that the patient will simply use the skills given in therapy to manipulate and harm others, not to self improve.

A good example of this would be Tony Soprano. Therapy made him a more manipulative and better boss but did nothing to help him become a better person.