I write this column (using “he” throughout, for simplicity purposes) to suggest some useful ideas for vetting a prospective provider who does not come recommended through a reliable source (or through Donna Anderson’s growing new LoveFraud referral base).
How can you begin to assess a relatively unknown provider for his competence to address your experiences with a suspected sociopath specifically, exploiter in general, or otherwise personality-disturbed individual?
Let me start by suggesting that a provider who claims to be educated about sociopathy really isn’t if he lacks an equally fluent understanding of narcissistic and borderline personality disorder.
The reason I say this is that, under certain circumstances, all three disorders can look very much alike; but more importantly, if you are involved with someone who has any one of these disorders, you are at heightened risk of being personally violated and abused.
So, while they are distinct from each other (although common elements of narcissism and sociopathy remain intriguing), I’m suggesting that all three disorders greatly increase the probable, if not certain, occurrence of interpersonal violation.
In the course of this discussion, I’m going to assume that you may be involved with someone (or have been involved with someone) whom you suspect (or know) to be, for instance, sociopathic and/or abusive? Otherwise you wouldn’t be seeking assurances that a particular provider has knowledge and/or expertise of the disorder(s) in question.
I also make the assumption that LoveFraud members or visitors wanting to find a knowledgeable resource on sociopathy (who do not find assistance through Donna’s new referral resource) come with a nice advantage—by virtue of their involvement with LoveFraud, they are already extra knowledgeable on the subject. This equips them to be astute evaluators of a prospective resource.
So let’s get down to business.
You will need, no surprise, to ask questions; questions that can gauge the provider’s competency to appreciate the gravity of a situation in which a sociopathic (or some other exploitative dynamic) is, or has been, present.
And you will want good, expressive answers to your questions, not dismissive ones.
The first, vital task is to assess the provider’s receptivity to your interest in his clinical experience. This point needs emphasis: You are entitled to evaluate the provider’s clinical experience and expertise as it pertains to your circumstances.
I stress: You are completely, utterly entitled to assess the provider’s professional experience, skills, and interest on matters relevant to your personal circumstances and self-interest.
Remember, this is not about protecting the provider; it’s about protecting yourself.
As such, this speaks to a bigger issue: You are setting yourself up if you do not protect yourself, and so you protect yourself by owning your right to a completely respectful, receptive invitation to evaluate the provider’s scope of interest and competence with a given client population, or in a particular clinical area. Anything less than a genuine, undefensive invitation from the provider to proceed with your questions should immediately disqualify him from consideration.
So for instance, you might begin with something like, “You know, it’s very important to me, given my circumstances, to be working with someone I can feel confident has a really good knowledge of _________. Would you mind if I asked you several questions along those lines, for my own personal comfort?” (There are many ways to break the ice, this is just one example.)
Remember: A provider who fails, at this point, to invite you to proceed, undefensively, has disqualified himself. Thus, if he responds impatiently, arrogantly, angrily, curtly, condescendingly, as if offended or put-off, or in any other way inadequately, he is wrong for you. You must move on, because you deserve better.
Assuming you’ve gotten the proper encouragement to proceed, I offer below a list of questions (hardly comprehensive) which, depending on your circumstances, can elicit meaningful information. The idea (quite obviously) isn’t to ask all of these questions, but to pursue several that are most applicable to your situation.
This list is by no means complete; rather, it’s at best a starting point, if only to get your own wheels rolling to come up with even better questions! Note that some of the questions probe for knowledge, others for personal views and biases, and others for experience. The asterisked questions can sometimes elicit responses that will enable you to quickly eliminate potential resources.
· How familiar are you with sociopathy?
· How familiar are you with psychopathy?
· Do you distinguish sociopathy and psychopathy, or are we using these terms to mean the same thing?
· Do you distinguish antisocial personality disorder from sociopathy or psychopathy?
· How many cases have you worked involving sociopathy?
· Can I ask how you came to work with these individuals?
· What is your treatment philosophy regarding sociopathically disturbed individuals?
· I’m curious how you view sociopathy? I know that many people have different ideas about sociopaths. Can you tell me your view of what characterizes the sociopath?
· How do you distinguish, if at all, the sociopath from the narcissistic personality?
· What’s been your experience working with borderline personality disturbance?
· In your experience, what are similarities and differences between borderline, narcissistic and sociopathically disordered individuals?
· How much experience have you had working with abusive individuals?
· Can you tell me a little about the history of your interest, and experience working, with abusive personalities?
· *How effective and appropriate, in your experience, are anger management referrals for abusive personalities?
· How much interest, and experience, have you had working with victims of abuse?
· What is your view of what constitutes abuse in a relationship?
· What are your goals in working with someone who is in, or has been damaged by, an abusive relationship?
· *Are there circumstances where someone might be driven, legitimately, to abuse someone else?
· Do you mind if I ask you whose work or writings on abusive relationships and abusive personalities has most influenced your views?
· Do you mind if I ask you whose work on the subject of psychopathy (or sociopathy) has most influenced your ideas?
· *Are you familiar with Robert Hare’s work?
· *Have you successfully treated sociopaths?
· My partner, if you meet him, will tell you that I’m a sociopath”¦how will you know which of us, if either, is the sociopath?
· Are you familiar with any psychological instruments that assess for psychopathy, and if so, do you use them?
· *Under what conditions, if any, would you be hesitant to do couples therapy?
· What goals do you have, generally, when working with a borderline personality?
· What goals do you have, generally, when working with a narcissistic personality?
· What is your understanding of the central feature(s) of sociopathy?
· What is your understanding of the central feature(s) of the narcissist?
· Would you be willing to read something I’d give you if I felt it could help you understand the precidament/situation/personality I’m dealing with?
· When you believe you are dealing clinically with a sociopathic individual, what is your clinical goal?
The answers to your questions
As I’ve strongly suggested, the provider’s responses, first of all, should convey interest in, and respect for, your questions. Your first assessment, then, is less of the provider’s expertise and knowledge, than his or her attitude to your questions.
As a matter of fact, a primary purpose of your questions is to assess the attitude of the provider. In other words, if the provider isn’t temperamentally suited to appreciate the complexity of your concerns, he or she can have all the knowledge in the world and be pretty much worthless.
You’ll want honest answers. Genuine answers. Not pretenses to expertise where there isn’t any. You’ll want a provider who is willing to say, “That’s an interesting question. I might even need to think about that a bit more.”
I offer randomly some rough examples (from countless possibilities) of what might be deemed encouraging responses to some of these questions:
“To be honest, no”¦I haven’t worked with what I’d call a high volume of ________; but I do feel comfortable with my understanding of this clinical issue, and I’d like to be of help to you.”
“I consider myself to be clinically literate on this subject, but I’m happy to become even more enlightened and would welcome anything you have to share with me to get me up to speed.”
“I wouldn’t say that I have a particular interest working with _______, but I do like working with and helping those who have been victimized by ________(s).”
“I suppose I’d regard ______as a very central feature of _______. Also ______.”
“I don’t really make a distinction between antisocial personality and the sociopath? As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even aware of such a distinction? But I’m curious about that? Am I missing something?”
“I’ve worked a great deal with victims of abuse and enjoy working with this client population.”
“I’m not familiar with that issue, to be honest” (depending on the circumstances, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a disqualification).
“I can’t say that I’ve had great success working with narcissistic personalities”¦but I’ll work with anyone who voluntarily seeks my help genuinely.”
“I’m not sure if I satisfied you with my response?”
These hypothetical replies have in common a thoughtful, humble, curious quality. The confident provider will feel relaxed, undefensive, and unpressured to produce brilliant, comprehensive answers beyond his or her scope of expertise.
At the same time, you are looking for evidence of expertise that will leave you feeling comfortable that this is someone who can effectively, sensitively advocate for your interests.
Some responses, as noted, can quickly reveal a provider’s serious limitations.
For instance, the response to the question, Have you successfully treated any sociopaths?, “Yes”¦I’ve worked with many sociopaths and treated several very successfully,” is a great time-saver. You just say, “Thanks very much, I’ve really appreciated your time,” and then have a good laugh on your way out.
That’s because true sociopathy, as the LoveFraud community well knows, is a refractory
condition, unamenable to meaningful modification.
Regarding the Hare question: in cases where a provider claims to be experienced with the subject of sociopathy, I might find it dubious (although not necessarily instantly disqualifying) that he or she would have no knowledge of Robert Hare, who is such a notable figure in psychopathy research.
Similarly, the response to the question, Under what conditions would you be hesitant to do couples therapy?, “Umm”¦.I can’t really think of any?,” would suggest a potentially serious defect in the provider’s clinical knowledge and/or judgement. That’s because couples therapy is ill-advised under several circumstances, among them when serious abuse is occuring in a relationship, or when one or both partners is sociopathically oriented. (And naturally, non-genuine motivation to work on the relationship would be another contraindication.)
Further, a provider who suggests that, yes, a referral for anger management is probably the best intervention you can offer an abusive personality betrays a likely ignorance of the dynamics of the abuser, who has much more than merely an anger problem.
And it’s self-evident that a provider who can find a basis to justify abuse under any circumstance is probably confusing abuse with, perhaps, self-defense—a failure of understanding that ought to send you running for the hills.
Bear in mind there is no one right way to answer many of these questions; in many cases, there are multiple good (and good-enough) answers which also allow for differences in clinical approaches and orientations.
I offer below additional examples (also random, hypothetical) of the kinds of responses that might reflect a reassuring level of clinical expertise:
“What do I see as the central feature of sociopathy? I see the sociopath as someone who is extremely, chronically manipulative and deceptive. Someone who lacks empathy in a very gross way for the victims of his or her exploitation.”
“I see what you mean”¦.you can have a borderline personality disorder doing something, say, really vengeful that might look very sociopathic, but the motive for the aggression would be different. The borderline personality might be motivated by rage, panic, or desperation over, say, abandonment issues, whereas the sociopath? He or she may be movitated by”¦the impulse?”¦pure greed”¦or even the fun of it?”
“If I have good reason to believe I’m dealing with a sociopath, my main goal becomes evaluating his or her risk to others”¦depending, of course, on the circumstances of the referral and case.”
“If I’m working with someone with borderline personality, I’m looking to help that individual, among other things, learn how to better regulate his or her emotions, which may be very dysregulated and for that reason a source of much distress.”
“If I’m working with a narcissistic personality disorder, I’m looking, over time, to help that individual, if possible, examine his demands and expectations of others—his inflated sense of entitlement—more thoughtfully; and also examine the ways that he routinely handles, or mishandles, his disappointment in others.”
“When I’m working with abusive individuals my goal is to confront their excuses and rationalizations for their violating behaviors.”
“When I’m working with victims of abuse I may have several goals, including safety concerns; also exploring how the client finds herself in an abusive relationship, and the factors that make it difficult for her (or him) to leave that relationship.”
“How will I know which of you is the sociopath? I think in any clinical situation, you rely on a number of factors in formulating possible diagnoses, including your instincts, your experience of the individuals, the client’s history (as furnished by the client and others), other relevant, available, supporting documentation; and any adjunctive testing and evaluations that can narrow down, if necessary, a suspected diagnosis more accurately? And so there’s no guarantee that I’ll get it right, but I’m pretty confident of my chances.”
In sum, you’ll want assurances that the provider, at a minimum, can recognize the central aspects of sociopathy (or the disorder in question); he or she should appreciate the futility of pursuing treatment with the sociopath, especially in a private practice setting; but most importantly, the provider should be able to convey a good clinical grasp of, and history of work with, abusive personalities and their victims.
You will know, intuitively, whether the provider’s responses indicate an adequate level of thoughtfulness and knowledge.
And remember, your initial assessment doesn’t end when you choose to begin a working relationship with a particular provider, anymore than you cease evaluating the individual with whom you enter a personal relationship. Your evaluation should be ongoing, and your continued investment in the relationship, whether with a professional resource, or intimate partner, should be based on a continuing evaluation of him or her as worthy of your time and trust.
You can say at any point along the way, This person is not right for me. Just because I sized this person/provider up initially (with necessarily incomplete information) as worth my initial investment, doesn’t mean I can’t modify my assessment of him or her at any time, thanks to my making good use of additional, more complete information!
I hope this offers some guidance for conceptualizing an approach to the evaluation of a relatively unknown prospective provider. I am glad to continue this discussion based on feedback.
(This article is copyrighted (c) 2009 by Steve Becker, LCSW.)
I suppose I should say that I am not a therapist, only an assessor. I also was not led here by virtue of my profession, and am not here to give counselling. I am here as a victim, a survivor, and as someone who wants to heal, rather than argue about academic issues.
Rune, its like “but why stay with someone like that?”, or “but you are worth so much better than that”, or “there are lots of others out there”, “some things are just not meant to be”. Ive even found myself on blind dates when going out with concerned friends who bring them along.
When the conman was playing his game, other people who saw our “relationship” said, “I just wish I had that kind of love in my life.” My highly intuitive Australian shepherds were completely fooled until he dropped the mask and revealed himself to the boy dog. (I figured that out later — at the time I only know that I thought my red-tri had developed a neurological disorder, because he began trembling uncontrollably. Much later, after I left, when I was trying to piece together the reality, I found myself trembling in a similar way — profound neurological shock, caused by the deliberate malicious lying behavior of the conman.)
Statements like, “But you can do so much better . . .,” etc., just don’t have anything to do with the reality of the traume.
Someone on here described the relationship as “an anti-relationship”, which I thought was just brilliant. It is everthing a relationship should be, just not.
Dear GRant,
AFter my son was arrested for murder, I went into a melt down. He was guilty and I figured it at the time though he denied it, but anyway, immediately after his arrest I went into a melt down so profound I probably should have been hospitalized. A friend of mine who was Director of Nurses at a psych hospital was desperate for nurses and we had gone to school together and she started calling e BEGGING me to come there to work. I had been in physical medicine, orthopaedic, spinal cord rehab, head injury rehab but never in psych so wasn’t’ very interested but the prospect of a nice job (can we say money) where I could name and schedule my own hours (doing intake assessments) etc was okay so I took the job.
My job was to interview patients and their families as they were brought in. Primarily teenagers many of whom were Borderline females, male psychopaths, etc. along with some druggie kids who were ALSO personality disordered.
As I was doing these interviews though I knew EXACTLY HOW THESE PARENTS FELT, there was NO WAY I could reveal this to them. The interview was about them and their problems not mine. I was TOTALLY empathetic because I knew my little darling had just blown the brains out of a 17 yr old girl.
After each interview for a while I would go in the bathroom aned cry and cry. PUt my make up back on, mumble something to someone about the ghastly allergies that were making my nose, eyes, etc red and start over again.
Actually it was therapeutic for me because I realized that though my kid had killed someone, he was NOT the worst kid in the world, I interviewed the parents of and the child who was worse. How about a 210 pound 6’3″ 12 year old who had raped several small children had had NO remorse and thought he was big enough to do whatever he wanted to, and guess what, he was! Only physical force would stop this kid, Talk about defiant and COLD. When I started working more hours I made friends with the BIGGEST mental health techs on the units who were so protective of me it was like I had two dobermans, one on each side and the kids soon learned that when I walked on the unit I didn’t take much guff. What was funny was I was scared chitless at first, and everyone complimented me on how I just wasn’t afraid like most nurses new to psych on such a rough and tough unit. I WAS A GOOD ACTRESS, plus I knew that my “body guards” would protect me like momma badgers. But the kids did seem to respond to me and I worked there a year and a half, working “half time” (that is TWELVE HOURS A DAY, 5-7 DAYS A WEEK) but it was God’s way of explaining things to me about my son, I am sorry I flunked that lesson. I got it with someone else’s kids, but not with mine. That year and a half was very therapeutic (but stressful too) and so after that job I went into a calmer (and safer) job for a while then into the rural health clinics out in the boonies practicing family medicine. Which BTW is about 50% psych practice. Then college medicine which is 80% psych medicine, and then back into psych for three years before my husband died. Then I retired.
I’m OCD about any particular thing I am involved with so when I would switch from one speciality to another within nursing or medicine, I would take classes, attend conferences and learn as much about that speciality as I could cram in. My certification is in Family medicine , which means legally I can work in most speciality fields, but as a generalist I tried to bone up on the specialty areas as I moved through them. I also realized that psych practice had helped me in every aspect from orthopaedic to spinal cord rehab, etc. and so each specialty’s knowledge helped me with my general practice. I’m no expert in any one field, but a generalist with interests and enough knowledge to “make me dangerous” in several fields.
I learned about grief and taught classes for non-professionals who were working with patients who were grieving, etc.
Yet, I didn’t apply all this knowledge to myself except in a superficial way. I taught some seminars at the U of Texas at Arlington Nursing classes about how to handle “difficult” families in stress over the injury or illness of their loved one. How to meet their needs for both professionals and non-professional staff. Still, didn’t apply these tried and true methods to my own life. DUH!
As Jesus said “take the log out of your own eye before you try to take the splinter out of your neighbors” or the old adage “them who can DO, and those who can’t TEACH” I really illustrated both of those concepts.
My life hasn’t been all chit, I married a friend and we had twenty great years together. He loved me and I loved him and neither of us were perfect but we loved each other, smoothed the friction with out love for each other and had a wonderful and fun marriage until his death. I think though that “even a blind pig will get an acorn once in a while!” I think my good marriage was more good fortune than functional choosing.
Too soon old and too late smart pretty well sums me up, but also better late than never. Let’s see now, did I leave out any tired “old saying?” Oh, yes, I almost forgot. HAVE A GREAT DAY! LOL
Steve,……. Thank you for all the time and thought you put into your post. It shows you hear us! IMO, what you have offered us is very good and I am printing it for my ever-expanding N/S/P file of great info and fabulous tips!
Generally , I think Steve’s suggestions for evaluating a professional helps level the playing field even though going to a professional is not supposed to be competitive. The pro is supposed to be on our side! These suggestions, however, are empowering and put the professional on the other side of the desk on notice that we know a little something too about what we should be getting for our time and money and we don’t intend to waste it! He is being interviewed for the job!
I think these are great questions that might apply in other situations as well. Becoming familiar with them definitely would put a client in a better position to make an informed decision instead of having a first appt. be like a blind date!
Now for the not so nice part…..I would never go to a therapist again! I don’t even like the word. I found it a complete waste of time and money and I have to wonder if they are the appropriate people to be helping recovering victims of S types or of anything for that matter.
Someday, I might make a list of the utterly stupid incompetent things I have heard therapists say. I have stumbled through my journey on my own finding that the best sources of help and guidance did not come from professionals. I pieced together what works for me and I am still anxious to learn more. I don’t think the healing and learning ever really stops. Human nature will never stop supplying us with opportunities to apply what we know.
So, I can see what Grant is saying and I have to agree with the basic idea he is expressing. Life experience plays a big part in developing an in depth understanding. Life experience can add a dimension to understanding that simply studying textbooks cannot provide. It might be similar to watching storm damage on television as opposed to actually walking into your home and wading through the muck after it has been sitting in 10 ft. of water for three weeks. Actually living through the day to day reality of an experience gives someone an entirely different perspective. Often, after a medical doctor is a patient in the hospital for the first time, he changes his approach to things.
I have several long-time personal friends who are therapists. We are the same age. Two have PH.Ds! I have learned the hard way NEVER to discuss my problems with either of them! They go into analyst mode and start spitting out text book pages like an inkjet gone wild! It’s crazymaking and of little practical value! They give great Christmas parties though and there is something nice about old friends who know you well even if they have Ph.Ds in psychology!
Grant:
I’m a criminal defense attorney. I KNOW that cons, ex-cons, cons-to-be all lie. I KNOW many are sociopaths.
And then I fell in love with an ex-con who was a sociopath and my life was turned upside down, inside out, and I was cannibalized in every sense of the word.
I agree with you — unless somebody has personally experienced a sociopath, they don’t have a clue. My shrink teaches a class at one of the medical schools on personality disorders. He THINKS he gets it.
But he doesn’t. Intellectual smarts are no substitue for street smarts or the school of hard knocks. Me? I’ve got a Ph.D in sociopathy courtesy of S.
My therapist helped me tremendously when I was coming to terms with being gay. Why? Because he was gay. And straight therapists just couldn’t comprehend the issues I was grappling with. But, while he helped me through that, I am finding myself growing more and more frustrated with every passing therapy session because he just doesn’t get it.
Dear Eye,
Having been on BOTH SIDES OF THE CLIP BOARD as both a therapist and a patient, I can tell you either side is a challenge. As a patient, KNOWING ALL THESE THINGS and NOT being able to DO them, or having the insight I needed to see myself truly (not in the distorted mirror we all like to look in that makes us look “thin” and “Noble” LOL
Many folks on here have expressed that their FRIENDS could all see what a jerk the P was, but they couldn’t see it for themselves. I think many times ALMOST ANYONE can look in and see the dysfunction as long as they are not in denial like we were.
Love Fraud is good therapy, but I profited a great deal by the professional therapy I had, and the mixture of the two I think was perfect FOR ME!
Hello Grant, Eye, Oxy, Matt: I suggest we consider that we were each involved with different types of S/Ps. Like the blind men and the elephant, we each know something, and we know it very well. But the therapist may have a postcard from Thailand with a picture of an elephant on it. So which of us knows better?
The people around me thought I had “the perfect relationship” — Mr. Solicitous. “Dear” this, “dear” that, just the picture of what you would hope for. In public, in private, charming, adventurous, “intelligent” (at least he put up a good front), well-spoken. It’s just that none of it was real.
Much earlier in my life I married someone I now also recognize as an S/P. Pathological liar, manipulator, and first pointed a gun at my head when we’d been married a month. I was 18 at the time.
So I guess I’m a “blind (wo)man” who has at least touched the side wall and the tree-trunk leg of the elephant. The therapist I found admitted she knew nothing of psychopathy, but she was kind and she was free because she was interning. Let’s just say she’d never heard of “elephants” or “Thailand” until I began talking with her.
Dear Rune,’
Your analogy of the bliind men and the elephant is a GREAT ONE!!! And it is right on.
As for your therapist not even knowing there were elephants in Thailand, well if you educated her, then you have helped countless others in her practice for the rest of her life, and who knows, maybe her. So it is an “ill wind that blows no one good”—boy, I am coming up with the old “trueisms” today.
At least early on in the CRAZY stage of the end of the relationship I think therpay just “in general” about abuse (and most therapists are familiar with that, and the triangle etc.) is a benefit to us (victims) and I can tell you for sure the medication was a life saver for me! I’m still on a low dose and don’t plan to quit any time soon.
ONe of the worst problems we (providers) had with patients was getting them to take their medication. Believe me, I am a MOTIVATED patient.
Or I should say my doctor “motivat-izes” me—got to put this in. My son C said that he got a memo at his last place of employment with that “WORD” in it. I laughed til I choked and almost passed out. So I hope I am MOTIVAT-IZING you guys to stay on your medication if you are taking it. LOL ROTFLMAO
I can tell you though that the LF forums have been extremely helpful to me,, and I wonder how many people like Grant are out there that lurk and never post that get so much good.
The articles and blogs here are like “bread cast upon the waters” (hey, there;s another one!!! I’m no a roll!!) you never know where they will end up or what good they may do.
Well, got things to do so see you guys later. Love and hugs Oxy
Hello everyone, I’m going remain the contrarian here and restate my objection to the premise that, to help a trauma victim, the helper must have personally experienced the identical trauma of the help-seeker. I appreciate the conviction with which several of you maintain this idea, and for you, personally, it obviously applies. But your personal experience and shared convictions don’t negate the reality that every day countless professionals help victims of diverse traumas process and heal from their trauma, despite not having necessarily personally experienced the traumas themselves. I really don’t think this is even disputable, is it? Certainly, by way of a current example, if you’ve never survived a plane crash, it’s true that you won’t understand that experience like someone who has. But plane crash survivors are helped to process their trauma (I think we can agree) by people (and professionals) who’ve never been in plane crashes? I’m not suggesting that to have the help of someone who’s shared your particular trauma isn’t advantageous and, for some, necessary; to wit, the concept and healing power of support groups. But comments suggesting that unless one has personally had one’s life turned upside down, for instance, by a sociopath, this renders one ill-equipped to understand sociopaths/exploiters/abusers and ill-equipped to effectively work with those they’ve damaged–comments like this, asserted as general rules, really to my mind are rather misguided. I want to stress: I don’t doubt for a second that MATT, GRANT, and a great many other LoveFraud members will never find it useful to work through their personal experiences of exploitation other than with someone they judge to have personally experienced their trauma. That is their (and your) prerogative, and I don’t disrespect it one bit. But I can assure them (and anyone else) that while this rule may apply to them, it is not universally the case.
As a last point, who is suggesting that Ph.D’s and resumes loaded with various clinical/academic credentials add up to something in and of themselves?
Certainly not I.
From a psychotherapeutic and/or healing perspective, we know that credentials don’t relate to people, credentials don’t understand people, and credentials don’t heal people (in and of themselves).
Has someone on the LoveFraud site argued otherwise, thus explaining the spate of angry, bitter comments about highly-credentialed (but inadequate) therapists?
Kathleen Hawk: i’m sorry, Kathleen, i don’t think I know of the existence of the kind of specific training you’re referring to? I agree with you that the closest thing to it would be training with PSTD and trauma in general? Certainly there’s plenty of training around trauma intervention, etc.