Since January, Steve Becker, a licensed clinical social worker and certified hypnotherapist, has been submitting guest columns to Lovefraud. His articles have been insightful looks at pathological personalities. I’m sure you remember them:
- Differentiating narcissists and psychopaths
- Psychopaths’ cat and mouse game (my personal favorite)
- The borderline personality as transient sociopath
- Heeding the exploiter’s earliest warnings
- It’s not weakness, but lack of clarity, that exposes us to an exploiter
- Getting inside the head of the abusive mentality
Steve has a private therapy practice based in Westfield, New Jersey, USA. He works with adults, couples, adolescents and families. He sees his fair share of sociopaths.
Clinically, Steve has been interested in the personality disorders—especially borderline, narcissistic and sociopathic—for many years. He developed a reputation earlier in his career for working effectively with aggressive, paranoid and manipulative clients at various community mental health centers. Since then, he has sought opportunities to work with, and develop his knowledge of, challenging, disordered personalities.
Steve has made presentations to clinical and lay audiences on subjects including sociopathic and narcissistic personality, rage management, and the mentality of the relationship abuser. In 2006, he was honored (as one of 10 men) by the YWHA in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for his commitment to end domestic violence.
Steve has placed clinical articles in many publications and published short stories in small magazines. He’s written an irreverent non-fiction manuscript, What’s Wrong With My Spouse?: Guidance For Partners of Impossible Spouses, which he’s hoping to publish. You can view it on his website, www.powercommunicating.com.
Steve will now be contributing to Lovefraud on a regular basis. I’m thrilled to welcome him.
Great to have Steve Becker as a contributor of LoveFraud! Loved his insightfulness and skills i.e. knowledge as a therapist and will look forward to more of his articles to this site!!!!
I want to personally thank everyone who responded so generously to Donna’s announcement of my new regular-authorship status. I’ve just returned from a two-week break where I had no internet access, and apologize for my delayed response. It means so much to me–that any of my articles should positively affect and/or stimulate any of you. It’s been an honor to be a part of the LoveFraud community. I look forward immensely to becoming even more visible on this amazing website and to the challenge of offering relevant, thought-provoking posts on a bi-weekly basis. Thanks again, everyone!
Inthebreach, I apologize to you for my late response to your concerns. I’ve been away for two weeks and just returned a couple days ago. Naturally you are correct to be concerned that a therapist in a situation like this would appear to be biased in some way. If he conducted himself in the session as your son reported, that’s pretty troubling. And his apparent conviction that he saw your son in a place you are sure you son was nowhere near? That, too, is understandably disconcerting? You can certainly check out his credentials with the local APA (American Psychological Association), or whatever the appropriate accrediting body would be? If you think he’s conducting himself inappropriately and/or unfairly–especially with bias–obviously your attorney would need to know this and advise you.
The MMPI is a pretty standard personality assessment, the results of which should not be affected by the therapist’s attitude? (assuming he scored it properly)
You are also right to wonder how it’s possible to generate a 30-page assessment based on an hour spent with several individuals? I share your dubiousness.
Certainly it’s important that you feel confident of your attorney in this kind of situation. Additional evaluations can be arranged, perhaps, if there are suspicions of bias/incompetence, etc.
I hope I haven’t been too late in responding.