jac2011 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I work with offenders with personality disorders, often these crimes are some of the worst I have ever read about. Personality Disorder is not a mental illness but is a difficulty created from the society that they are brought up in and the difficulties they face in their childhood. The crimes my patients have committed are ones that have made front page news for years on end, however they are not mentally ill. It does annoy me how people presume someone who commits such a crime is mentally unwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 (edited) i too have worked with same client group jac2011 and i don't agree that PD's isn't a mental illness, its axis two so perhaps not a mental illness like others but still shouldn't be disregarded, many mental illnesses have society and difficult childhoods playing a big role. I personally would hate to have any PD. Edited December 20, 2014 by xxlornaxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 We don't know she has anything at all yet do we. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/180/2/110.full I know there are many views on the subject of personality disorders and whether they should be classed as a mental illness, but in the forensic settings I have worked in within the UK we have to class PD as not a mental illness and our British consultants will flip if you discuss PD as an illness. It is certainly not clear cut however and I can see the arguments for it. I work in a hospital that works fundamentally by addressing the behavioural patterns that have developed from the society from which our individuals grew up and by using a social therapy approach to help retrain our patients in understanding how to react and behave within society without offering negative consequences or punishments, so perhaps I see PD in a slightly different way. I certainly do not see my client group as having an illness and the vast majority are certainly not on psychotropic medication. I know that doesn't relate to the woman who has committed these crimes, but I am another fighter against the stigma that mental illness = serious crime. We do not know at this stage whether this woman was unwell but I think its unfair to jump to conclusions. What we do know is that the woman was certainly not acting in a rationale manner, but there are many reasons for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Ha i was reading that article this morning! But just because the recommended treatment for PD's isn't medication does not mean it is not a mental illness, when I worked in forensic settings it was mostly about containment..other times psychotherapy may help, although i have yet to see that be successful. Where i worked the nurses would argue it wasnt mental illness and the consultant would get upset lol If the woman was unwell, she must have been unwell for a long long time for it to get to that stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 See, perhaps as I work in a specialist hospital our treatment is certainly not about containment, and we have 3 psychologists full time for 24 patients. Most our healthcare assistants are trained counsellors or have psychology degrees/masters so perhaps I have a rosier view of PD. I worked with one of our patients in two other facilities where he was deemed 'untreatable'. Within 3 months with the help of psychology he is being discharged into the community early next year. He has spent 40 or so years unable to interact with anyone in society, yet now he has community leave each day and never has so much as a disagreement whilst on leave. With the right program I do believe that psychotherapy helps. For us we view PD is a different light, we see it as an adaption of their behaviour from experiences in their childhood purely. Their behaviour (criminal history) is down to maladaptive coping strategies that they have developed from the negative experiences they have developed. Our patients go into society being told they are worthless and behave inappropriately due to the negative perceptions they have developed. This continual pattern of negativity spirals them into viewing the whole world in a negative manner. When they come into our hospital and have an altercation, we do not punish them, e do not shout at them, we counsel them, support them, allow them to talk, allow them to explore the situation and try to change their view of the world. We allow them to see that the world is not all negative, that we will not punish them or coerce them into behaving in a certain manner. Iv only been there 3 months but I certainly see a lot of sense in the approach... Sorry, I keep changing the subject! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 i would hope you wouldn't shout at and punish patients in a hospital! And i think every health professional views PD the same way as you have explained, as in how it is manifested. I think ASPD can be treated with psychotherapy and have seen 3 return to society that no one thought would, but i think age helps with that too, but i haven't seen results like that with other PDs, like emotionally unstable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Just heard on tv she is believed to be an ice addict and may have had a psychotic episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 But to kill 8 ppl without attracting attention.. she must have been somewhat planned n coordinated in her actions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Unfortunately crimes like this one really feed into many peoples' perception of mental illness. In reality the vast majority of people with a mental illness do not commit violent crime- this woman is not helping with the community acceptance of the mentally ill at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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