Psychotherapy Consulting Presentations

Presentations on the Exploitative Personalities

Who are Psychopaths and Sociopaths?
And why do you need to know?

Psychopaths and sociopaths are individuals disposed to transgressing and exploiting others without empathy and remorse. Shameless violators of dignity, boundaries, and rules, they are provocative “limit testers” and “envelope pushers” who “get off” on “getting over” on others (and systems). Psychopaths and sociopaths (I prefer the terms “psychopath” and “psychopathic personality”) are exploiters of vulnerability, pursuing and seizing what they want with callous indifference to the pain and harm they cause.

Psychopaths are superficial, manipulative personalities. Their grandiosity often leaves them confident in their abilities to escape accountability and culpability for their most audacious violations. Psychopaths are notoriously brazen liars: When caught lying, they may react with defiant outrage, or glibly maintain their innocence even when confronted with irrefutable evidence of their guilt.

You cannot change psychopathic individuals, or expect them to reform their exploitative mentalities. They are missing empathy, compassion, and conscience “chips” that destine them forever to psychopathic ways of thinking. Your leverage is to learn to recognize, the sooner the better, who psychopaths are and how they operate—thereby protecting yourself, and those you care about (or work with), from their harm.

It is estimated that 1-4% of the general population is either psychopathic, or has significant psychopathic tendencies. This may sound inconsequential, but it means that on a more regular basis than you may think, psychopaths are near you, or in your lives.

Some prevailing myths about psychopathic personalities

Most psychopaths are in prison. In fact, most psychopaths are not in prison, but living among us, and therefore at risk to violate us.

Most psychopaths are serial killers, or violent. While serials killers represent a tiny, highly sensationalized subset of psychopaths, and while psychopaths can be dangerously violent, many exploit their victims in non-violent (but always abusively violating) ways.

Most psychopaths are “psychos.” Because “psycho” is in “psychopath,” many imagine psychopaths as “crazy people.” But psychopaths more often pass as normal individuals, disguising effectively their exploitative motives.

Psychopaths are always slick charmers. Some psychopaths can be glib, charming, and seductive. But others can be socially unskilled. Lacking smooth social skills does not rule-out psychopathy.

Psychopaths are always misbehaving. It would be easy to spot psychopaths if they were “acting psychopathically” all the time. But they are not. And when not, they may be functioning uneventfully (or even highly), masking their underlying psychopathic mentality.

Everything you need to know about exploitative personalities, in one hour

In as little as one hour (longer presentations/workshops are available), I can teach you everything essential to “know” about how exploiters like psychopaths think, and what makes them tick. I will leave you with the “expertise” to better recognize and confront the ramifications of these disruptive, destructive individuals. I work interactively, promoting stimulating discussion and welcoming and fielding all questions. In the end, my presentations will leave you, and those you serve and protect, less vulnerable to the harm of psychopaths and other abusers.

I invite you to reach me directly to discuss personally the arranging of a presentation/workshop.

Who needs to know more about psychopaths?

All of us do. But several populations can especially benefit from learning more about psychopaths and other exploiters.

School staff and Students (High School and College). School staff and students benefit from learning more about psychopaths and other abusive exploiters. My presentations equip school personnel to identify the dynamics of relationship abuse and exploitation, and better support students they have reason to believe may have endured it. Students benefit from learning about the “red flags” of abusive, exploitative personalities and relationships. My presentations are an investment in students’ emotional, sexual, and physical safety.

Employers and employees at all levels. Psychopathic individuals can undermine and damage the workplace. An understanding of psychopathic and abusive mentalities makes it possible for employers to assess, and more quickly recognize, rogue staff who previously defied explanation. More knowledgeable employees, in turn, are better equipped to identify and report rogue co-coworkers to their employers.

Law enforcement personnel. Being “in the trenches” with exploitative individuals on a regular basis, law enforcement personnel may know much about them. My presentations can crystallize core aspects of “psychopathic thinking,” equipping detectives, investigators and police at all levels with insights to broaden their recognition and understanding of highly psychopathic, transgressive mentalities.

Psychotherapists and Counselors. I’m reached regularly for requests of referrals to providers and professionals with a command of psychopathy, and the devastation psychopaths can cause. Yet many well-meaning psychotherapists and counselors lack a complete understanding of virulently narcissistic, exploitative mentalities. This limits their capacity to recognize clients with psychopathic tendencies, and to help clients who are (or have been) involved with psychopathic individuals. My presentations to “helping professionals” can fill that knowledge gap quickly, and substantively.

How to reach me

I can be texted or called, anytime, on my cell, at 908-456-2679 or use my Contact form.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.