According to Sandra Brown, M.A. our guest on Today's show:
We live in an age where ‘Positive Psychology’ has engrained a mantra into society’s psyche–that if you think it (the psychopath needs to change his behavior), then you can make it happen (our relationship will be successful when he changes). That may be true when you begin with a person who has normal psychology. But it’s a long way from being true for those who have pathology.
For many years people have thought that if they focused hard enough, loved long enough, tolerated more, and carried a positive attitude that their partner would somehow become uneffected by the personality disorder, form of pathology, or even psychopathy they bore. There is a danger in applying pop psychology principles to something as aberant as pathology. Trying to ‘attract’ positivity to the relationship so the pathology is transformed leaves people ignoring the traits of pathology that can seriously harm them.
The truth is, nothing impacts non-pathological people as much as being in a relationship with someone who is pathological. Add to that not understanding how pathology manifests in relationships and the often manipulative behavior of those with pathology and you have partners, families, and children who are devasted almost as much by the lack of information as by the destruction that often happens at the hands of the pathological. Without the education of ‘what‘ the disorder is, ‘how‘ it came to be, ‘whom‘ it effects, ‘why‘ it harms others, partners, family and children live in the shadows of unspoken confusion and pain.
Many who have found The Institute’s programs and products have said, “This is the first time anyone has ever explained this to me in a way I could understand.” I have seen when people finally found information that described their partner’s pathology, awareness often gave way to crying and then anger…that the information they sought was out there all along but not easy to find, or sometimes not easy to understand in laymen’s terms.
I think that the mental health field has to bear part of the responsibility for so little public education about the pervasiveness of personality disorders, pathology, and psychopathy and the often devastating results to relational health. The mental health field has done little to train the public what pathology is, the limitations of wellness it implies, and what it looks and acts like in relationships. The efforts of The Institute is to bridge the gap in public pathology education by providing the best and most up to date research about personality disorders, pathology, and psychopathy for the lay reader in easy to understand wording and concepts and to provide the best prevention training regarding recognizing pathological love relationships. Additionally, The Institute works towards training other therapists in our Model of Care protocol so that therapy for the survivors and public education about pathology is more readily available through our mental health professionals.
Time: 10:00 AM
Date: December 28, 2010
Guest: Sandra Brown, M.A., Psychotherapist
Call-in Number: (347) 326-9337
www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com
