Return to Dr. Samenow's Homepage
My colleague and mentor from so many years ago, Dr. Samuel Yochelson, would say to the criminals whom he was seeing, "Who are you today?" This had nothing to do with psychosis or a dissociative reaction (e.g., multiple personality). Rather, he constantly observed first hand the changeability of these men. One day a man would be contrite and intense about change. He would be receptive to constructive criticism and eager to improve. The next day, that very individual would be imperious, angry, and ready to abandon any efforts to change. I recall a mugger and thief who was so determined to change that he began attending church daily, started reading the Bible regularly, and touched a cross he wore around his neck whenever he slipped and uttered a curse word. This man wanted to be purer than pure. He wearied of this in time and again became a very dangerous individual. No more church, Bible reading, or touching the cross.
To even a trained observer, these shifts may be suggestive of a mood disorder, possibly a bipolar disorder,or some other psychological disorder. The changeability may be rapid occurring within a day or over a period of days.
What is actually occurring is that the criminal has competing desires. He may desire to change but he also wants the excitement of his way of life --- a little bit like St. Augustine -- "I want to be pure, God, but not yet." The changeability of the criminal is NOT a result of a mental illness. He makes choices, at times going from one extreme to another. Extremism in thinking is one characteristic of his cognitive functioning. The offender may be sincere about wanting to change, but he also wants what he wants when he wants it. Helping an offender to remain fed up with his criminal lifestyle and on track to change to a way of life that he has envied but never lived for long is at the heart of the challenge of "habilitation."
Past Concepts of the Month
2009
December: The Search for a "Motive" for a Crime
November: The Myth of the Street Gang as a "Family Substitute"
October: Part 1: "I think it; therefore, it's true" -- a thinking error of the criminal
September: Mind-altering Substances as Facilitators of Whatever the Offender Seeks
August: The Criminal and Control
July: The Criminal's Lying: "Compulsion" or "Habit"?
June: Identifying Thinking Errors in Child Custody Cases
May: Narcissism and the Antisocial Personality Disorder -- a Lot in Common
April: Lies- "A Taint of Death"
March: The Criminal Who Wants To Change -- Where's the Excitement?
January/February: The "Conscience" of the Perpetrator of Fraud or, How a Beloved and Trusted Person Preys Upon Friends, Closest Associates, and Long Time Acquaintances
2008
December: A "Non-concept" but Information, Nonetheless, for December...
November: The All or Nothing Thinking of the Criminal
October: The Argument that there is "Larceny in Every Soul" is Hollow
September: When "Rehab" and Alcoholics Anonymous is Not Enough
August: The Alleged Relationship Between Attention Deficit Disorder and Criminality
July: Peer Pressure as a Causal Factor in Criminal Behavior?
May/June: "Errors in Thinking" Apply to the Alcoholic or Problem Drinker
April: Early Identification of Antisocial Behavior - Part I
March: Does the Criminal "Burn Out" with Age?
February: More on the Role of the Social Environment
January: Does Prison Make a Person a "Worse Criminal"?
2007
November/December: The Male Criminal's Choice of Women
October: An Alternative View of "Compulsive" Gambling
September: The Primacy of Thinking
August: Dick Diver from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender Is the Night": A comment on a 1920's narcissist and today's celebrity narcissists
July: Another "Addiction"?
June: Musings about City Safety - USA and Spain
May: Virginia Tech: Can a Future School Shooter be Identified?
April: White Collar Crime and Street Crime: Similar Thought Processes
March: More on "Addiction" as a "Disease"
February: The Criminal and Suicidal Thinking
January: "I think, therefore I feel": The Primacy of Thinking
2006
December: The Overuse and Misuse of the Word "Addiction"
November: The Social Environment Does Not "Cause" Crime
October: "Anna Karenina" -- A Study in Character
September: The Concept of "Nonarrestable" Criminality
August: A Note on "Copycat" Violent Crimes
July: How "Errors in Thinking" Apply to Pedophiles
June: Suggestibility and the Juvenile Offender
May: Part I: Anger and the Criminal
April: An Expanded Concept of "Criminality"
March: Neurotic Features in the Individual with an Antisocial Personality Disorder
February: Sporadic Remorse Elevates the Criminal's View of Himself as a Good Person
December05/January: Can A Criminal Learn to be Empathic? -- Parts I and II
2005
November: "Compulsive" Gambling: Mental Disorder or Irresponsibile Choices?
September/October: Opportunistic Looting as in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
August: "Kleptomania": A Reality or a Psychiatric Invention?
July: "Love" -- The Criminal's Experience is Extremely Limited
June: The Problem with "Anger Management"
May: Religion in the Criminal's Good Opinion of Himself/Herself
April: From Maudlin Sentiment to Savage Brutality
March: The Use of the Offender's Language is Counterproductive in Interviewing and Counseling
February: The Concept of "Confrontation" in Helping Offenders Change
January: "I think, therefore it is so": A Costly Error of Thinking