The Psychopathic Character Strategy
Richard Harvey
Psychotherapist, Author and Spiritual Teacher, Founder-Director of Therapy and Spirituality
The psychopathic character strategy belongs to ages one to two years. The themes which govern this strategy are mother, power, respect, emotions, and manipulation. In the context of our dawning emotional, energetic life, we make forays out into the world now and enter into relational encounters involving will, feeling, and control. We explore interpersonal boundaries and in particular the line between power and submission. The psychopathic defense aims at manipulation and control to get needs met. The questions that express this strategy are, “Can I trust you with my real, vulnerable self?” “Will I be taken advantage of or treated as weak and insignificant?” and “Will my vulnerability be used against me?”
The person whose character is based on the psychopathic trauma manipulates in one of two ways. Traditionally these ways are known as psychopath types one and two. The first type is the tough and generous psychopath. He acts tough and self-important. This is how he assumes control. He deceives and charms to gain power. His role is supportive. He wants to be taken seriously and treated with respect and admiration. He is reluctant to share openly or equally, since his is the superior position and his inward, concealed, deep fears are expressed in these life statements, “They are trying to use me,” “Don’t let them get the upper hand.”
Psychopath type one, the tough and generous type, is running from his orality, all the themes of the oral stage. As a therapist, you encourage him to experience his weakness, as well as his anger (both presiding themes of the oral strategy). Let him know that it is safe for him to tell the truth. He has deceived for so long that this is a revelation and, as before with imparting trust and attention to the oral individual, you must be authentic. He must be allowed and encouraged to collapse – something that is extremely hard for the tough and generous psychopath to do – and acknowledge his weakness and fake toughness. Finally, he must experience your containment. As a therapist you must firmly, gently, sensitively, and strongly hold and contain the therapy process, so that he is sure that the therapeutic relationship is safe enough for him, his feelings, and confusion, and ultimately for his murderous rage.
For at the depths of every psychopath’s psyche is a murderer, a product of deeply repressed anger and resentment, supported by fear and distrust and the experience of having been taken advantage of and humiliated. Paradoxically perhaps, it is said that if there is a riot, send in a hundred psychopaths and it will all calm down in half an hour. This is a quaint way of referring to the seductive, smooth-talking, charming aspect of the psychopathic mentality, and particularly of psychopath type two.
Psychopath type two is the charming seducer. This is how he gets his needs met and it is merely another form of control and manipulation, like psychopath type one. But unlike the tough and generous psychopath, the seductive psychopath draws on admiration and affection with overtones of sexuality and sweetness, rather than using strength and power. His deception is entirely indirect because he has learnt that he cannot get his needs met straightforwardly. He asks inwardly and unconsciously, “Will my needs and my vulnerability be used against me?” and he is deeply afraid and stressed about being found out and exposed.
Usually attractive in appearance, psychopath type two is typically “oily” and seductive in his slow measured movements. He is drawn toward comfort and sensuality and may unconsciously suffer from some gender confusion.
The difference between psychopaths one and two – the tough and generous, and the seductive, charming type – is merely a disparity in style and appearance; underneath both are experts in deception and control.
Excerpt from SAT Online Training, Level 1 lecture manuscript
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6yWhen working with the Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) character strategies, it may be important to remember that any given character strategy does not, necessarily, equate to a pathological diagnosis. The psychopathic character strategy is one such case in point. I am informed by psychiatrists trained in traditional psychanalytical approaches, and practicing within a regulated allopathic setting, that the goal of the psychiatric relationship is to (a) diagnose pathology; and (b) prescribe treatment, which almost always, if not exclusively, is grounded in pharmaceutical medication. In SAT, there is no diagnosis of pathology because the SAT approach looks past the illusion of the fractured self to the divine essence residing within an individual. There is nothing to ‘treat’ per se. There is only the extension of healing to collaborate with another to remove the blockages to the awareness of love. Pathologically, psychopathy may generally be described as a personality disorder characterized by persistent and sustained antisocial behavior, lack of empathy and remorse, and uninhibited egotistical traits. While the person exhibiting the SAT psychopathic character strategy may pathologically be diagnosable as a psychopath, the SAT psychopathic character strategy describes life themes and questions, personality type, pervasive beliefs of life in general (called ‘life statements’ in the SAT paradigm), and therapeutic approaches that are non-pharmaceutical led. In my experience, most everyone exhibits elements of the SAT psychopathic character strategy. It is surprising how common this character strategy actually is. But the existence of the psychopathic character strategy does not equate to someone being diagnosed as a ‘psychopath’ in the pathological sense. I have found that if the primary and predominant character strategy the client uses is the psychopathic character strategy, then there may be cause for further exploration of the client as a possible ‘psychopath.’ But the underlying therapeutic methods would still be employed in working with the psychopath as when working with the psychopathic character strategy.