ABSTRACT
The traditional treatment of Kleptomania is psychotherapy within which underlying causes for the irresistible impulse may be discovered. In some patients, reported as cases rather than controlled studies, discovery of the psychodynamics alone is sufficient to allow behavioral change. When the onset of the disorder is not acute or associated with some identifiable event, however, reports of therapeutic success become less common and treatment outcomes rely more upon changing one’s symptoms to more acceptable defense mechanisms than upon outright cure. Treatment approaches to Pathological Gambling often equate the disorder with addiction, particularly addiction to alcohol. Several authors have pointed out the increased prevalence of affective disorders, suicidal behavior, substance abuse, and sexual dysfunction in pathological gamblers. The patient with affective disorder is less likely than one who gambles or steals to be released on probation pending outpatient treatment. Psychiatric or neurologic disorders with behavioral symptoms are almost never completely treated using biological means.
