ABSTRACT
While it is widely believed that psychopathy is untreatable, some studies report interventions that have led to a degree of success in reducing the antisocial behaviours associated with the disorder. With regard to children who may be on the path to psychopathy, parental interventions include teaching child management skills, such as reprimanding and praising, and appropriate listening skills. Such interventions can reduce the development of antisocial behaviour in some children. Adult interventions can be either psychological or biological. Psychological interventions include cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic and therapeutic community treatments. Cognitive-behavioural approaches aim to change inappropriate thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Psychodynamic approaches aim to bring unconscious repressed conflicts into consciousness so that they can be resolved, while therapeutic communities involve groups of people working together to help in resolving conflicts. Claims have been made with regard to the success of all three psychological forms of interventions. Such claims have been disputed. Biological interventions include transcranial magnetic stimulation and direct current stimulation. Such non-invasive techniques involve passing a current through areas of the brain and have led to some positive results. Altering the levels of oxytocin and cortisol hormones has also led to some promising results with regard to reducing antisocial behaviour.
