Can Casey benefit from therapy?

[JBounds]

My opinion is whomever gives her therapy will need therapy themselves because she will drain them and run them in circles. So, I don't believe she can be rehabilitated. Some people just can't be and she is one of them, imo.

 

[Lexington]

Well, I'm here to say I think she is going to need therapy!

Here we have a sociopath who assumed she would exit from jail victorious, a winner who was declared not guilty, to have offer after offer to speak about "her experiences" and to be a star, the centre of attention. She expected to be the one in the long limo, with flashbulbs going off - the darling of the press.

I'm pretty sure she was planning her look, what she would wear, who would want to talk to her - wow - even Howard Stern! More crowds, not jeering but cheering, more helicopters circling! What fun, what excitement! And enough money to keep her on easy street for the rest of her life!

Instead she finds herself the most hated person in America. Doomed to always be accused, assumed guilty, fearing for her safety, needing to hide, with any number of judgements waiting, debts mounting, and no "safe harbour" for the rest of her life. Waiting for offers none of the big networks dare make for fear of the public backlash.

Yup, it will take some 'splaining by a professional to get her to begin to understand what her life will be like forever forward from day one that FCA was rewarded her freedom.

So, Ms Anthony, how's the real world looking to you now?

Excellent post. I bet at this point she is cursing the jury for setting her free. No longer can she run to the safety of her "room" and have those protective bars keep her from all harm. She is now in dangerous territory and is probably scared to death. Good.

 

[katydid23]

" She needs therapy to help her grieve the 'loss' of her child."

Give me a freakin break. Grieving the loss of a child is the most natural emotional response there is. If she, as a mother, could not grieve for Caylee, then no amount of 'therapy' is going to help her cold heart.

 

[Lexington]

" She needs therapy to help her grieve the 'loss' of her child."

Give me a freakin break. Grieving the loss of a child is the most natural emotional response there is. If she, as a mother, could not grieve for Caylee, then no amount of 'therapy' is going to help her cold heart.

I guess that therapy will involve another mini blue dress, a few drinks, a hot body contest and lots of "boys". Wasn't the DT spouting that that was her way of grieving. I guess under the care of a therapist this time the grieving will take.

 

[kimmera]

Most therapist I have seen are crazier than their clients. No, Casey does not need a therapy, she needs to get off her lazy butt and get a job and do something worthwhile with her life. Now that her chid is gone, she will have the time to get an education and do something in society that is positive. So pose for the magazine, take the money and pay for an education, stay away from Cindy and thank your lucky star because you are one lucky individual.

BBM~

I think it is pretty telling that we have not heard one word about KC's 'plans' to get an education and make something of her life. Not one word that I know of. It's all about the quick bucks for these people. No talk whatsoever about what KC might do to 'give back' to society. Not that she ever will, but I would think that the DT might speak of this as part of rehabbing her image. MOO. :twocents:

 

[GiantPickle]

if casey could sit down and be honest with someone to discuss--- why am i able to lie so quick and well? why do i hate my mom? why do i not react with true emotions and what are my true emotions? why did i not know how much my child needed me to love her? we could have a therapy session worth the time.

Respectfully snipped.

If she ends up in any place worth its salt (and for long enough) they will have her ask herself these questions.

As for the time spent in jail, didn't we find out that she did not have access to things like GED courses etc?

As another aside - who do we actually think out of the defense team is babysitting her? JB and CM aren't that's for sure....so did DS get her? I haven't seen her anywhere lately...she deserves her though for all that directing she did of FICA's expressions etc during trial.

 

[csusan]

I agree Sammiejam.

An earlier post asked if a person with personality disorders is mentally ill. Many, many people walking around have some type of personality disorder like borderline, narcissistic, so forth. They are listed in the DSMIII diagnostic manual (which is the bible for psychologists and psychiatrists)as just what they are disorders. Not what the justice system and most of us think of when we think of mental illness. Yes people with personality disorders are mentally ill but most function in society. They are typically untreatable because you have to recognize that they have a problem and need help to benefit from therapy. Most people with personality disorders don't think there is anything wrong with them-they think that it is everyone else that has the problem. It is not uncommon for psychologists to say the person isn't mentally ill but that doesn't mean the person is "normal".

IMO Casey Anthony is mentally ill. She probably has at least one if not more personality disorders. I don't think this means she is not accountable for what she did. She is very responsible and should have been found guilty. Persons with personality disorder(s) frequently get away with crimes and this just adds to their feelings of invincibility. It may be that those around Casey have yet to see her disorders in full color. They may truly believe the crap she has told them and want to try and help her heal. Until she screws them over (which is just a matter of time) they will continue to see her as a sad and damaged child. Therapy won't help Casey. She would either love it and enjoy learning how to play with the therapist or she will be resentful and after a while refuse to go because as she knows-there is nothing wrong with her-she's just fine the way she is. Everyone of us works with, goes to school with, attends church with, may even have some one in their family or a friend that has a personality disorder. They are the ones that make everyone else's life miserable while they go on their merry way. There can also be levels of a personality disorder and I would guess that anyone capable of killing their child and then partying after wards is significantly disordered.

that was the long answer to the initial question. The short answer is no she won't benefit from therapy and yes it is a scam at least on Casey's part maybe not on those that are currently helping her. I am not a psychologist but was raised by someone with a personality disorder so I have done a lot of study on my own.

 

[HatesSociopaths]

HatesSociopaths - you seem to have some background or expertise in this. So, do you think sociopathy like hers can really be addressed in therapy? What do you think of the idea that empathy can't be taught or created in someone who doesn't have it? Do you think that the need to cover the lies stamps out the empathy, or that the lack of empathy underlies all the other behaviors including the lies?

Just curious....

I've been a counselor for twenty years. I have no degree in psychology or psychiatry. My techniques are not orthodox. I'll give you my thoughts. Thanks for asking.

I am sure I am going to state some things that others don't agree with. These are just my opinions, and I respect yours.

I operate on principles that include spirituality, that we are basically good, that we have past lives, that those spiritual issues can be complex and travel into controversial and religious realms. I also operate on the principle that a sociopath is motivated by evil intentions; that their basic purpose in life is EVIL, unlike the rest of us. How this can happen to a spirit who is basically good is complex, but the long and short of it is they are stuck in the past. It is the job of the therapist to get them unstuck, the evil purposes confronted and examined, and back in communication with the world.

The lack of empathy is actually connected with her lies and the lack of reality she has for the real world. Consider it a triangle - one goes up, the rest go up. One goes down, the rest go down. Empathy on one corner, reality and agreement on another, communication on the other. You can see this in life when talking to an angry person. They are hard to get agreement with and they are less truthful than when calm. Casey is of course an extreme of this, where there is no empathy, no reality, and no real communication. She is basically not there! (In a spiritual sense that is. I mean that literally - she isn't there. Compare that to a person for example with a person you consider very warm - you can "feel" them. You can't "feel" Casey, there is just a body there. It's so unsafe - and really that particularly means she knows she will do harm - the spirit has removed itself from the area.)

But if you can raise her reality, something could be done about the empathy and lies. Someone mentioned the idea of her being on a ranch, working on fences, etc. That is brilliant. In fact I've heard of mental patients being handled with success like that in Germany (if anyone has more info on that I've been looking online for info). Such activities can raise the reality of the person, and that can open the door.

One of the reasons I think Casey might be able to respond to therapy is something she said to Annie Downing in 2007. She said she felt like she was going insane and that she might have to go away for awhile (be institutionalized.) That's a very interesting statement to me. It shows there was a little bit to work with there, at least at that time. Reaching for help ever so slightly. Without a reach for help, little progress could be made.

I would start with secluding her in a ranch-like setting like it was suggested, with jobs to do, friendly people there, safe. I would try to make the world around her more real to her, including drills that help bring this about (looking at things, etc.)

Eventually, a point would hopefully be reached where she was talking with more reality about her life. Then I would engage in actual counselling, avoiding the real tough points of her past, instead trying to build her empathy, reality and communication level through discussion about happier periods in the past. Building as much rapport as possible with her would be vital, including a total trust that nothing would be shared with others and be kept confidential between us, no matter what was said.

Over time, seeing progress, I would discuss the mistakes she has made in life, and the things she has done. Getting her to confess lies told, etc. Eventually, I would discuss what happened to Caylee, and whether we have gotten anywhere would reveal itself. If she is to get better, she would have to confess what happened, the truth. This would be a make-break point in whether we were getting anywhere.

If that had a positive outcome, I would then work with her further to uncover the basic evil intentions she has been manifesting and get those in view. I would also help her discover why those decisions were made in the past, so they could be washed away and new decisions about life could be made.

It's a long runway, this would take many months. I have not had the misfortune to have to deal with someone as bad off as Casey, but I've definitely dealt with some people who were prone to do evil. They were helped with similar strategies. With Casey, the key would be gaining her trust. That would take some work.


:twocents:

 

[Shalya]

Sociopathy cannot be cured. And the time to grieve Caylle's death was right after she killed her. I don't buy any of the BS and I couldn't care less about anything the twisted dwarf has to say.

LOL

I couldn't have said it any better than this!!! Thank you! :floorlaugh:


ETA: Sometimes I feel like -I'll- need therapy after watching this case!

 

[2goldfish]

Malignant Narcissist, Sociopath = No cure.

She is what she is. You cannot teach someone EMPATHY. All therapy will do for her is make her more devious, more dangerous. She will manipulate the therapists and use the sessions to further her own agenda's.

Her lawyers are now spending a lot of time with her. They are mistaking *mental illness* with frightening psychopathic behavior. I do hope they realise NONE of them are safe from her.

They best cut this albatross loose before it turns around and tries to peck their eyes out.

my bold :loveyou:

however that does make me wonder about the effects of MDMA therapy on people like that. it once was used in marital therapy etc. I dont know of any studies done on sociopathic and/or narcissistic individuals but I think it would be a very good idea to do. if the drug works similarly on these type of disordered people might save a lot of crime from ever occuring.

 

[Quiche]

I get the feeling she's trying to mold herself to be viewed like Jaycee D.-- too traumatized by her "confinement" to give an interview, but later, after treatment, yeah.

Sick as ever, and always. mo

 

[IfIMay]

She'll benefit if the therapist leaves a checkbook laying around.. otherwise, nope.

 

[sparkysmom]

The only thing that MIGHT help her is an exorcism.

Amen to that! It would still only make her marginally acceptable to be in the human race IMO.

What her team wants us all to think is that she is getting mental health therapy, when in reality, what she is getting is a "makeover". We will see a coached, more polished KC with a better hairstyle, nicer clothing, prepared and rehearsed answers to specific questions, along with the appropriate sniffing and squirting out of tears at just the right moment.

She's like the boy who cried wolf. She has lied so much, even unimportant things, it would be hard to know what is truth with her. I don't care to hear it. All I know is, she is responsible for the death of her child and got away with it.

 

[askfornina]

i read the first page of this thread and i'm willing to bet the next two didn't contain anything like this post so here i am again with another unpopular opinion:

i don't know casey. i don't know anything about her, other than the obvious videos and testimony. i will not claim to know what casey is thinking, feeling, her purposes for going to therapy, etc. after these three years. imo, she NEEDS therapy. so, good for her. if she wasn't going to therapy, i would be surprised, and it would get a very negative reaction from me. i have no idea what is going on inside of her head, and i'm not prepared to judge what i THINK is going on in her head. i have no idea if she is truly trying to better herself. but i feel in the situation she is in, therapy is absolutely the BEST option available for her. aside from an actual live in facility. until i hear from casey's mouth, casey's story of the last 3 years then i am not prepared to judge her on this issue. there is a small possibility she is truly remorseful and i'm not about to let that small possibility pass me by. casey's book and/or interview has the potential to change my opinion on this entire situation. but then we will see won't we?

 

[sparkysmom]

Somebody please help me out here: Didn't Cindy tell someone that KC was a sociopath at one point? Maybe Amy? I am pretty sure I read that somewhere, I just can't remember. If that is true, it makes me wonder what kind of diagnostic studies were done on KC in the past, before Caylee was even born.

 

[logicalgirl]

i read the first page of this thread and i'm willing to bet the next two didn't contain anything like this post so here i am again with another unpopular opinion:

i don't know casey. i don't know anything about her, other than the obvious videos and testimony. i will not claim to know what casey is thinking, feeling, her purposes for going to therapy, etc. after these three years. imo, she NEEDS therapy. so, good for her. if she wasn't going to therapy, i would be surprised, and it would get a very negative reaction from me. i have no idea what is going on inside of her head, and i'm not prepared to judge what i THINK is going on in her head. i have no idea if she is truly trying to better herself. but i feel in the situation she is in, therapy is absolutely the BEST option available for her. aside from an actual live in facility. until i hear from casey's mouth, casey's story of the last 3 years then i am not prepared to judge her on this issue. there is a small possibility she is truly remorseful and i'm not about to let that small possibility pass me by. casey's book and/or interview has the potential to change my opinion on this entire situation. but then we will see won't we?

Those are all fine thoughts and I sincerely commend you for them.

I guess some of us are just more jaded, because we have watched and listened to her for three years, starting with her - waste, a huge waste - phone call home wanting not information on her family or Caylee, but looking for her boyfriends phone number and so it went...

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Somebody please help me out here: Didn't Cindy tell someone that KC was a sociopath at one point? Maybe Amy? I am pretty sure I read that somewhere, I just can't remember. If that is true, it makes me wonder what kind of diagnostic studies were done on KC in the past, before Caylee was even born.

Yes she did. It was one of the boy "friends" - name escapes me now. It was the one that KC went to visit in TL's jeep. I do believe it was in his depo somehwere, way back there <--------------------.

Maybe someone else can remember his name. I do believe it was a school mate of KC's, or he'd been a friend of hers for quite some time.

HTH - but isn't really much help.

 

[zoomom]

Makes you wonder if she is acting out and they are frightened for themselves now.

I hope they are. They are the one's that opened Pandora's box. Can you even imagine having to hang-out with her now????? Now she can say what she really thinks....

And I'm no expert, but it seems to me that if her pretend therapy actually worked, she would be so ashamed of herself and overwhelmed with guilt she wouldn't want to do interviews. So I too think this is a scam to make her more marketable.

 

[LambChop]

Yes she did. It was one of the boy "friends" - name escapes me now. It was the one that KC went to visit in TL's jeep. I do believe it was in his depo somehwere, way back there <--------------------.

Maybe someone else can remember his name. I do believe it was a school mate of KC's, or he'd been a friend of hers for quite some time.

HTH - but isn't really much help.

Was it Ryan Pasley? He's known her since grade school.

 

[zoomom]

The old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."
I don't buy it for a minute either and I think it's rather laughable that the DT is stuck with her now. It will cost them an arm and a leg (probably literally, LOL) and she still will not be an asset. So suffer now all of you lying, deceitful players. You can't have buyer's remorse now. :loser:

BIG applause to your post!