Insanity of Insanity Defense (2nd International Conference and Expo on Clinical Psychology)
Professor Sam Vaknin argues that mental illness is a culturally dependent concept and questions the validity of the insanity defense in legal cases. He highlights the lack of universally agreed-upon definitions of insanity and the discrepancies between psychiatric and legal insanity. Vaknin also discusses the limitations of current mental health diagnoses, which are often based on value judgments and cultural context rather than objective scientific criteria. He concludes that mental illness is a complex and evolving concept that requires further study before making definitive claims in courts or other settings.
Attention Whores, Impulse Control, and Munchausen by Narcissist
Attention-bores, mostly women with histrionic and borderline personality disorders, use male attention to regulate their sense of self-worth. They become flirtatious, seductive, and trade sex for even the most inconsequential signs of attention from a man. Male attention serves a few important psychodynamic functions with these women, including reassuring them of their irresistibility and attractiveness, reasserting control and power of a man via her sex, and adrenaline junkies. Impulsive behaviors are addictive, and recurrences and recidivism are very common. As these women grow older, most of the signs and symptoms of borderline and histrionic personality disorder recede, unfortunately only to be replaced with dysthymia, background depression.
Narcissist: Bumbling Fool, Incapable of Learning?
Narcissists can appear to be stupid for several reasons. They have no impulse control, act out, and engage in self-defeating actions. They also use pseudo-stupidity to avoid the consequences of their misdeeds. Narcissists are gullible, have an impaired reality test, and cannot read social cues or the intentions of others. They also use false modesty to fish for compliments, but their attempts are so transparent that people react with repulsion. Finally, the narcissist regards learning something new or getting advice as narcissistic injuries, which renders them appear profoundly stupid.
Neglected Dimensions of Personality (Lecture for Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the second year of personality theory and its relation to identity. He emphasizes the importance of considering culture and society in understanding mental health disorders, which are highly culture-bound. He also discusses the concept of psychosis and how it challenges the distinction between internal and external reality. Additionally, he argues that the delusion of identity and personality is a confabulation created by the brain to survive, and that psychology has made the mistake of assuming the existence of the individual. He raises questions about the medicalization of psychology and the relationship between the brain and the mind.
No Identity Without Memory (Lecture for Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the complexities of modern psychology, particularly the challenges in defining concepts such as personality and memory. He explores the cultural and perceptual influences on psychological constructs, the dichotomy between observer and observed reality, and the limitations of accessing and defining memory. Vaknin also delves into the fluid nature of memory and its impact on personal identity, challenging traditional views and proposing a new understanding of identity as a flexible algorithm that processes and adapts to changing memories. He emphasizes the evolutionary advantage of human adaptability and the role of storytelling in shaping identity.
Issues and Goals in the Treatment of Dependent Personality Disorder (Codependence, or Codependency)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses codependency, its various forms, and its impact on individuals. He explains the different categories of codependency, such as those related to abandonment anxiety, fear of losing control, vicarious codependents, and counter-dependence. He also delves into the psychological and emotional aspects of codependency, its roots in childhood experiences, and the potential for overcoming it through therapy and self-help.
Borderline Codependent: Clinging Child, Punitive Parent
Codependency in parents can lead to children who only receive conditional love based on their performance. This can result in a child who is objectified and treated as an extension of the parent. The child learns that to obtain affection, they must perform, leading to a lack of self-love. This can result in a psychopath, passive-aggressive personality disorder, masochistic adult, or an adult with depressive disorders. Codependents often experience extreme abandonment anxiety and swing between self-effacing and explosive behaviors due to divided loyalties between their partner and internalized parent.
Incest: Narcissism or Society? (International Conference Adolescent Medicine & Child Psychology)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the taboo of incest and its historical and cultural context. He argues that incest is not a clear-cut matter and that many types of relationships defined as incestuous are between genetically unrelated parties. Vaknin suggests that the incest taboo was and is aimed at preserving the family unit and its proper functioning, regulating the intergenerational distribution and handling of accumulated family wealth, and preventing the degeneration of the genetic stock of the clan or tribe through intra-family breeding. He concludes that incest is a culture-bound restriction, prohibition, and taboo, and that a world without incest is considerable, and a world with incest is considerable.
Cold Therapy: Treat Narcissism and Depression (30th World Psychiatrists and Psychologists Meet)
Cold Therapy is a new treatment modality for narcissistic personality disorder developed by Professor Sam Vaknin. It treats pathological narcissism as a post-traumatic condition and uses techniques borrowed from child psychology and trauma therapy. Cold Therapy aims to re-traumatize the patient in a controlled environment, allowing them to emerge as a healthier adult with firm boundaries and a stable sense of self-worth. The treatment consists of 25 proprietary techniques, including erasure, hypervigilant referencing, grandiosity reframing, and happiness mapping.
Narcissist, His Body, Other Bodies (35th Psychosomatic Medicine Conference 2018 Video Presentation)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the relationship between narcissists and their bodies, focusing on somatic narcissists who derive attention using their body and sexuality. Somatic narcissists often misjudge their bodies and dedicate significant time and effort to reshaping and improving them. The cerebral narcissist, on the other hand, devalues their body and focuses on their intellect. Vaknin also explores how narcissists react to their own illnesses and accidents, as well as the illnesses and disabilities of their children.