Violent Attachments

About this book

This book is written for psychotherapists psychologists psychoanalysts psychiatrists and social workers in clinical or forensic practice. Biological foci include concepts about the deep limbic structures of the brain and the biochemistry that inhibits or disinhibits such violence. Psychological patterns include both psychoanalytic constructs and the specific psychological test data from the case studies that support such constructs. Social factors include the behavior of the victim and in the case of assassination the political acts that contribute to predatory violence. Dr. Meloy emphasizes the crucial need for mental health professionals to go beyond descriptive diagnoses and find the motivation and meaning of such acts. The professionals causal and purposive formulations about such violent attachments lead to more effective evaluation treatment and intervention and perhaps testimony in subsequent criminal and civil litigation.