Can a therapist report a patient who confesses to a crime during a session?

The psychiatrist must also help the patient think about his responsibility, guilt, and reparation, and enhance his critical awareness, ability to repent, and the possibility of change. “It is essential to understand the context in which criminal behavior is introduced, because it may or may not be the result of a mental disorder,” Soto says.

In some cases, pharmacological interventions may or may not be necessary, for example to help control the condition anxiety and associated impulses. Conditions that can lead to committing crimes include schizophrenia, kleptomania, psychotic personality disorders, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, histrionic, borderline, antisocial, and narcissistic.

Be prepared for anything

Depending on the complexity and demands of the case, such as when an individual experiences psychotic episodes and delusions and enters a state of withdrawal, it may be more effective and safe for the therapist to work with a network and involve the patient’s family in care and supervision. tells psychiatrist Louise Scocca. Social reintegration ends in these situations.

The specialist can also refer you to support groups and reference services with other specialists. Security measures, such as custodial detention, are provided depending on the seriousness of the crime and disorder. They target people who are considered unaccountable or semi-accountable, that is, unable to be held accountable in court for their actions.

In order for a person to be identified as such, it is necessary to undergo a medico-legal examination to prove that he has a disorder and whether this was the reason that led to the commission of the crime. However, crimes also involve social, familial and economic contexts and bad intentions. “The probability of failure is high when it comes to lying,” says Wimer Bottura, a psychiatrist and therapist at the University of the South Pacific Psychiatric Institute. “For character deficiencies, there is no cure.”