Benefits of CBT for Antisocial Personality Disorder Psychotherapy

Antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD, can create great challenges in one’s relationships, career, and potentially the law. Those with this disorder often struggle to feel guilt or remorse for their actions. What’s important to realize is that most people with antisocial personality disorder do not intend any harm to those around them but don’t have the tools needed to make the right choices that avoid causing harm. CBT, better known as cognitive behavioral therapy, can be life-changing for those diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.

Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder Psychotherapy

There is no one clear known cause for antisocial personality disorder– genetics and environment may both play a role in developing this disorder. Certain childhood experiences, such as abuse or having an antisocial parent, are considered to put someone at increased risk. This disorder is also sometimes referred to as sociopathy.

There are a variety of behaviors that someone with antisocial personality disorder may be more inclined to do. These include dishonesty, manipulations, and rule-breaking. Furthermore, they may act more impulsively and engage in antagonistic conduct and mannerisms. These can, thankfully, be addressed via antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy. In the more extreme cases, individuals with antisocial personality disorder have been known to find it difficult to maintain a good standing with the law.

Engaging in CBT for antisocial personality disorder can minimize any lasting harm. The consequences of untreated antisocial personality disorder aren’t limited to the extreme cases. Without a clear grasp on what is right or wrong, personal relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners often suffer. At work, antisocial personality disorder can lead to difficulty positively connecting with coworkers or rule-breaking which leads to a higher risk of being fired.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy, including antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy, focuses on identifying thoughts and behaviors that are harmful while providing you with coping strategies to reframe and overcome them. Changing those harmful thoughts is the first step to improving feelings and behaviors. CBT for antisocial personality disorder encourages you to be hands-on with your treatment plan and prepares you for any future challenges that may come up.

Negative thoughts interfere with everyone’s sense of personal peace, but those suffering from a personality disorder may struggle more than normal. Your CBT therapist can show you how to rationalize any negative thoughts, ensuring you are in control of your behaviors. Essentially, antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy helps you increase your self-awareness so that you can notice and replace unwanted thoughts and behaviors.

Treating ASPD

Cognitive behavioral therapy as a supportive treatment to coincide with psychiatric care can have a number of benefits. Though it may be necessary to seek psychiatric or medical care outside of Miami Hypnosis and Therapy, doing so concurrently with cognitive behavioral therapy may lead to improved patient outcomes. In fact, it is often considered a vital part of the treatment plan for ASPD.

There are medications available that may help control symptoms, including aggression, impulsive behavior, and anger. While Miami Hypnosis and Therapy cannot prescribe any medications, through antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy, a CBT therapist is able to help you track your own progress and assess your mental state. Unfortunately, for complex personality disorders, there is no one solution. A multi-pronged approach involving both CBT for antisocial personality disorder and medication is often necessary to be effective in behavioral change.

Your CBT therapist can advise you on symptom management tools, such as journaling, to help you feel more in control. Journaling is often recommended in tandem with cognitive behavioral therapy, regardless of the reason or diagnosis that brought someone to therapy. Especially when it comes to ASPD, journaling alongside psychotherapy for antisocial personality disorder results in a plethora of benefits. Your therapist will not be available 24/7, but by writing down your thoughts, feelings, and triggers in the moment, you’ll have a more accurate record of events to present during your meeting time.

Moreover, impulse control is a major challenge for those diagnosed with ASPD. Getting into the habit of writing in a journal prior to taking action can both delay impulsive choices and also help you be more in tune with your emotions. Taking this time to pause and write encourages positive behavioral change alongside antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy.

For the Families of Those With ASPD

Antisocial personality disorder is difficult on more than just the person with the diagnosis. Family and friends close to the diagnosed individual may find a plethora of challenges they feel ill-prepared to navigate. It’s important to find support in navigating antisocial personality disorder in families, and it’s crucial to understand what antisocial personality disorder treatment entails.

CBT for antisocial personality disorder is vital to recovery, and your loved one may require family therapy interventions. While it may be a lot to ask to assist in the antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy treatment of your family member, this is a difficult road to traverse alone. However, that doesn’t mean that family members should go unsupported or make too many sacrifices on behalf of someone diagnosed with ASPD.

Relating to your family member with antisocial personality disorder can be particularly difficult. You may find yourself questioning whether maintaining the relationship is worthwhile. Cognitive behavioral therapy is not limited to just those suffering directly from the disorder; instead, it can also benefit the family members.

Take the First Step

Discover the path to balance and recovery with Miami Hypnosis and Therapy’s antisocial personality disorder psychotherapy. Our principal practitioner, Anna Merchenko (LMHC, Ed.M, MA), provides her clients with a tailor-made treatment plans that incorporate CBT, NLP, and hypnotherapy. This unique approach tackles antisocial personality disorder from all angles, helping her patients see results at a faster pace. Contact us today to schedule your initial phone consultation to discuss CBT for antisocial personality disorder– we want to help you feel socially and personally at ease.