I'm a forensic psychiatrist and here are five common myths about clinical psychopaths

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A forensic psychiatrist has debunked five myths many people believe when it comes to clinical psychopaths. 

London-based Dr Sohom Das, has a YouTube channel called A Psych for Sore Minds, where he covers a range of mental health and crime-related topics, on top of his practice.

In a recent YouTube video, he discussed psychopathy, first defining what it is, before then debunking five common myth around it.

According to Dr Das: 'As a forensic psychiatrist, I formally diagnose psychopaths on many occasions using the Hare psychopathy checklist - you've probably heard of that. 

'I've treated and rehabilitated psychopaths in secure units. 

'I can say firsthand that there are loads of myths and fallacies about what is a real actual factual, genuine psychopath clinically, and what isn't.' 

Describing a psychopath, Dr Das said it is 'somebody who lacks empathy, is willing to do almost anything, potentially violence, but importantly, they're charming and they're persuasive and they're parasitic...[which] means they manipulate other people around them to get what they want'. 

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das (pictured) recently shared 5 myths about psychopaths in a YouTube video

Myth one: All psychopaths are violent criminals

According to Dr Das, myth number one is that all psychopaths are violent criminals - but, he said, that is not the case.

'Psychopathy is a personality, it's not a synonym for violence,' he added.

'And whereas some psychopaths might be criminals, many are not, because they're able to control their impulses, or they find nonviolent ways to achieve their goals.' 

However, he noted, there is an increased risk, and 'people with psychopathy are about twice as likely to engage in violent crime compared to the general population'.

In addition, he said: 'Also, a psychopath will only be violent if it's convenient and there's a purpose for for them to be violent.  

'Think about if you had a drug dealer who's a psychopath, versus a CEO who's a psychopath, the drug dealer's violence is instrumental...whereas if you're a CEO psychopath...slapping your CFO for messing up the quarterly returns might not work in your favour, it might get you into trouble.'

Myth two: Psychopaths lack emotion 

According to Dr Das, many people believe all psychopaths are violent criminals and that they lack all emotions - but this is not true (stock image)

Dr Das' second myth about psychopaths is that they that lack emotion. 

He explained: 'Psychopaths can experience emotions, but they often have trouble understanding that emotion, what it means to them, where it's coming from, and also responding to that emotion. 

'So overall, research suggests that psychopaths have a blunted emotional response, but they still experience emotions like anger, excitement, or joy, but they tend to be a less intense experience.'

However, he noted, there are 'some key emotions that psychopaths either don't feel at all or rarely feel or to the same degree' as other people. 

Dr Das explained: 'An obvious one is empathy...so they struggle to understand and share the feelings of others. 

'And this is the same for associated emotions like guilt, like remorse, like deep attachment, so that can make psychopaths as callous and uncaring and unconcerned about the well being of others.'

The other emotion a psychopath might lack is fear, which, he said, can make them more dangerous than other people, as well as more impulsive.

He added: 'The other thing I'd say is that for psychopaths, emotions often seem to be a means for an end. So they might actually use emotion strategically to manipulate situations or to achieve their goals. So what I'm talking about is instrumental emotions rather than deep emotion.' 

Myth three: Women can't be psychopaths

One myth about psychopaths is that they can't be women, but this is not the case, though it can present differently in women (stock image)

Moving onto myth number three, Dr Das said it is that women can't be psychopaths.

However, psychopathy can occur in both men and women, he explained, 'although it's more commonly diagnosed in men'. 

Dr Das continued: 'Some estimates say [psychopathy] is diagnosed around 10 times as often in men in women than in women. 

'But here's the key bit: recently some experts, and I think I'd probably agree, say that the assessment of psychopathy is actually itself towards more male traits, whereas female psychopathy traits are more subtle.' 

Myth four: Psychopaths can be cured

Dr Sohom Das (pictured) is a London-based forensic psychiatrist who also makes YouTube content on his channel A Psych for Sore Minds

According to Dr Das: 'Myth number four [is that] psychopaths can be cured...In reality, there is no cure for psychopathy. 

'But that doesn't mean that treatment isn't helpful...to manage the symptoms and to reduce the risk of the future harmful behaviour. 

'So what we're saying is you can't change inherited personality traits. You can't force somebody to feel empathy, but you can work on other factors that leads to violence. You can work on anger management, you can work on impulsivity.'

As an example, he explained that if there's a psychopath who 'becomes more violent when they're drinking because they become disinhibited, or when they're taking drugs, you can do drug and alcohol rehab'. 

He noted as an aside that in his experience, 'psychopaths or anybody with any kind of antisocial traits, they can change, but...you can't force change....They have to have the internal motivation. 

'They have to have this internal epiphany that they need to change. And from my experience, this does happen but it's when people get older.'

Myth Five: Psychopaths are highly intelligent 

Despite TV depictions of psychopaths, it is a myth that they are all highly intelligent.

'So intelligence...is not a defining trait of psychopathy,' said Dr Das.

'Having said that, if you're intelligent, and a psychopath, and quite crafty, then you're probably going to be successful in what you want to do.'

He added: 'So if you are a psychopath, and you're intelligent, and don't have others' pesky morals getting in your way, you're probably going to achieve your goal, even if it means crushing other people in your path.' 

Dr Sohom Das can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as YouTube.