Counseling & Psychotherapy Discussion Board

Hello everyone,

I am happy to be able to announce that the combined self-screening / self-test on Psychopathy / Antisocial / Narcissistic / Histrionic personality disorder originally developed for my German language website is also available in English language now:

http://www.counseling-office.com/survey ... athy.phtml

Despite a good amount of testing, I'm wouldn't be on 100% correct wording and phrasing in every detail of the test (particularly the results) - native speakers, please me know by email (contact form linked from the menu on top of the page) if you find anything to improve. Thank you!

kind regards,
R.L.Fellner

Just took the test, probably the twelfth test I have taken about psychopathy/sociopathy. Seems just as credible as the others and confirms my suspicions about my possible, unofficial self-diagnosis. Any advice?

Hello nayrbsnilloc,

if the test on this website indicates that you may suffer from one of the tested-for personality disorders, I would recommend you to see a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist for personal evaluation.

An online test can be relatively reliable, and I particularly try to design the ones on my website as professionally as possible, but any such effort relying on subjective self-reflection and without a professional who can get an impression about you on a 'live', face-to-face basis has to be weak to some extent.

So in order to get a reliable diagnosis, please visit a professional in the interest of your personal wellbeing and mental health. You might actually not even suffer from a personality disorder, but merely the test indicating that there seems to be a problem should well justify doing the necessary steps that can help you to feel certain about what may be going on. You might feel resistance about exposing yourself to the 'full truth' about the cause of your issues, but be assured that in the long run, it will pay off.

All the best,
Richard L. Fellner

Hi. As my name implies, I'm indeed grateful for the resources you've provided on the internet. I have a quick question about the self-test on psychopathy.
What should be my answer if only parts of the statement applies to me? Somewhat applies, right? Similarly, what should be the answer if all but one or two lines apply?

Eg. I have hard times committing to romantic relationships (or don't even want them). I have had many brief relations and affairs, and my choice in sexual partners can be very indiscriminate depending on my mood and chances. I can have several relationships at the same time - and am not shy to talk about my 'sexual conquests'. When I feel the urge to do so, I can act very enticing and convincing to 'coerce' others into sexual activity.
Eg. Generally, I am hungry for excitement and good entertainment, and to be honest, I love situations where I'm the center of attention.

Only bolded text applies. So it would be accurate to select, somewhat apply?

Yup, just to double check before taking further action on my results, which also have confirmed my suspicions. Not sure how I feel on the topic though.

Hello grateful,

thanks for your nice feedback on the screening tests provided on my website.

If the test results indicate that there is ...let me put it that way: 'something out of balance', it is advisable to do a more detailed personality test, a mental health checkup with a clinical psychologist or to reflect on your situation together with a psychotherapist or counselor. The tests provided here can not give a reliable 'diagnosis' in any way, they just try to find patterns that would be typical for certain personality disorders. However, not everyone getting a positive result will necessarily suffer from the tested disorder, nor can someone who didn't receive a result indicating a disorder be 100% sure not to have one.

In that sense, don't give too much about parts of the verbal test results either - they are mainly there to help understand and illustrate from various angles often associated with the respective mental health disorder that something may be out of balance and justifies a further checkup in order to improve quality of living and social relationships.

kind regards,
Richard L. Fellner

The problem with psychotheraphy is that many psychopaths (including myself) enjoy it rather than get any real help regarding our disorder/s..

After 2 years of felt-sense, focusing based, (Gendlin) c.a.t, this is still me. I am either frightened all the time or scared of nothing, appearing to follow the moral code of the social situation I inhabit is my greatest strength as it renders me harmless in the sight of others, If I and mine are safe then so are you.
There are strong indications that you might have a psychopathic / antisocial personality disorder.
You reached 87.50% of Factor 1 which captures the core personality traits of psychopathy that define the interpersonal and affective deficits of this personality disorder (e.g. shallow affect, superficial charm, manipulativeness, lack of empathy) and that are correlated with narcissistic personality disorder, low anxiety, low empathy, low stress reaction and low suicide risk. But Factor 1 is also associated with extraversion and positive affect - affected persons usually score high on scales of achievement and well-being, so some aspects of the personality disorder may even be beneficial for the psychopath (in terms of nondeviant social functioning or if it comes to profit from manipulation or lies).
You reached 88.89% of Factor 2 which captures the traits of antisocial behavior (e.g. criminal versatility, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, poor behaviour controls, juvenile delinquency) and is associated with reactive anger, social deviance, sensation seeking, anxiety, increased risk of suicide, low socio-economic status, criminality, and impulsive violence.
You reached 100.00% in other relevant traits that can indicate this personality disorder.
However, there are disputes over the correct diagnosis of psychopathic resp. antisocial personality disorders, and the standardization of clinical testing for APD/PPD is still in the process.
Regarding the perspective for psychopathic/antisocial personalities and treatment options, please refer to my article about psychopathy and antisocial behavior in the "Papers" section of my website.

Score: 34 of 38 [34:14/16/4]
There are strong indications that you might have a
narcissistic personality disorder.
There are slight differences between the major diagnostic manuals in how to diagnose a narcissistic personality disorder, with the ICD-10 manual stating that a person may only be diagnosed with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder if she/he does not meet the diagnostic criteria for a dissocial (antisocial, psychopathic), histrionic or any of the other personality disorders at the same time. For the DSM-IV manual, there is no such exclusion. It is unusual for NPD personality types to seek therapy, as they unconsciously fear exposure or inadequacy and will usually disdain therapeutic processes or the idea of psychotherapy itself, sabotage the therapeutic process or openly oppose it. Pharmacotherapy is rarely effective.
Score: 9 of 9
There are strong indications that you might have a
histrionic personality disorder.
There is, however, no scientific test to confirm this diagnosis other than to verify the symptoms by subjective means. Thus, some people may be wrongly diagnosed as having the disorder while others with the disorder may not be diagnosed - with the result that treatment is often only prompted by depression associated with dissolved romantic relationships. Medication does little to affect this personality disorder, but may be helpful with symptoms such as depression. Psychotherapy may be of benefit and will aim at self-development through resolution of conflict and advancement of inhibited developmental lines.[D:10/I:7]
You meet 100% of the range of general personality disorder criteria.
This further indicates that you might have to deal with a severe personality disorder.
Thus, is strongly recommended you seek a professional diagnosis to be sure what exactly you are dealing with.
It might turn out useful to print the previous page including your selections and take it to a psychotherapist, psychiatrist or psychologist.[G:5]
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who did i take the test for? me or you

thanks for translating the test for us! though I do hope it was tested for reliability after the translation.
Anyway, sooo I took the test, but I'm afraid to go to a counselor to get evaluated. For one, there is no known cure (allegedly) for this condition, second, I'd be lucky to find a competent and willing counselor willing to work with me, third and most importantly, doing so might risk or ruin my future. sorry to say, but thanks anyway.

There are strong indications that you might have a psychopathic / antisocial personality disorder.
You reached 100.00% of Factor 1, I have taken alot of tests.. getting the same results. So i'll take this a proof that i have a Pschopathic dissorder.

Why not offer strategies and tools to address our difficulties, in the UK you can wait two years to get twelve hours of tier one CBT, I had seventy two hours of tier two CAT and I still suffer. Information gives us hope. Too often professionals seek to protect us from their own insecurity and ignorance fearing we will collapse into a irreverseable despair if they are wrong. You should understand we know there is no magic wand and your journey to understanding us is incomplete. You should understand that Pandora's box is already open within our psyche but the attention of someone who cares about us reinforces the hope that we can and will be happy, functional and safe both internally and externally, that is therapy in itself.

[m]

I just took this test. It said that there are strong indications that I might have a psychopathic/anti-social personality disorder. I took the test for fun. I am currently under a doctor's care for bipolar I. I've been in and out of hospitals, mainly for going off my meds and/or suicide attempts/ideation. I have this paranoid belief that my meds are just placebos and that this is all one big trick on me. I honestly do not believe that I have a problem that requires medications. Usually that is why I go off my meds. I've never told anyone that, not even my therapist. But I am a dependent and my parents make me see a psychiatrist and go to therapy. It's either get help or get out. So I do lie a lot about taking my meds. I just don't want to deal with people yelling at me about it. I'm not afraid or anything, just plain lazy! I know exactly what to say and when. I usually get away with it too. I rarely ever feel bad about that. I know that sounds bad but it's the truth!

Anyways, enough of that. One of the times I was in the hospital I took the MMPI. I got a moderately high score on Psychopathic Deviate and very high scores for Depression and Hypomania. What I really want to talk about is that I find it strange that if I am psychopathic then how could I be so damned depressed? I think really all that it is, is that I'm very cynical and very post-modern in thinking. Not that I think that those that are psychopaths are happy all the time but I wouldn't find them to be very depressed either. Also, I'm very kind to animals (just not so much to people, especially to those who do not deserve it). I'm actually a vegan (have been vegetarian for 8 years prior). I've never shown any abuse or have any knowledge of me abusing animals. Maybe I just don't understand psychopathic behavior but I'd think that if I were truly psychopathic then I would have little or no conscience when it comes to harming others whether it be human or not. So I don't believe that I'm a psychopath. I'm not trying to knock the test. I'm just a bit curious about it is all. It was a fun test.

Hello ccp,

thanks for your response - good question!

Over the years I have noted that for people suffering from certain disorders, tests for other disorders may 'hit' as well. This may be a consequence from the fact that certain traits of personality disorders can also be observed with others. Low self-esteem and depression, for instance, can be both a part but also a consequence of many disorders, like anxiety disorders, obsessional thoughts, attention-deficiency syndrome, antisocial behavior disorder and many others. So the detection of such traits would make it more likely that questionnaires testing for these other disorders would indicate a higher probability of having to deal with these problems as well.

In a professional environment with long and complex tests, such effects can be ruled out much better. This is why as soon as one of the tests on my website indicates a personality disorder, I strongly recommend to get a professional assessment / test from a psychologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

kind regards,
R.L.Fellner

Hi Everyone.

Well, I took the test, and the results were similar to other tests I have taken: "You reached 93.75% of Factor 1; You reached 88.89% of Factor 2; You reached 100.00% in other relevant traits."

For the last 20 years or so, I have stayed under the radar by pretending to be normal. This has included faking emotional responses, and modeling my behavior after those people I know who are considered 'normal.' Does anyone else that scored high do this as well? And can you recommend any reading in regards to keeping up the pretense of being ordinary? For me it is a matter of survival, as I am very comfortable in my current employment and domestic relationship. I don't wish to accidentally rock the boat.

Thanks,
WAG

Any thoughts or comments?
Background:
I have been diagnosed with ADD and I have been tested and have a high IQ (146)

My results:
-----------------
There is a possibility that you might have a psychopathic / antisocial personality disorder.
You reached 100.00% of Factor 1
You reached 33.33% of Factor 2

You reached 100.00% in other relevant traits that can indicate this personality disorder.
Score: 26 of 38 [26:16/6/4]

There are strong indications that you might have a
narcissistic personality disorder.
Score: 9 of 9

There are strong indications that you might have a
histrionic personality disorder.

You meet 60% of the range of general personality disorder criteria.