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Well I wouldn't trust any article from Sam Vaknin. He's a self proclaimed recovered narcissist. I stay away from anything he writes.

If you believe your social worker to be a sociopath or not, his behavior, violent, aggressive, and controlling, is not acceptable in a therapeutic setting. Him agreeing that he is sociopathic is a pretty big red flag as well. He obviously is not working on his own issues and is in no place to be guiding others.

Aside from him getting aggressive and controlling (which can be a sign of many disorders), what other sociopathic behaviors have you seen?

I have to leave, in a few minutes, so this will be brief. Possibly, I will add more later. I just wanted to reflect that, through the years, I have had several sociopathic therapists. Social workers are among the top 10 professions that sociopaths choose. I suppose it is the power of the position. I did not know, at the time, they were sociopaths, but each manifested certain manipulative and demolishing behaviors that were extremely harmful to me. They played head games, maneuvering me into psychological traps, from which there was no escape, and I was left feeling as if I had been defined as something other than myself.

You can NOT have a therapeutic relationship wtih a sociopath because, in fact, they are playing a game with you which they intend to win, leaving you in a destroyed heap of former human on the floor.

I can attest to that. I saw a psychologist who was the top of the dept at a very prominent hospital here. I went to him because he said he specialized in personality disorders and I had been the victim of people with personality disorders. I figured he could tell me how to stop attracting them. He also specialized in "women's issues" meaning abuse. He ran a therapy group consisting of abused women. Talk about putting yourself in a power position over vulnerable women. He was an admitted narcissist. His behavior was SOOOOO creepy that me and 2 other women left the group after the 1st or 2nd session. I had been seeing him in private therapy for a few sessions and right from the start he wanted me to tell him details of my sexual abuse (a big no no for therapists, especially in the beginning). He wanted this in the 1st and 2nd sessions of private therapy. He also wanted to start EMDR right away (another big no no without the foundation of client-doctor trust in place). For EMDR, he pulled his chair up right in front of me and wanted to touch my knees with his hands. Also would give me constant creepy stares out of the side of his eyes throughout therapy. I think I saw him a total of 3 or 4 times and stopped abruptly due to his creepiness and him seemingly focusing on me in the group sessions. Also, he made a point to drive by my house (45 min from where he lives) and brought it up to me, mentioning how my house is nothing special (because I'm restoring my 100 year old house). Just a creepy weirdo who had no business being a therapist.

I also know it's common for psychopaths to study psychology. That is seen in several of these mass shooters. My psychopathic neighbor supposedly (according to his LinkedIn profile and other online profiles) has a degree in psychology and criminology. Hilarious since he is a habitual criminal and his behavior is so disordered it's unreal. I think because they know something is wrong with them, they go into psychology to try to figure out what exactly it is. Why they aren't like other people.

And like Kris said, being a therapist gives them a power position, which psychopaths thrive on. And also, what better way to meet vulnerable potential victims? They come right to you! Just like police officers. Excellent careers for psychopaths to go into.

Very true, AgentSmith. The 4 social work counselors who worked me over were all women. I used to refuse to see a male therapist because of the potential issue you mentioned in your story, plus I thought women were more emapthic, at the time. I have seen a male therapist for the past 4 years and he is the most trustworthy, insightful and empathic therapist I have ever had.

The first sociopathic therapist nearly destroyed me. She was around my age (about 30, at the time). I saw her for a year and talked about my husband's behaviors and my frustration with him. He was a textbook psychopath who was later diagnosed as such. My goal was to bring him into the counseling and have her work with both of us. He immediately seduced her, and the 2 of them ganged up on me in every session. It was like being in a shark tank with 2 sharks. In the final session, she demolished me so completely that, for the next week, I could not even form a sentence in my mind. I did nothing but sit on the picnic table outside and try to make sense of human language and figure out who I used to be. I had small children. She should have been charged with a crime.

The second was not my therapist. I engaged her for my 14-year-old daughter who was exhibiting classic signs of having been sexually abused. S had confided her disturbing behaviors to me. I asked my H point blank if he had ever abused her. He denied it with such sincerity that I believed him and assumed some older boy had done it somewhere along the way. I had 2 sessions with the therapist to describe S's homelife. Then, we had one together with my H. H (a psychopath) convinced the therapist that S had begun self-harming due to overhearing me berate him for cheating on me. The therapist actually flew with this inane theory, and, because I bought it, too, I paid for this witch to turn my daughter against me for 4 years. S didn't stop berating me for this one tiny error until well after college, years during which I lived in a hell of guilt. It only stopped when I told S I'd heard well enough and I wasn't going to listen any more. A few years later, I left her dad, and her vivid memories of him sexually abusing her as a toddler surfaced. I tried to write to the former therapist and tell her she needed to clean my bathroom with a toothbrush for all of eternity, but the letter was returned to me "addressee unknown."

The 4th therapist was marriage counselor seen by both me and XH (a psychopath). He seduced her. She fell in love with him. She decided she needed to see each of us separately. At first, she divided each session into 2. When it was my turn, XH got to stay. The room was lit only by candles and the therapist would berate me for my mistreatment of him (all lies) for half an hour. Then she decided she could only see us one at a time. My turn rarely came as he always needed more (due to my abuse and his alleged depression over it.) In the end, I wrote her a 10-page letter detailing his years of abuse, gave it to her, and led left her office for good. XH continued to see her for some time.

The 4th therapist I saw for social anxiety when I was in my early 40's. She was in her 20's, brand new therapist, right out of school. I could tell she disliked me intensely, but I had limited funds and this was all that was offered to me. I could not figure out why she disliked me, and I forged on, hoping she would get past it. Finally, in one session, she sneered at me something about, since I understood myself so well, why didn't I just treat myself. Then I got it. She felt threatened by my insight. She wanted to be the one with all the power, knowledge and insight.

I don't know why, but I have never had a bad experience with a male therapist. But then, I think I have only seen two.

I said "4th therapist" twice. The first of those was the "3rd therapist." Also, I "left" the office of #4, not "led" her office.

I have had a mix of male and female therapists and have had bad ones of both sexes. The creepiest was by far the one I mentioned already. I also had a female counselor when I was in middle school. She was the first therapist I ever saw and I was working my way up to confiding in her about my abuse at home. Then one day, my "friend" went and told her that the only reason I was seeing her was so that I could skip a particular class that I didn't like. This infuriated the counselor who called me into her office and played the silent treatment game with me for the entire 45 min. We literally sat there in awkward silence for 45 min. Afterward, she bad mouthed me to everyone and whenever something bad happened in one of my classes, she would tell the teachers that it was probably me who had done it. She absolutely hated me and was extremely emotionally abusive toward me all because of this backstabbing lie my "friend" had told her (my friend denied it). It was crazy. And it caused me not to trust therapists and not to try again for many years. I suffered throughout middle school and high school, through severe abuse at home and bullying at school, afraid to talk to anyone about it because of that 1st bad experience.

I've also had two therapists, one male and one female, who went to sleep during our sessions, while I was talking.

But the only two I can think of who exhibited cluster B traits were those two I mentioned.

Wow, horrible treatment, AgentSmith. I was afraid of therapists, too, for some years, after therapist #i.

I only described the bad ones. I've had as many decent ones, but only my current and last wins my total approval.

I'm glad this subject came up because being a "therapist" does not mean a person is safe. They can be predatory, sociopathic, inept, and, for many reasons, harmful. I understand now that, if you feel worse leaving a therapy session, never go back. Don't try to fix it. Get the H out of there, and never go back.

I've had experiences like this with medical doctors. The slightest hint of a disagreement with what they say and they kind of turn on you and get really angry. I've even had a doctor threaten to blacklist me for getting a second opinion without asking him first if it's OK. He was yelling when he said this.

That doesn't sound normal mentally to me. Unethical isn't a strong enough word, it's more like they get unhinged if anything threatens their control over their patients.

Exactly, Richie. I have had this happen with medical doctors, too. Primarily, this happened after a serious malpractice event in which my inner nose and part of my facial bone structure was amputated for no medical reason. The reason was that I had reported a doctor to my insurance company for sexual harrassment. His colleague amputated part of my face 2 weeks later, in 2007, when I was 55. My blog about this: https://ens3.wordpress.com/

Hands down, that was the worst thing of all. 9 years later, I have healed much of the damage, using alternative medicine, and facial exercises. I still see a plastic surgeon who wants to rebuild my right cheekbone, but will only consider stem cells because I've had chronic antibiotic-resistant infections ever since this assault, and she will only do non-invasive treatment. I was blacklisted. I nearly died from infections in the first year, and no doctor would even treat me. And no, I could not sue the surgeon because medical malpractice has been all but legislated out of existence in this country.

I lost 5 teeth and a bridge due to bone structure being removed that secured my teeth. I could not chew on one side for 3 years. I was suffocating because my turbinates (inner nose) had been totally removed. I had deadly infections for years. And no doctor in my entire state would see me. I eventually found a few would help.The rest I did myself with alternative medicine. I have dental implants and other major dental work. I don't mean to go on and on, but it's all one hideous ball of Evil. The medical industry has gone far, far astray. As have many other institutions that have been destroyed by greed and corruption. And this topic fits right in with psychopathy--the ever-increasing psyhopathy of a global culture.

Your posts reminded me that I thought I remembered Surgeon being on the list of top career fields for psychopaths. So I looked up a list and found this. Surgeon is listed.

http://www.alternet.org/culture/10-careers-most-psychopaths

Yes, I knew surgeons were #5. You should read my book: http://amzn.com/B006GIV74I

He seduced me into being amenable to his wishes which were to make a heap of money doing every surgery he could think of on me. I went to him for ear ringing caused by a CO exposure, so my brain was malfuntioning, at the time. Every time I saw him, he placed his fingers gently on my center chest, and slow-walked me up against a wall. Then he tipped my chin up, looked into my nose, and declared I had deviated septum. Later, "before scan" would show I had not had, but I did after he got done with me. I had a crush on him. I thought he liked me. Now, I realize he must have done this with all women.

He sent me to a hideous pock-marked short neurologist who did nothing but look me over and talk about how Vanessa Redgrave was his type, and his oldest step-daughter was his type. I reported him to my insurance company.

I have no doubt this resulted in a phone call between the ENT and the neurologist. The ENT then decided I would have a very special surgery. 2 weeks later, I saw the ENT. He told me he was scheduling me for surgery, and he was horrible to me. When I attempted to ask a question, he whirled around and snapped, Shut up and stop asking stupid questions!" Had it not been for the fact, I had temporary brain damage (which has healed), I would certainly not have submitted to this maniac's surgery.

I have seen some top 10 lists which specify social worker as the number 10 position of top psychopath professions.

All of the examples on this thread show that you do not have be romantically involved with a sociopath in order to become the victims of one. A doctor, a therapist, a business partner, a clergyman, a neighbor, a family member, and others--all of these can target you as well as a romantic partner.

I had not had any kind of romantic relationship for 6 years when the surgeon targeted me. A poster recently suggested we are all a bunch of co-dependents--if we have had more than 50% disordered partners. This is a made-up statistic.

According to psychologist, Sandra Brown, who wrote "Women Who Love Psychopaths," there is a definite type of woman psychopaths target, but it has nothing to do--at least not necessarily--with them being co-dependent. After working with these women for years, she discovered they all have what she calls super traits--they are generous, co-operative, trusting, forgiving, and other positive traits which I don't immediately recall. This is why some of us are targeted repeatedly, not because there is something wrong with us, but because there is something right.

I was afraid to tell you the whole story because i thought you would think im crazy, but i see youre very open minded about sociopaths.
It started like this:
I told my mother about a sort of rape that happened to me when i was 11 by my cousin, and that my aunt wanted to touch my private part when i was 11 aswell.
she reacted like this "No forget it you were kids."
I came to my therapist and told him how my mother reacted and he said that its very important i be precise.
A few days later i came to her and asked her how she could react in such a way.
She immediatly jumped up and started shouting at me that she never reacted in such a way.
She even went overboard and called my doctor and told him that im imagining things on weed.
I started contemplating the idea that shes a sociopath after I read about "gaslighting".
I started confronting her about it. Of course, she denied her socioapathy.
Through out the week we were fighting a lot and this one time she called me and said "What do you know about me ??" In a threatening manner.
A few days later i came to my sisters husband and told him my theory, that my aunt and my mother are sociopaths and that i think they bugged my phone.
After a while he got all aggressive and violent and said "Is there anything else you know?" and started threatening me i should keep this in the family
So i said alright but how do i know that you are not abusing my sister.
He said "You think your sister would let me abuse her?? Shes dominant!"
And then he said "You want to open it up entirely? Your mother also has an antisocial personality disorder"
I started researching heavily about sociopathy.
This one night, I got really mad and started shouting at my mother ( My sister was there too) on how she didnt protect me when i was 11 (My mother was there when my aunt wanted to touch my private part - literally right there when i came out of the shower)
I dont remember how it got to it but then my sister said "Listen. i dont want to be a sociopath"
And so i asked why would a sociopath marry a sociopath and she said "Because they understand eachother"
Anyways later on i got pretty psychotic and thought my mother is trying to poison me, my sister has alot of power over me and so she persuaded me to go see a psychiatrist.|
The psychiatrist turned out to be my sisters husbands friend and he came especially for me late at night (Sociopath)
He then sent a letter to institutionalize me asap.
The time was 3 am when i got home.
6 am that morning 2 people came and took me by force to a mental hospital.
My mother and father ( a clinical narcissist - though he has no idea something is wrong with him)
came aswell. at the hospital i tried telling them that my mother is a sociopath.
My mistake was that i told them that i thought my mother is trying to poison me.
They kept asking me, what you think your mother is against you?
The motherfuckers institutionalized me for a whole week and put me on antipsychotics.
Through the hospitalization I called my therapist and told him what happened.
He just started laughing. I should have known right then and there that he, also, is a sociopath.
After i got out i continued reading immensly about sociopaths.
I stumbled upon the article i posted and thats when i realized that my therapist is also a sociopath.
The description was just so precise.
I felt so lost. everything was closing in around me.
I didnt know what to do anymore.
All the closest people around me are fake.
Now i keep going to him. and i understand what you mean when you say its all a game to him.
After i came to him and i didnt react with fear to his rage anymore he said
"Its fine rulers also fall soemtimes"
I feel trapped. I think my mother isnt a bad person she just has a personality disorder.
Anyways I keep going to my therapist because im very dependant and, again, i dont know what ill do without him.
He has helped me against my mother.?
What do you think, crazy or not?

I honestly don't know what to think, ketland. There is too much here to sort out from a distance. You need help in your real life.

In any case, a counselor who admits to being a sociopath cannot possibly help you.

Do you have ANY trustworthy adults in your life to whom you can turn? A teacher, school counselor, pastor, parent of a friend?

You were taken to a mental hospitial and put on antipsychotic drugs. It is possible you are experiencing the onset of a mental illness.

That does not mean some or all of the things you perceive/remember are incorrect.