Suggest Treatment For Antisocial Personality Disorder
Question: I have a 25 year old son who we found this morning just after he shot up with some type of prescription pills (red) that did not belong to him. He apparently crushed them & somehow prepared them for injection. We knew he had a problem & has been in rehab once before, unsuccessfully. We are concerned he may be bi-polar, it runs in the family. He is a liar & a thief, doesn't have a job & most recently told us he held a job, we found he never acquired, just to make us happy.
We have been looking into rehab facilities here in northern CA, one in particular that also deals with mental health issues & are wondering about their effectiveness since our son has already had a failed experience. He was upset when he found out the previous facility didn't use drug therapy & argued he needed to be in a REAL facility. We are not sure how to proceed. He says he wants help but we're afraid he is trying to appease us like he did with the job. The last time he was in rehab, his attitude definitely showed hostility. We have allowed him to stay in a trailer with his father near his job site not wanting him to live on the streets again after being kicked out time & again by his natural mother. I also just found out that his dad is allowing him to smoke pot, afraid that if he doesn't have something he will try to resort back to stealing pills where he can. My outlook is that he lost all privileges when he was found shooting up & should have to operate under strict guidelines & his keys should be taken away to keep him from getting in trouble since he has no phone & the trailer is located too far from town to walk. We both want to do right by our son but are not sure what that may be! w are looking forward to your advice.
We have been looking into rehab facilities here in northern CA, one in particular that also deals with mental health issues & are wondering about their effectiveness since our son has already had a failed experience. He was upset when he found out the previous facility didn't use drug therapy & argued he needed to be in a REAL facility. We are not sure how to proceed. He says he wants help but we're afraid he is trying to appease us like he did with the job. The last time he was in rehab, his attitude definitely showed hostility. We have allowed him to stay in a trailer with his father near his job site not wanting him to live on the streets again after being kicked out time & again by his natural mother. I also just found out that his dad is allowing him to smoke pot, afraid that if he doesn't have something he will try to resort back to stealing pills where he can. My outlook is that he lost all privileges when he was found shooting up & should have to operate under strict guidelines & his keys should be taken away to keep him from getting in trouble since he has no phone & the trailer is located too far from town to walk. We both want to do right by our son but are not sure what that may be! w are looking forward to your advice.
Brief Answer:
Clarifications
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
However I would require a couple of more details to help you in answering your query in a better justified way.
1. What is the source of money for your son?
2. Is he under any medications?
3. Is he motivated to go to the rehab?
Hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Regards and wish you good health,
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Neuro-Psychiatrist and Sexologist
Neuro-Psychiatrist and Sexologist
Clarifications
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
However I would require a couple of more details to help you in answering your query in a better justified way.
1. What is the source of money for your son?
2. Is he under any medications?
3. Is he motivated to go to the rehab?
Hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Regards and wish you good health,
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Neuro-Psychiatrist and Sexologist
Neuro-Psychiatrist and Sexologist
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your quick response.
To answer your questions:
He has no income. His father offered him training in his vocation along with food, gas & a place to stay in the RV. This worked well until his father demanded he find part time work to pay for his extra gas & recreation. This is when the trouble really got out of hand & landed him in jail. We did not bail him out. Since then has been nothing but lie after lie & trouble without interruption. He even lied about having a job. He would leave, park across the street from the job location & sleep in his car. He was stealing the prescription meds but not sure from where.
He is not currently under any medications that would be prescribed to him.
We are glad he says he will go to rehab but we are concerned he is saying this only to appease us & that he will, once again, go directly back to his drug use. I believe he seems to have the outlook that rehab would be a comfortable place for a time out, a place he can be so he won't have to deal with family while things settle but, I have to say, I am not around him much. He goes back & forth with a cool dude attitude thinking no one knows anything & he is superior then feeling down with a defeatist point of view. His father believes he may genuinely want help.
To answer your questions:
He has no income. His father offered him training in his vocation along with food, gas & a place to stay in the RV. This worked well until his father demanded he find part time work to pay for his extra gas & recreation. This is when the trouble really got out of hand & landed him in jail. We did not bail him out. Since then has been nothing but lie after lie & trouble without interruption. He even lied about having a job. He would leave, park across the street from the job location & sleep in his car. He was stealing the prescription meds but not sure from where.
He is not currently under any medications that would be prescribed to him.
We are glad he says he will go to rehab but we are concerned he is saying this only to appease us & that he will, once again, go directly back to his drug use. I believe he seems to have the outlook that rehab would be a comfortable place for a time out, a place he can be so he won't have to deal with family while things settle but, I have to say, I am not around him much. He goes back & forth with a cool dude attitude thinking no one knows anything & he is superior then feeling down with a defeatist point of view. His father believes he may genuinely want help.
Brief Answer:
Personality issues
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for all the additional details.
Your son has issues with substance but has some serious personality issues as well bordering on antisocial personality disorder. He will need intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy. Medical drug treatment may not be very useful for him except for the few initial details. Your husband is right and rehab stay should benefit your son.
In rehab normally they have a lot of psychotherapy sessions and that will help him. For aggression and impulsivity, divalproex sodium is a good drug and you may discuss this drug option with his treating psychiatrist.
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Personality issues
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for all the additional details.
Your son has issues with substance but has some serious personality issues as well bordering on antisocial personality disorder. He will need intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy. Medical drug treatment may not be very useful for him except for the few initial details. Your husband is right and rehab stay should benefit your son.
In rehab normally they have a lot of psychotherapy sessions and that will help him. For aggression and impulsivity, divalproex sodium is a good drug and you may discuss this drug option with his treating psychiatrist.
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar