The criminal justice system serves as a petri dish to investigate the full spectrum of our basic makeup. Decoding Madness offers an in-depth psychological understating of defendants and their personal complexities, beyond the usual clinical accounts offered by forensic psychologists. The book introduces the novel idea of the daimonic as a basic force of human nature that is the source of our constructive and destructive capacities.
Dr. Lettieri brings these points home by presenting a nuts-and-bolts look into what it takes to complete psychological examinations of defendants accused of committing heinous crimes, and the insight that it provides into human nature.
My book is filled with gripping stories like that of Michael, told from my perspective as a forensic neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst with over 30 years experience. But it’s not solely about the criminal mind. I describe how the jarring experience of conducting criminal forensic examinations revealed not only how mental disturbances drive crime, but served to expose deep psychological truths about us all.
I contrast the stories of my criminal evaluations with those of my private psychoanalytic patients. This juxtaposition helps to drive home the point that emotional conflicts and raw emotions are inevitable but, when criminal proceedings are required, a heartbreaking tragedy has occurred.