Why Usually Honest People Steal: Understanding, Treating and Stopping Nonsensical Shoplifting and Other Bizarre Theft Behavior

I just finished reading Dr. Cupchik's book which is an updated version of his earlier--and similarly titled book "Why Honest People Steal." I appreciate his insights and explanations into why many people shoplift or steal who we'd least expect. I do wonder why he writes nothing about aftercare for his patients and spends only two pages (Page 170-171) refuting that any of his patients had been "addicted" to stealing because their thefts were so intermittent and/or infrequent.Apparently, Dr. Cupchik never counseled someone like me (I shoplifted about 1,000 times from age 15-25 between 1980-1990 and was arrested twice). I did become addicted to shoplifting and feel the great majority of my hundreds of clients I've counseled since 2004 (as well as those I've met since 1992 since starting Cleptomaniacs And Shoplifters Anonymous) reported addictive-compulsive symptoms including feeling a "high or rush" after stealing, cravings, withdrawal symptoms, some premeditation in their stealing vs. purely impulsive or unconscious acting out. and relapse after periods of abstinence. Most recount fairly frequent shoplifting urges and behavior over many years or decades and, usually, multiple arrests. It seems as if Cupchik doesn't have a treatment plan for these folks. Indeed, according to his criterial, it's likely he'd consider me and most of my clients to be "typical theft offenders" (or at least "mixed type") or "plain thieves."While there is much to like about and learn from this book, I wonder if he has even taken the time to read my book "Something for Nothing: Shoplifting Addiction and Recovery" (2003) or the few others out there which discuss stealing as an addiction. While I do believe "catharses" may occur during the therapeutic process of making the unconscious more conscious, I also have found that awareness is only half the battle--that ongoing change and practice of new skills and habits (often reinforced by support groups and "recovery principles") best insure long-term refrain from "relapse" as well as long-term healing and improvement in self-esteem and other fundamental areas in our lives. While I, like Dr. Cupchik, specialize in short-term therapeutic interventions (including by phone or via Skype), it has been my experience that aftercare with chronic or "addicted" shoplifters and others who steal repeatedly is key to a more full recovery and positive outcome.In addition, while I'm no heavy advocate of pharmaceutical medication treatment and there are always cases where someone may start or accelerate risky or destructive behavior such as stealing after starting on meds, I worry that Cupchik's limited study of this phenomenon and his tone may discourage those appropriate for medications from trying them.All in all, a decent book but make sure you read all there is out there on this subject (and there's not much) to see what resonates and what may work best.

Not what you'd expect...some stories about random thieves

This is an outstanding yet uncomplicated book in which Dr Cupchik explains the previously unexplainable. We know from over 100 years of psychological studies that an individual’s actions are based upon two major functions; our free will (which we control and call our ‘ego’) and unknown forces from our unconscious.Negative or antisocial behavior by an individual is usually classified by its severity in general statements that infer or state outright that the offending party is either neurotic or psychotic, and we believe that his or her motivations have been severely affected by harmful active forces.Dr Cupchik has brought forward in this book something very different to understand, let alone discuss. Why do basically normal and even highly successful individuals (including some prominent persons) sometimes act totally out of character – by shoplifting or committing other kinds of theft. These people usually behave in a completely acceptable manner most of the time and yet, once in a while, they may go into stores or other places and steal from those locations. We can certainly understand why someone steals for profit, taking the material stolen and possibly then selling it to someone else. But why would successful individuals take the chance of ruining their reputations by stealing things they could have easily paid for and sometimes don’t even want. Dr Cupchik has been examining this phenomenon for over 40 years and from his extensive experience assessing -and in many cases treating- over 700 such individuals, he has come to a very detailed and comprehensive understanding of such theft behaviors. As a result, this book explains the reasons for these so-called Atypical Theft Offenders’ behaviors in a clear, concise manner so that we all can understand the often unconscious forces acting upon them.Dr Cupchik does not merely give us a general theory; rather, he offers factual explanations of the behaviors of his clients in simple language, using numerous actual examples to illustrate his findings. He clearly breaks down the dynamic agents emanating from the theft offenders’ conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds and describes them in ways we can all understand.Many books written by psychologists and psychiatrists employ their own highly specialized and idiosyncratic language that can be unreadable by the lay person. However, Dr Cupchik’s book can be easily understood by most readers.Most of us think the unconscious is primarily a dormant force below the surface that runs our hearts and motor systems, and that simple unconscious thoughts do allow us to drive our cars without a overwhelming amount of conscious attention, to the point that we may be amazed that we have managed to drive a great many miles while focusing our conscious thoughts on our work or home situations. This book explains – and provides a great deal of empirical evidence - that the unconscious is actually dynamic and sometimes precipitates acts without any significant ego-moderated ‘conscious supervision’. He offers a poignant example of his own personal behavior when, following his having given a very difficult eulogy for his own best male friend (who had suddenly died less than 36 hours earlier), his unconscious was likely responsible for his having driven his car out of the line of vehicles forming the funeral procession heading to the cemetery. Dr Cupchik describes that he was fully aware of directing his car down a side street while all the remaining cars in the procession dutifully moved straight through an intersection, but was surprised he had done so, as was his wife, who inquired why he had left the caravan of cars. He states that the fact that he was fully aware of having left the sad procession did not negate the fact he had not fully consciously intended to do so.Similarly, in the case of many Atypical Theft Offenders, their actions may be as obvious to themselves as to a careful observer, but they may not have been fully consciously aware of the thoughts and feelings that had precipitated their theft behaviors. Dr Cupchik’s training and work with such clients has given him a treasure trove of information that have led to his understanding that in many cases, these theft offenders’ hidden unconscious minds had very likely helped precipitate their actions. He describes the incident that happened to him upon the occasion of his friend’s funeral in such a manner that we have an inkling that the same sort of thing may happen to us.The unconscious is usually hidden from conscious awareness and determining what lays in its dark recesses has been a great mystery to most of us. I, personally, have two degrees in psychology, including a PhD in Jungian psychology. I have attended many conferences and other functions, including mentoring and coaching experiences with generally informed, mature individuals who wanted to better understand themselves and yet I have found that very, very few have ‘caught’ their own unconscious forces in action and brought them out of the darkness and into the light. Dr Cupchik has done this for you and you now have some clues to help you when this phenomenon occurs.If you are an individual who has occasionally stolen from stores or your friends, you must read this book.If you are a student or a beginner trying to understand the unconscious and its power, read this book.If you are an individual wishing to learn about yourself and the world you live in, please read this book. It is a joy because, while being very powerful in what it offers you, it can be easily understood.

I can not stand these e-books and ipads and gimmicks. Could not access it onto an Apple ipad, give me a proper books made with paper every time, thank you.