What is Kleptomania?
Kleptomania is classified by the DMS IV as one of the Impulse Control Disorders, precisely because its most characteristic remarkable is the inability to resist the impulse to steal, even if the stolen object is not useful, necessary, or of any value.
How is the diagnosis made?
Some criteria are proposed for diagnosing kleptomania, including: failure to resist the urge to steal; the experience of anxiety before the theft and satisfaction/relief after the theft; theft must be disassociated from any form of expression of a feeling (such as anger, revenge) or as a response to any type of delusion; and theft cannot be explained by other disorders such as Conduct, Manic Episode, or Antisocial Personality Disorder. In other words, to be considered a kleptomaniac, the act of stealing cannot be a consequence of another state of mental illness.
What are the types of Kleptomania?
One cannot talk about types, but we can distinguish three forms of Kleptomaniac performance:
Sporadic– with brief episodes of theft and long periods of remission;
Episodic– with long periods of stealing and short periods of remission;
Chronicle– constant thefts accompanied by immediate guilt or remission of very short duration.
What does the Kleptomaniac usually steal?
In general, stolen objects are things that the subject has the purchasing power to obtain, since they are not normally objects of great commercial value, precisely because the pleasure is in the act of stealing, and not in owning the object, which, most of the time, is dispensed. In some cases, the object is thrown away or becomes a gift to someone. There are still cases in which the subject collects stolen objects, or even returns them to the location of the theft without raising suspicions.
Isn't the Kleptomaniac afraid?
Individuals with Kleptomania avoid committing thefts when they sense any kind of repression immediately after committing the act, such as when there is a police officer or security guard watching, when they are being filmed etc. But that doesn't mean that they plan to steal, or that they accurately calculate the consequences, such as the possibility of getting caught.
This is not to say that Kleptomania does not cause adverse reactions in the subject. Kleptomaniacs often experience feelings of guilt, fear of being arrested, or depression for not being able to control this impulse. Kleptomania compromises the individual's social, professional and personal life.
How is Kleptomania treated?
The biggest difficulty is starting treatment, because most kleptomaniacs do not seek specialized help, as they are ashamed or do not admit the seriousness of their condition. The treatment of kleptomania cases includes psychological and, in some cases, pharmacological follow-up, with medications such as antidepressants and anxiolytics. Psychological treatment consists, most of the time, in using techniques such as successive desensitization, Imaginary desensitization, or even, in techniques that seek to reframe the theft, anxiety and pleasure of it arising.
How to find out more?
There are few publications on kleptomania in Brazil. Most of the specialized books are not translated into Portuguese. For those who are interested, the book Kleptomania – The Compulsion to Steal - What can be done?, by Marcus J. Goldman is a very interesting reading, as it discusses intervention proposals, their effectiveness or failure.
Juliana Spinelli Ferrari
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Psychology from UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista
Brief psychotherapy course by FUNDEB - Foundation for the Development of Bauru
Master's Student in School Psychology and Human Development at USP - University of São Paulo
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/psicologia/cleptomania.htm