Who’s lurking in your backyard?

UBC forensic psychologists Michael Woodworth, Zach Walsh, and Stephen Porter host a Dec. 13 workshop on how to spot a psychopathic liar.

Workshop examines psychopaths and how to identify this destructive personality

What: Psychopathy and Predatory Behaviour workshop
Who: UBC experts Stephen Porter, Michael Woodworth, Zach Walsh
When: Friday, December 13, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: EME 1121, Engineering, Management, Education building 1137 Alumni Avenue, UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna.

Psychopathy is a complex emotional disorder that is often difficult to detect. Psychopathic people are typically narcissistic, conning and manipulative, antisocial, and engage in deception at an often pathological level. If you don’t know what to look for, it’s difficult to spot and easy for them to manipulate and take advantage of you.

Join UBC’s forensic psychologists Prof. Stephen Porter, Assoc. Prof. Michael Woodworth, and Assist. Prof.  Zach Walsh, of the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, as they delve into the mind of a psychopath for this one-day, back-by-popular- demand event. Their presentation provides an intensive examination of this intriguing and destructive personality. During the day, a variety of topics regarding psychopathy will be discussed including the difficulties of proper assessment, the feasibility of treatment, and the challenges of interacting with these individuals within the legal system, business settings, and domestic and relationship contexts.

Both Porter and Woodworth are considered experts on liars and psychopathy and have testified numerous times in Canadian courts regarding the psychology of lying. Meanwhile, Walsh’s research focuses on the association between psychopathy and intimate partner violence. The three conduct research at UBC Okanagan’s Centre for the Advancement of Psychological Science and Law.

This workshop takes place Friday, December 13, and will be of interest to a wide variety of people including professionals in law enforcement, the legal system, mental health workers, and individuals in the business community.

There is a $200 fee to attend this workshop or $125 for students. For more information, or to register, contact: ubcoporterlab@gmail.com.

*NOTE: This Workshop covers a considerable amount of the same information as a workshop held at UBC’s Okanagan campus in June 2012. However, the current workshop will focus more on the predatory nature of psychopathic individuals while also considering predation within a variety of crimes (e.g.: sex offending, homicide, etc.), as well as strategies for dealing with predatory offenders.

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