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Name of group members: Emily Plakon

Date: July 12, 2016

Name of Subject: Jeffery Dahmer

Crime: Rape / Murder

Diagnosis: Substance Abuser, Paraphiliac, Aspergers Disorder, Depressive Disorder

I. Identification of Client System

Jeffery Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in Bath Township, Ohio. He is the older of

two children. According to Jeffrey's father, Lionel, his mother faced a difficult pregnancy and

suffered bouts of partial paralysis during the pregnancy, which doctors were unable to find an

explanation for. It was also noted that Jeffrey’s mother used prescription drugs when she was

pregnant with him (Fisher, 1997).

Dahmer retained a limited relationship with his family members, and was always seen as a

fairly reclusive individual. After years of constant arguing, Jeffrey’s parents went through a

nasty divorce when he was 18 years old, and – due to his age - neither parent obtained custody of

him. He was then left alone in his childhood house in Ohio.

The perpetrator was 6 feet tall, and weighed 180 pounds. He also did not have any known

tattoos and was in good physical health. Jeffery Dahmer had a light complexion and brownish-
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blonde hair. At the age of 6, Jeffery was diagnosed with a double hernia, in which a minor

surgery was conducted to correct the problem. (Kocsis, 2008)

When discussing his childhood, Jeffery described himself as being surrounded by arguing

parents at home and “arrogant jerks” in school. At the age of 8, Jeffery is believed to have been

sexually abused by a neighborhood boy. Jeffery did not have many friends growing up, as his

peers always viewed him as very odd. During his adolescent years, he was prone to violent fits of

anger which he claimed to be constantly reprimanded for at home. His family and peers

described him as having a difficulty with non-verbal communication and constantly eliciting an

unusual gaze. Jeffery had no known long term or short term sexual relationships. He began

drinking alcohol at the age of 13 and was also referred to as an alcoholic by his peers (Hickey,

2011). Jeffery described himself as a loner, and was frequently teased by his classmates.

However, Dahmer never expressed his anger due to his fear of retaliation, which was also why

he was never involved in any fights during school. He was also never involved in sports, due to

his feeling that everyone else was better than him. Dahmer did consistently poorly in school, and

graduated high school at the age of 18 with a C grade point average (Kocsis, 2008). During his

adolescent years Jeffery had a fascination with dismembering and dissecting animals and

regularly abused and mutilated them. Dahmer used animal bones that he called “fiddle sticks, as

toys” while also using Formaldehyde to preserve animal parts (Fisher, 1997).

II. Relevant background or contextual information

Jeffery Dahmer was court ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation in order to assess

his mental state at the time he committed the crimes. The evaluation was also intended to provide
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the jury with an objective opinion on his psychological state. When examined, Dahmer did not

show any signs of a neurological deficit, nor did he display any unusual facial mimicry, tics, or

mannerisms. When interviewed, he had incredible posture, although he seemed a bit tense during

early interviews. Jeffery was friendly and cooperative with individuals who were evaluating him,

and his speech was clear and discernible. When answering questions, he expressed a high level

of intelligence. Dahmer provided direct and full responses and his statements were consistently

coherent, relevant, and logical. (Kocsis, 2008)

Jeffery indicated that he did have an adult criminal record. He was arrested on three separate

occasions for public intoxication where he stayed overnight. In addition to his record for public

intoxication, Dahmer was also charged with, and convicted of second degree sexual assault on a

young boy and was put on probation for 5 years. Dahmer was also arrested for lewd and

lascivious behavior after masturbating in front of two 12-year-old boys, and also confessed to

about five previous incidents of public masturbation. His charges were reduced to disorderly

conduct and Dahmer was sentenced to one year of probation while also being ordered to seek

therapy, which he failed to do. He joined the army after high school but, due to his alcohol use,

was discharged within two years. He also reported struggling to maintain employment, as he was

fired from many jobs due to poor performance. During his adulthood, Dahmer attended Chicago

bath houses where he would meet homosexual men. He occasionally drugged his partners with

sleeping pills and would sodomize them in their sleep. His behavior was later reported to

management, and he was banned from these locations (Kocsis, 2008)

Jeffery denied any previous head injuries, but did report a long history of alcoholism and

drug use. Jeffery also indicated that as a young adult he was diagnosed with depression, low self-

esteem, and had suicidal ideations, in which he was treated for with anti-depressant
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medication. He explained that he preferred having sex with his victims while they were in a

comatose stage and expressed interest in creating a human zombie who would succumb to his

needs. His failure to achieve this goal led him to rape them post-mortem. Dahmer wanted his

victims to be a part of him forever, and in an effort to ensure they would never leave him, he

would consume their remains. In order to further sexually arouse himself, he kept various body

parts in different areas of his apartment, which he would use for masturbation purposes. He was

obsessively interested in the mechanics as well as process of exploring the cadavers of humans

which was presented in his photographic records of his dissections (Silva, Ferrari, & Leong,

2002).

III. Diagnostic summary

Asperger’s disorder is partially characterized by an impairment in social interaction. Jeffery

Dahmer displayed these symptoms with his lack of proper social behavior and his inability to

maintain close friendships. His impairment in social interaction was also displayed by his lack of

regard for others interests and his idea of forcing others to become a part of him or to turn them

into zombies so they would conform to his will. His difficulties with non-verbal communication

are also consistent with the social deficits often encountered in Asperger’s disorder. “Asperger’s

disorder is also characterized by an intense preoccupation with restrictive and repetitive interests

that appear atypical, eccentric, or even bizarre on the basis of both intensity and focus

(Dingfelder, 2004)”. These symptoms were displayed in Jeffery Dahmer’s case with his

compulsive interests in the mutilation of animals and preservation of their carcasses. Dahmer

also manifested specific repetitive behaviors including his ritualistic processing and arrangement
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of bones. In order to diagnose a patient with Asperger’s the DSM-IV-TR requires that their

symptoms must cause clinical impairment in their social, occupational, or other important areas

of functioning. Considering Dahmer’s poor performance in school, and inability to maintain a

job despite his high intelligence level, it is clear that he expressed significant impairment in

social and occupational areas. The DSM-IV-TR also requires that a patient does not express any

signs of a clinically significant delay in language development in order to be diagnosed with

Asperger’s disorder. Furthermore, the patient must not express symptoms of other pervasive

developmental disorders, unless they appear subsequent to the Asperger’s symptoms. Dahmer

did not express any significant delay in language development, nor has he expressed any

symptoms of any other developmental disorders. The symptoms of Asperger’s are also typically

recognized age three or shortly thereafter, This is consistent with the report by JD’s father, who

noted JD’s symptoms by around age four (Silva, Ferrari, & Leong, 2002).

Dahmer is also diagnosed with paraphilia and more specifically, necrophilia. The American

Psychiatric Association indicates that "Fantasies, behaviors, or objects are paraphilic only when

they lead to clinically significant distress or impairment , e.g., are obligatory, result in sexual

dysfunction, require participation of non-consenting individuals, lead to legal complications,

interfere with social relationships" (American Psychiatric Association). Paraphilia is usually

diagnosed by a lack of ability to relate emotionally to other people, as Jeffery expressed this, and

many other symptoms of the disorder. Necrophilia refers to a sexual interest in dead people or

body parts. This diagnosis is clear given the aforementioned behavior of Jeffery Dahmer with

dead bodies. Dahmer indicated himself that he found heat radiating from a body he had cut into

to be sexually arousing. Dahmer is also diagnosed with paraphilic cannibalism. The American

Psychiatric Association explains paraphilic cannibalism as the sexual pleasure a person derives
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from consuming human flesh. This was expressed in Dahmer’s cannibalistic post-mortem rituals.

It is important to note that the individual has not been diagnosed as a sexual sadist because the

criteria for this disorder requires an individual to derive pleasure from others terror or pain, and

Jeffery did not.

It is also necessary to diagnose Jeffery as a pedophile and exhibitionist. This is due to his

conviction for the molestation of a 13 year old boy, and the murder/rape of another

minor. Pedophilia is defined as the fantasy or act of sexual activity with prepubescent

children. Some pedophiles seek children because they have poor social skills, and are better at

interacting with children, which is believed to be the reason behind Jeffrey’s pedophilia.

Pedophiles also tend to externalize blame on their victims or their alcohol use, just as Dahmer

did. Exhibitionism is exposing one's genitals or sexual organs to a stranger and is known to grow

out of pedophilia. Dahmer displayed these actions on multiple occasions which are indicated in

his police records.

Dahmer is further diagnosed with depressive disorder as he expressed suicidal thoughts, and

self-loathing. It is apparent that he also expressed signs of substance dependence due to the fact

that he was reported to have had a long history of the instrumental use of alcohol. This was

legitimized when a high school classmate recalled Dahmer drinking from a cup of scotch on his

desk. Furthermore his college peers indicated that he drank during classes, often passing out on

his way back to the dorm. Another expression of his substance abuse was his discharge from the

army for alcohol abuse (Bennett, 1993).

It is also apparent that Jeffery had some sort of personality disorder. Dahmer displayed

symptoms of antisocial, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorder traits (Silva, Ferrari, &

Leong, 2002). However, Borderline personality disorder was the most accurate description for
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his symptoms. This is because Dahmer displayed a pattern of abnormal behavior which seemed

to be due to an extreme fear of abandonment. He also had unstable relationships with other

people, exhibited feelings of emptiness, and frequent dangerous behavior. There are all

characteristics of borderline personality disorder defined by the American psychiatric association

(Strubel, 2007).

Dahmer’s diagnosis is as follows and is in line with the DSM-IV by the American

Psychiatric Association (Heffner,2016):

Axis I Clinical Disorders/Other 1. Asperger’s Disorder

Conditions that May Be a 2. Paraphilia, not

Focus of Clinical Attention otherwise specified

3. Alcohol abuse

4. Depressive Disorder

Axis II Personality Disorders/ Mental 1. Borderline Personality

Retardation Disorder

Axis III General Medical Conditions No Major Medical

Conditions

Axis IV Psychological and 1. Problems related to

Environmental Problems interaction with the

legal system / crime

2. Problems related to

the social

environment

3. Occupational problem
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Axis V Global Assessment if 1. GAF = 12 (at the time

Functioning of his arrest)

2. GAF = 35 (the year

prior to his arrest)

(Silva, Ferrari, & Leong, 2002)

IV. Operationalization

The defendant was brought to this facility for diagnosis as a result of his criminal activities.

He has been diagnosed with personality disorder and multiple paraphilia’s. All areas of this

diagnosis will be addressed while the defendant is in prison. While in prison, Dahmer will be

required to attend behavioral therapy, intended to decondition his brain from his paraphilic

tendencies using different forms of aversion therapy. In conjunction with therapy Dahmer should

also be given treatment medications to alleviate his paraphilic and depressive symptoms.

Dahmer’s Asperger’s symptoms should be addressed through a mixture of cognitive therapy, and

substance correction.

The patient should also be put in a therapeutic program in order to treat his alcoholism.

This program will be administered within the prison, and Dahmer will be court ordered to attend.

(Strubel, 2007)

V. Description of the interventions

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Jeffery Dahmer clearly exhibits various types of paraphilia, Asperger’s disorder, personality

disorders, and substance abuse. In order to address each of these issues, there are various

spectrums of treatment.

The first issue that should be addressed by treatment should be his alcohol abuse. The

patients alcoholism issue should self correct in prison, due to a limited supply of the substance

and the fact that he will be incarcerated for the rest of his life. However, he should still be

subjected to alcohol abuse treatment. This treatment should include meetings twice a week which

address the consequences of alcohol abuse, in the correctional facility he resides in. Once the

patient is free of alcoholism, other treatment should be implemented to correct the other issues.

In an attempt to mitigate or eliminate paraphilic tendencies in the patient, behavioral therapy

should be used. Therapists should implement a form of aversion therapy known as masturbatory

satiation. The process of masturbatory satiation therapy is where the patient will masturbate to an

orgasm by utilizing their negative fantasies, they are then told to continue masturbating after

orgasming, to the same material. This is done in hopes that the unpleasant nature of post-orgasm

masturbation, will force their brain to associate unpleasant feelings with their abnormal sexual

fantasies. Therapists should also use other forms of aversion therapy, such as associating specific

fantasies with the feeling of being arrested, or other unpleasant factors in the client’s life

(Strubel, 2007). Substance aid should also be prescribed in conjunction with therapy. The most

beneficial medication treatment would be a mix of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

(SSRIs) and serotonin and nerophiphine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). SSRIS are known to

decrease sexual drive and help control the behavior or paraphiles, and SNRIS have proven

effective at treating compulsive or impulsive behaviors. Three case-reports involving a

pedophile, an exhibitionist, and a voyeur were reported as successfully treated with fluoxetine.
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Other case-reports followed, showing that this drug reduced paraphilic fantasies and behavior.

Four patients with nonparaphilic hypersexuality were treated with fluoxetine and reported sexual

drive reduction (Bradford, 2008). These drugs are also known to help with depressive disorder,

and should be prescribed accordingly (Roy, Dillo, Emrich, & Ohlmeier, 2009).

In hopes to treat his Asperger’s Disorder, supportive psychotherapy as well as

pharmacological interventions may be helpful in dealing with his feelings of despondency,

frustration, and anxiety (Kin, 2003). His therapy should include practicing and discussing social

perception, practicing social behavior in unfamiliar situations, practicing the transfer of certain

insights to other situations, and the promotion of a concrete development of identity derived

from his everyday behaviors and analyzing situations that trigger frustrations. Therapists should

use role playing techniques and record him on a video camera, so he can analyze and discuss his

own performance. Dahmer should also be forced to practice elements of communication, such as

holding the eye-contact, prosody or initiating and keeping up a conversation (Roy, Ohlmeier,

Osterhagen, Prox-Vagedes, & Dillo, 2013).

His personality disorder should be addressed with Psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy

as this has long been used in the treatment of patients with personality disorders. He should

engage in once-weekly group and once-weekly individual therapy which should focus on the

correction of cognitions and behavioral coping skills. This method has been proven effective in

multiple case studies specifically addressing personality disorders. His treatment should also

consist of regular psychiatric review at least two times per month with a senior psychiatrist

(Gabbard, 2000).

Considering that the patient is willing to change, and accepting of therapeutic treatments,

these programs may provide a successful rehabilitation.

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