24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Not the best introduction...., 2000-01-31
to Dr. Samenow's work. The reader would be better to forego this until reading Inside the Criminal Mind. Dr. Samenow has collected questions from lectures over the years from the audience and compiled them into a topical format. This book is somewhat of a rehash of earlier works, but the topical format makes it a good quick reference to his ideas on various aspects of criminality. I recommend this as a companion to Inside the Criminal Mind as well as The Criminal Personality to all who are working in evaluation and treatment of criminals.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Been there, done that, 1999-03-24
Rehash of Inside the Criminal Mind with an obsessive bent on saying it's NOT the fault of the family or society that a criminal has developed. Then Samenow goes on to explain how family and society can prevent the development of an antisocial personality! He then explains how his methods of rehabilitation are the only methods that work. Seems to me if rehab can be accomplished by society, then prevention can also be accomplished by society. Samenow has trouble not contradicting himself over and over. As this book is but a poor restatement of his earlier book, skip this one and get Inside the Criminal Mind instead. Pat Brown/Director/Investigative Criminal Profiler/The Sexual Homicide Exchange, Inc.
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
A clear and concise discussion of criminal thinking., 1998-11-18
Straight Talk About Criminals is a no nonsense, clear, and to the point discussion of the common misconceptions about the criminal personality. As a practioner of Cognitive Self-Change programs in an institutional setting and a program consultant, I wish all corrections professionals, law enforcement officers, judges and policy makers would take the time to read this book.
Dr. Samenow has compiled questions for twenty years from his workshops, lectures and talks concerning criminals. In this book he clearly and systematically answers these questions through application of concepts he and Dr. Yochelson pioneered through many years of research while working with criminals. Dr. Samenow discusses what works and what doesn't work when dealing with some of the most difficult of clientele. He then goes on to tell us, with crystal clarity, WHY some things work while others do not .
How do criminals view themselves and others? Why is it so difficult to effectively counsel criminals? What are the pitfalls of working with a criminal client? Why do well meaning professionals meet with so little success? Why do so many corrections professionals seem to experience burnout? Dr.Samenow answers these and other questions in terms that anyone can understand.
Once again Dr. Stanton E. Samenow gives hope to those mired in traditional approaches to changing criminal behavior. The framework of Dr. Samenow's criminal thinking concepts shines a bright light into the dark recesses of the criminal mind.