Frequently Asked Questions

......Q#1: What do you mean by the term, ' Atypical Theft Offenders' and what kinds of theft do they commit?

  .....A#1: Atypical Theft Offenders are persons who have stolen who usually are honest, law-abiding, contributing members of society. Their theft behavior is atypical of their usual ways of operating in the world. Most of them are not, in fact, suffering from kleptomania, although they have frequently been mislabeled as such. Read the Kleptomania and other pages on this site for more info.

.....Q#2: Can we really come to understand why some people commit apparently nonsensical acts of theft?

.....A#2:  Indeed we can. Over 27 years of clinical investigation by Dr. Cupchik has indicated that the vast majority of such cases can be understood as acts of theft that have been motivated by usually subconscious or unconscious motivations. Read the 4FREEchapters page, for a start in understanding these cases. Read the entire book for a more complete understanding.

.....Q#3: What do you mean by 'the psychodynamic elegance of atypical theft behavior'?

.....A#3: Most atypical theft behavior is motivated by the deeper psychodynamics of the individual. Once uncovered, the understanding is frequently  obvious to perhaps most persons, including lay persons.

.....Q#4: Could you give examples of the symbolic importance of of that which Atypical Theft Offenders steal?

......A#4: In our initial study we found that in nearly 30% of the cases there was a 'cancer connection', that is, the offenders had stolen in response to the occurrence of cancer in either the offender or a 'significant other'. Cancer is viewed as the invasion of the host body's normal cells by cancer cells, and the 'stealing away' of the healthy cells by the cancer cells.  Shoplifting is the invasion of a host body (like a department store) and the stealing away of what belongs to the host body. Read further about the Loss Substitution by Stealing Hypothesis in the book and on other pages of this site. 

.....Q#5: What is the difference between most Atypical Theft Offenders and those who are said to suffer from kleptomania, and why are the former so frequently mislabeled as the latter?

.....A#5: Most clinicians and lawyers still don't understand about the Atypical Theft Offender phenomenon. Please go to the Kleptomania page on this web site for further info.

.....Q# 6: How can these Atypical Theft Offenders be helped to stop their theft behavior?

.....A#6: The underlying reasons for their atypical behavior must be uncovered and dealt with. Attempts to 'cover up' the underlying problem with prescription drugs does not address the psychological and other issues that need to be addressed. 

.....Q#7: How is Compulsive Shopping related to Atypical Shoplifting?

.....A#7: They are 'kissing cousins', in a sense. Both are acts of inappropriate acquisition of material goods, usually as a compensation for the individual's pain.  Some of my clients have exhibited both problems.

.....Q#8: Do you offer consultations to out-of-towners?  

.....A#8: Through several means. 

(a) In Person: Frequently these individuals will phone (at 416-928-2262) or e-mail me (wcupchik@aol.com), stating very briefly what problems and/or situations they or their loved ones are dealing with; usually additional information is acquired. If we decide to work together, then ideally the individual will come to Toronto for (usually)  two days, i.e. about 12 to 16 clinical hours of contact held in my office over two to three days. My office is located in the geographic center of Toronto, quite close to excellent hotel accommodations of various kinds, plus a lot of the cultural and social life that this great city has to offer.

(b) Follow-up sessions may be held in person or over the telephone. If additional counseling is desirable (it frequently is) that arrangements can be made to have me consult by telephone with the therapist back in the individual's city, if that would be useful. 

Telephone and/or (c) e-mail consultation: In some cases, arrangements are made to set aside two to three hours for telephone consultation. While not as preferable as in-person contact, nevertheless a couple of sessions over the phone can be very useful in some cases.

Whether conducted in person or by telephone, the prospective client is asked to provide, in advance of any scheduled sessions, a good deal of personal information about themselves, their presenting problems, their current and previous family situations, etc..., so that this material can be read and thereby enable us to 'hit the ground running' when direct consultations are held.