Psychologist Dr. Will Cupchik has been a member of the American Psychological Association for over twenty-seven years. He...

	is the original investigator-clinician who, over a quarter-century ago, first identified the phenomenon of atypical theft behavior by usually honest adults as being distinct from, and different than, kleptomania.
	personally conducts the Four-Day Intensive Intervention Program for suitable candidates, i.e., theft offenders who are, at least in part, Atypical Theft Offenders (see below for an explanation of the Theft Offender Spectrum (that extends from classic Atypical Theft Offenders (i.e., usually honest people who steal) to classic Typical Theft Offenders (common theives) .
	formerly held the position of Psychologist-in-Charge, Forensic Outpatient Psychological Services at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, a major research psychiatric facility associated with the University of Toronto, where he conducted the first studies and therapeutic programs for Atypical Theft Offenders, beginning in 1979.

is the senior author of the ground-breaking article, entitled Shoplifting: An Occasional Crime of the Moral Majority, published in the professional journal, The Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, over two decades ago, in 1983.

	In the book CLINICAL CRIMINOLOGY: THE ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR,   published in 1985, Dr. Cupchik and his original co-investigator, senior psychiatrist Dr. Don Atcheson, first termed usually honest individuals who steal,  'Atypical Theft Offenders' in their chapter titled, Shoplifting: An Occasional Crime Of The Moral Majority.     At the time, Dr. Cupchik held the position of Psychologist-in-Charge, Forensic Outpatient Psychological Services, and Dr.Atcheson was a Senior Psychiatrist on the same forensic service of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, in Toronto .
	has devoted more than three decades to researching, assessing and treating this seemingly bizarre and ' atypical theft behavior' that is so frequently misunderstood and so often mislabeled as 'kleptomania'.

has developed several original and unique assessment and treatment tools to help 'Atypical Theft Offenders' stop stealing. Many of these techniques are employed, as appropriate, with attendees of the Intensive Intervention Programs that he conducts. Two of these tools are pen-and-paper assessment tools: the Cupchik Theft Offender Questionnaire and the Cupchik Theft Offender Spectrum. Both are included in full in his book.

	Personally conducts the 4-day Intensive Intervention Programs for approved attendees, most of whom come from all over the U.S.A. and Canada. These attendees of the Atypical Theft Offender - Intense Intervention Programs receive a Certificate of Completion as well as a Written Intensive Summary of (a) the key assessment findings and therapeutic efforts carried out during their Intensives, and (b)  a list of focused recommendations for a local therapist and the attendee to address once he/she  is back home.
	The Written Intensive Summary provided each attendee can also provide useful information for the attendees' lawyers, including recommendations for specific areas that the attendees should focus upon further in order to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of re-offending.

Full Psychological  Reports written by Dr. Cupchik have been used in both American and Canadian courts to assist judges in making decisions in regard to the disposition of theft cases before them.

Is the author of the ground-breaking book, WHY  HONEST PEOPLE SHOPLIFT OR COMMIT OTHER ACTS OF THEFT: Assessment and Treatment of 'Atypical Theft Offenders, Revised Edition. [Available only from  online bookstores, including  BarnesandNoble.com, where it is a consistent bestseller (Keyword: Shoplifting).

Offers for-fee Full Telephone Consultations [each 45 minutes in length] to professionals and other interested persons, as well as Counseling sessions to clients themselves.

Media  in the United States, Britain, Europe, Canada, and Australia  have shown considerable interest in Dr. Cupchik's work over the past three decades.  As a consequence Dr. Cupchik has appeared on: CBS's Early Show...  MSNBC Investigates ...., ABC's Good Morning America...,   CBS NEWS 48 Hours....,  The Sam Donaldson Radio Show...., Lifetime Network's New Attitudes Program....,   and has been quoted in The New York Times...,   Los Angeles Times....,    San Francisco Chronicle...,    Chicago Sun-Tribune....,   Bloomberg News ... SELF magazine...., HEALTH magazine....,  PEOPLE magazine... among many other media programs and publications.

For a fuller listing of the considerable media interest in Dr. Cupchik's work, simply click on the MEDIA web page link on this site.

 

Dr. Cupchik also offers a FREE BRIEF [15-20 MINUTE] TELEPHONE SCREENING INTERVIEWS  to individuals who, before contacting him:  (1) have read all the pages of this website thoroughly, and  (2) are seriously considering attending their own 4-Day Intensive, and want to briefly discuss their cases with Dr. Cupchik personally.     PLEASE, CONTACT DR. CUPCHIK ONLY AFTER THE ABOVE STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT YOU ARE GENERALLY AWARE OF SOME OF DR. CUPCHIK'S CLINICAL FINDINGS AND APPROACHES TO WORKING WITH CLIENTS.  ALSO, PREFERABLY DO FILL OUT THE CUPCHIK THEFT OFFENDER SPECTRUM YOU WILL FIND IN HIS BOOK, AND BE PREPARED TO SHARE YOUR SCORES WITH DR. CUPCHIK. YOU AND DR. CUPCHIK WILL THEN BE ABLE TO SPEND THE TIME DURING THE FREE BRIEF CONSULT ADDRESSING YOUR SITUATION IN PARTICULAR. THANK YOU.   When you are ready to contact Dr. Cupchik, you may do so easily by email at wcupchik@aol.com summarizing the key information pertaining to you and your situation. In your email please include your name, age, phone number, email address, specifics about your theft behavior, and your home living situation. The professional fee for the 4-day, 19 sessions long, Intensive Intervention Program is currently $4595.--U.S. and is subject to change without notice. Just ask Dr. C. for the current fee when you speak to him.

 

Dr. Cupchik's book,  Why Honest People Shoplift Or Commit Other Acts Of Theft: Revised Edition (2002): is available as a paperback from BarnesandNoble.com, where it has consistently been among the best-selling of over 80 books at B&N.com that are currently listed under the keywords, 'shoplifting' and 'kleptomania'   may also be purchased from Amazon.com , and other online bookstores is also available to American purchasers only from Booklocker.com in paperback,  and to purchasers from anywhere in the world from Booklocker.com in e-book format. For Canadian purchasers only: For the paperback, go to Amazon.ca or Indigo.ca ; for the e-book, go to Booklocker.com ] When ordering this book from your local bookstore, refer to the book's ISBN number, 1-896342-08-6. Your local bookstore can order this book; just tell the salesperson that the book is a Print- on-Demand edition, is printed by Ingram's POD company, Lightning Source, and is distributed by Ingram (the largest book distributor in the USA). You will likely get the book most quickly (and for less) from the online bookstores mentioned above.

 

The Behavior of  ' Atypical Theft Offenders' [ATOs]  Such behavior occurs in cases of theft perpetrated by individuals who are usually honest, law-abiding and contributing members of society, but whose bizarre and seemingly non-sensical stealing is compulsive in nature, and occurs even though  the individual may be genuinely embarrassed, ashamed and/or frightened by the activity, and when the behavior may continue even though the theft offender, at least to a substantial extent, consciously wants to stop acting out in this fashion.   The behavior is usually accompanied by feelings of being out of  control, even though the person is usually aware of what she or he is doing, or intending to do - i.e., steal.  AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE STILL MUCH TOO COMMON MISTAKE OF MISLABELING ATYPICAL THEFT BEHAVIOR AS EVIDENCE OF KLEPTOMANIA:   Most cases of Atypcial Theft Behavior should not be (but unfortunately frequently are) confused with 'kleptomania'. the reasons why the labeling of "kleptomania" is in error (in most cases) include the following: The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the DSM) definition of kleptomania specifies that the term is not to be used if...,   the theft offender is acting out of anger or vengeance, and/ or    if there has been an external trigger. In over a quarter-century of clinical investigations  Dr. Cupchik's studies over three decades have consistently shown that in cases of atypical theft behavior...    the theft offender is virtually always acting out of anger, and    there is almost invariably an external triggering event. Far too often persons have been  misdiagnosed as suffering from kleptomania, and consequently  have received inappropriate treatment, both clinically and in the courts. Then, when this mis-treatment has failed to stop the offending behavior, (which is virtually guaranteed, since it was the wrong treatment for the wrong diagnosis), and the individual re-offends yet again, the re-offending behavior itself has even been erroneously used to justify the continued mis-labeling.  An analogy to this unhelpful at best (and more frequently, harmful) cycle would be instances where an individual has been misdiagnosed as suffering from a serious physical disease, has been given the wrong treatment, and then the fact that the treatment has not cured the disease is used as a 'reason' to suggest that the individual must have a particularly resistant-to-cure case of the disease.

	Compulsive shoplifters and other 'atypical theft offenders (i.e., the theft offenders themselves as well as  their relatives and friends, all of whom are interested in helping to stop this seemingly bizarre, nonsensical, illegal and ultimately self-destructive theft behavior;
	Professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, lawyers, judges, probation and parole officers, loss prevention personnel and any others whose professional duties involve dealing with usually honest people who have committed acts of theft.
	Media  including print, radio, and television reporters and documentary film producers who are interested in providing their readers/listeners/viewers/audiences with informative human interest articles and programs regarding the phenomenon of seemingly nonsensical or bizarre stealing, and
	Students of the human condition who will recognize from the material on (or referenced on) this web site, that cases of atypical theft behavior often provide some of the best illustrations of unconscious motivations manifesting themselves at an observable behavioral level, leading certain individuals to act out via behaviors that offend against their own moral and ethical and usual ways of functioning in the world, to the extent that they risk so much in terms of personal and/or professional reputation, for (often) relatively so little material gain.

 

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, THAT 'SIGNIFICANT OTHERS' ACCOMPANY THE CLIENT AND TAKE PART IN THE INTENSIVE'S SESSIONS AS REQUIRED. HOWEVER, FOR PERSONS WHO MAY WISH TO ATTEND INTENSIVES BY THEMSELVES, THIS OPTION IS AVAILABLE TO SELECTED ATTENDEES, ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.

It is Dr. Cupchik's clinical opinion, based on over three decades of work in the field, that truly effective work with individuals who have problems with compulsive stealing and/or other types of Atypical Theft Behavior involves the use of a variety of dedicated approaches modified to suit the needs of the attendee; anything less may merely offer some temporary 'band-aid' effectiveness. A very high level of therapeutic expertise required to deal with the sorts of issues that are usually behind atypical theft behavior.   

 four days with twenty-one (19) clinical sessions, each 45 minutes long.