IN THIS CORNER
Lynne Kinnucan
“When you’re negotiating with the mentally ill,
you have to really care
and they have to know it."
Jack Cambria, Commanding Officer, NYPD HNT
Hostage negotiator Dwayne Fuselier (FBI, ret.) once wrote
that “the majority of incidents that negotiators actually confront involve a
perpetrator characterized by a mental or emotional disorder.”
With a statistic like
this, a knowledge of personality disorders is an invaluable tool.
Used correctly, it is invaluable in understaanding a
subject’s worldview, thought patterns and emotional needs... and developing flexible
strategies to meet them.
Used incorrectly, it can become a deal-breaker for even the
most successful negotiation
Talking to a person who shows classic schizophrenic traits,
the negotiator would know, for instance, to not contradict him with “the real
world”; the effect of which will be to create distance and resistance.
The subject may say that God talking to him
and telling him what to do. Because of his tendency to feel easily slighted and
frustrated, the strategy here is to not argue with or contradict him, but to deal with the illusion without entering
into it. The negotiator you might say
something like, “I’m sure God is talking to you, but I can’t hear Him.”
As one negotiator put it, “It would be worse if you
pretended to enter in. And you need to
make sure that you are not competing with the voices in the head, that you
don’t become just another voice.”
Classifying a subject allows the negotiator to understand
the style and motivation of the subject and therefore choose a negotiation
strategy appropriate for the situation.
Misused, it can have the opposite effect. Since personality
types often share similar symptoms, the negotiator must be alert to changes and
flexible enough to deal with them. If negotiators stick to a communication
strategy for one type while other traits are emerging, things can go very wrong,
especially since some of the traits are shared by different diagnoses. The
anti-social may share some of the needs of a histrionic and act those out while
still maintaining the distrustfulness and rage of the antisocial personality.
To ignore the needs of the histrionic is to ask for trouble.
The negotiator may fail to realize that the subject with
paranoid traits may hear something radically different from what the negotiator
is saying, or that a histrionic personality, that has a tendency to believe in
sudden, deep intimacy, will often translate the negotiator’s friendly manner as
a perceived sexual intimacy. When it is discovered that this is not the case,
the histrionic personality may act out further.
What strategies, then, does a negotiator consider when faced
with possible mental disorder in the subjects? The following are examples from Conflict
and Crisis Communication (ed. By Ireland, Fisher and Vecchi; Saving
Lives, by Dr Mitchell Hammer; and On-Scene Crisis Negotiation, by
Frederick Lanceley).
The Anti-social
Personality
The subject may exhibit some or all of these traits:
- Lying
- Extreme irritability and aggressiveness
- Inability to see the effect of his behavior on others, and lack of conscience or remorse
- Impulsive behavior and poor inability to plan for the
future.
STRATEGIES
- In a negotiation,
these traits can manifest themselves in extreme distrust of the negotiator
as well as extreme self-centeredness.
The anti-social’s mantra is “what’s in it for me?” and an effective
strategy can be assuring him that his continued participation in the negotiation
will be valuable to him. The negotiator’s
calm presence, and refusal to respond in kind to irritability or anger, is
essential.
Several risks in this situation are worth noting in dealing
with the antisocial personality.
- What the person says
cannot be trusted. They can give
the impression of a positive relationship when in fact such is not the
case, and reveal seemingly important information that, in fact, is not
true. The watchphrase for this is don’t lie to them and watch out for
being deceived. This trait, combined with the anti-social’s inability to
plan for the future, can make surrender plans difficult.
- The anti-social
personality might be more inclined to hurt any hostages if he becomes
irritable so keeping him distracted can be a good strategy. Stalling for time is not a good strategy
in this case
- If he also displays
histrionic or dramatic traits, let him be the center of attention; don’t
challenge him. Negotiators should
be alert that their level of annoyance and frustration at this personality doesn’t rise.
Narcissistic
Personality
- Grandiose sense of importance and a desire to be
excessively admired, be regarded as unique and special
- Sense of entitlement
- Envy is a primary emotion and easily triggered.
- Feel entitled and upset when others don’t comply with
their demands
STRATEGIES
- Don’t challenge their sense of self importance; instead
use phrases such as “you seem to me to be the kind of person who knows
what he wants and isn’t afraid to speak his mind….”
- Use active
listening to support their need
to feel valued
- Check your pulse -- Fisher warns that their inflated
sense of self importance and arrogance can be irritating to the negotiator.
- Keep onlookers away – narcissists like to play to an
audience.
Paranoid
Personality
You are dealing with a very frightened individual whose hallmark
is extreme suspicion. He will be afraid to give you any information for fear
that you will use it against him; he will suspect your motives; your most
innocent remark may be open to misinterpretation. He perceives threats where
others don’t and is fundamentally suspicious of attacks on his character.
STRATEGIES
- It is essential to be open and sincere with this person,
and to do your best to make sure that this comes across. The subject may read hidden meanings
into what you are saying, and be suspicious of giving you information that
you might take and use against him.
- Don’t pretend.
- Active listening with a minimum of probing for
information may be the best route.
- If communication becomes too difficult, it may be best
to acknowledge this.
Inadequate
Personality
- Feels like a failure.
- Consistently ineffective behavior in response to social
situations and emotional pressures.
- Often has not completed high school.
- Taking hostages in this case may be an attempt to prove
he is competent.
STRATEGIES
- Let them vent.
- Communicate empathy
and understanding of their situation and develop a theme of confidence
that, working together, this situation can be resolved.
- Present the
surrender in such a way that they don’t feel like they’ve failed one more
time.
- Since they often
have uneasy relationships with people in their lives; don’t bring in any
third-party intermediaries.
It pays to remember that these are observable traits, not
the whole person. They are markers along
the way about what techniques might be effective and when. Because in the end, the strategies are only as
effective as the mediator’s sincerity and sensitivity. Especially when dealing
with the mentally ill, as negotiator Jack Cambria says, “you have to really
care, and they have to know it.”