Within chapter three of "The Psychopath Test," Ronson attempts to explore the aspects of treating psycholopaths and how successful these treatments are. In Ronson's attempt to piece together the story of Oak Ridge, he comes across a treatment of psychopathy associated with Elliot Barker. It embodies the idea of physical nakedness to promote emotional nakedness and therefore speed up psychotherapy. Ronson studies individuals who had successfully completed this program and labeled "cured" and let back out into society. The common findings included eighty percent of people involved in this program went on to reoffend. Ronson got his answer, the program was no help in curing psychopaths, instead it helped them to become better manipulators.
I thought the idea of psychotherapy and its aspects of nudity were a bit extensive. I do not believe the nakedness related anyway in opening up emotionally, if anything I believe it would make people more uncomfortable and less likely to express any emotional distress. The chapter itself was very intriquing, learning about the different types of therapy and results. The stories of Cecil Gilles and Joseph Fredericks angered me. These individuals who "graduated" from the program, were allowed back into society multiple times, just to reoffend each time. These actions by mental health professionals put our society into great danger.
