Ted Bundy: Case Study

1. Ted Bundy: Case Study

2. Background Information • Theodore Robert Cowell grew up in what he called a healthy home. • However, future studies have revealed other facts. • For a lot of his life he believed his mother to be his sister, and his grandparents to be his parents. • His grandfather expressed schizophrenic tendencies, and his grandmother was being treated for depression.

3. Background Information • At the age of twenty-one, Bundy fell in love with fellow University of Washington student Stephanie Brooks. • The love was unrequited. • When Bundy began to fail in his studies, Brooks left him suddenly, sending him into a deep and dark stage that would last the rest of his lifetime. • Later in his life, Bundy developed a relationship with divorcee Meg Anders. • Anders fell deeply in love with Bundy, but he was still obsessed with Brooks.

4. Background Information • Bundy met up with Brooks again years later, wooed her, and got her to fall in love with him. • Then, he left her as she left him three years pastfor revenge.

5. Description of the Presenting Problem • Unable to feel sympathy • “I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.” • “I didn’t know what made people want to be friends. I didn’t know what made people attractive to one another. I didn’t know what underlay social interactions.” • Bundy was charming. • He lost his ability to hold a steady job. • He was smart and observant. • Compulsive liar, deceitful, manipulative

6. Diagnosis • Axis I: 296.54 Bipolar I Disorder (Manic-Depression) with Psychotic Features • High highs, low lows • Multiple manic episodes • Confidence during highs that led to rash decisions • Interrupted functioning • Axis II: 301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder • Disregard for the rights of others • Impulsive • Clever • Deceitful

7. Diagnosis • Axis III: None • Axis IV: Psychosocial Stressors • Bundy’s victims had similar physical features to Brooks • Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning • Social: 40 • Occupational: 35 • Symptoms: 50

8. Intervention • Psychoanalytic Approach • Repressed anger • Sexual desire • Strong id compared to ego and superego • “the talking cure” • Behavioral Approach • Learned psychotic behavior • Blamed a lot of his violence on media • Positive behaviors are rewarded

9. Intervention • Humanistic Approach • Deviated from natural tendency of good • Self-actualization and individualism • Fulfillment instead of emptiness and anger