Serial murder as a ‘Schahriar syndrome’

Abstract

This paper proposes a syndrome model for systematic understanding of serial murder. The five components of the model are: omnipotence, sadistic fantasies, ritualized performance, dehumanization, and symbiotic merger. The purpose of the model is to facilitate risk assessment, crime prevention and treatment planning. The serial killer acts as if deprived of his entire existence. Thus, a psychotherapy process must focus on distinct settings to achieve its object as a source of information about primitive psychic mechanisms.