Many years ago, I found myself baffled regarding how to understand and treat a psychotic individual who murdered another. I strongly believed that it was a matter of time and persistence before I would find someone who developed an approach to understand and treat this condition. Through my research, I located a tape of Treating the Psychotic Homicidal Offender by Dr. Jerome Schulte. The perspective advocated by the tape appeared to be straightforward but yet powerful in being able to understand and then treat these most fragile psychiatric patients. I tried to locate Dr. Schulte for supervision but was unable to. Of particular note, at the time, I was in the process of completing a forensic evaluation of an adult who committed a matricide. Once finished, I believed that the evaluation was comprehensive, and defendable in court. However, after learning of Dr. Schulte s approach, I started to evaluate the person from the standpoint of reconstructive therapy, and saw a different humanistic-forensic profile. The person who I initially believed to be not dangerous, I now viewed as dangerous and in need of continued secure hospitalization. Subsequently, despite a lengthy period of clinical stability, he started to assault staff. At the time, I was astonished how Dr. Schulte s model so clearly provided me with a perspective that was so applicable, but yet so unknown. Since I was so astonished at how effective the model had been, I persisted in my search. It took me two years to located Dr. Schulte since he had retired from Atascadero Forensic Hospital. He was gracious to speak to me regarding contacting him for supervision despite being at humanitarian fund raiser at the time. I believe that I was very fortunate to both be able to more fully learn his model but to get to know the kind and deeply insightful person, who took time out to speak to me in this rather awkward situation. Since that time, Dr. Schulte and I have been in contact for five years and I have found, just like he has advocated, that his approach can be effective with one s own personal and spiritual development as well as applicable to variety of clinical and forensic problems. I have found Dr. Schulte s therapeutic perspective to be vital in helping people grow and mature. In addition, his model also has great clinical and forensic utility by being able to explain how and why individuals use more deviant and criminal behaviors to negotiate the same stages, of human development, and dysfunctional manner. This perspective of focusing on how the person tried to attain similar developmental growth, and the disorder, or offensive lifestyle. Dr. Schulte s perspective is comprehensive yet with a variety of persons including children, adolescents and adults. The significance of his profound perspective is that it is highly heuristic in that one framework applies both for human growth as well as where the criminal personality deviates. The insights in this book will inform both anyone interested in the essentials of personal and spiritual development, and be a standard text for future clinicians for generations to come. It is with deep felt honor that I have come to know Dr. Schulte and now be able to advocate for a more widespread dissemination of his ideas. I highly recommend this groundbreaking book. --Lino Faccini, Ph.d.
The first time the humanness theory was introduced to me in adjudication, I was quite perplexed. I had trouble figuring out what the meaning behind it all was. After studying the subject matter more in depth, your ideas and concepts are astonishing. It takes a mature person to sit and truly contemplate the meaning behind the effectual and physical universe and the criminal personality. After two semesters of reading and discussing the different feelings and content that goes with each feeling has definitely been an enlightening experience to understanding people. As a forensic psychiatrist you have gotten to the root of a person s essence, and as a lawyer I hope to use these tools to understand people I work with; whether I am prosecuting them or defending them. The essence of a person is the origin in which their personality, actions and thoughts begin; so understanding it is crucial Thank you for giving me this tool in order to understand criminals and the true humanness of people collectively. Using two words, unchangeable and timelessness, as the definition of essence served as the basis for understanding and enabled me to grasp the ideas in a more immediate fashion. Another topic that made so much sense in my mind was the theory of contradiction. There is nothing that can exist in life with vital force that does not contain contradiction. It is a measure of that force that the contradiction can be grasped and endured(p.19). Not only does contradiction serve a purpose, it creates an understanding of life; which is innate for me. I have a hard time putting my understanding into words, because I feel like it is so natural and that it just makes sense. It is almost an instinctive quality, it is hard to explain. When I read the material it flows so well and my mind perceives it and turns it into understanding in my brain. In other words I can not explain why it makes sense, it just does. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to referring back to it in order to understand people better down to the root of their essence. --Charise Weatherbee, Grand Canyon University
The whole purpose of The Immortality Complex is to understand the essence of humanness and give the reader a better sense of understanding about what it is that we all share as humans. Basic to the human growth process is recognizing that there is something intrinsic in the nature of humanness that is of value and the most crucial element of being human, present from the time of birth, is need. Dr. Schulte proposes that the driing force behind need, and consequently the essence of humanness are feelings, Feelings? As Dr. Schulte once pointed out in a lecture, when was the last time anybody ever took a class about feelings? I know I haven t. But first you feel, then you know. Just as we must discover together what is inherent in all humans, we must face together inherent problems in our world society. Such problems include learning how to deal with the criminal personality. Section II of the book ties together the fact that all human beings are of value with the fact that all human beings have two sides to their personality. The dark side of our personality is just as inherent to our essence as humans as the bright side. Perhaps Dr. Schulte s most profound statement regarding the criminal personality is that this process of moving from a personal identity that is quite attuned to adjusting to an ongoing society, to a universal identity, is at present most difficult to accomplish while at the same time remaining adjusted to society at large. On more than one occasion I paused while reading the book to ponder the complexity of being human. The complexity alone points to the absoluteness of a greater being. I was able to gain a better appreciation for the complexity and great beauty that lies within the essence of humanness, that lies within the essence of me. --Amanda Moncayo Parker, Grand Canyon University, Georgetown School of Law Graduate May 2012
