Kleptomania is repeated occurence where a person cannot resist the impluse to steal things, and when the reason for this is not economic or need of something for own usage. A person can get caught in kleptomania if he or she steals something, and finds that this reduces anxiety. There is then a risk that the same method is repeated, the next time the person has unbearable anxiety.
Kleptomania involves a failure to resist impulses to steal items that are not needed or sought for personal use or monetary value. Kleptomania should be distinguished from shoplifting, in which the action is usually well-planned and motivated by need or monetary gain. Some clinicians view kleptomania as part of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders, reasoning that many individuals experience the impulse to steal as an alien, unwanted intrusion into their mental state.
Antidepressants are most commonly used to treat kleptomania are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These include fluoxetine (Prozac, Prozac Weekly), paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR), fluvoxamine and others. However, there have been a few case reports of SSRIs actually triggering kleptomania symptoms. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and coping with side effects of antidepressants.
Counseling or therapy may be in a group or one-on-one setting. It is usually aimed at dealing with underlying psychological problems that may be contributing to kleptomania. It may also include behavior modification therapy and family therapy.
Treatment may involve behaviour modification and conditioning techniques. Aversive conditioning involves using negative stimuli to reduce or eliminate a behaviour. In covert sensitisation, the patient is made to first relax and visualise scenes of stealing. Then he imagines something negative, such as getting a hand stuck in the revolving door of the store. With assisted aversive conditioning, the negative event is real rather than imagined. The goal is to help the patient link his behaviour with something negative and avoid both.
There is little evidence concerning prevention. A healthy upbringing, positive intimate relationships, and management of acutely stressful situations may lower the incidence of kleptomania and coexisting disorders.
Treatment typically involves behavior modification. Other treatment approaches involve seeing the theft as an unconscious process and analyzing it as such may assist in gaining insight and eventually extinguishing the behavior.
Some medications that are used for people diagnosed with kleptomania are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mood stabilizers and opioid antagonists. The only open-trial of medication for kleptomania showed naltrexone significantly reduced the intensity of urges to steal, stealing thoughts and stealing behavior.
Traditionally, the treatment of choice for kleptomania was insight-oriented therapy, aimed at dealing with underlying psychological problems that may be contributing to the urge to steal. However, most recent research has focused on the benefits of cognitive-behavior therapy, which has shown some effectiveness in the treatment of kleptomania.
Little research exists examining the treatment of kleptomania, particularly in men. This case study illustrates the treatment of a male client with kleptomania in which depression, suicidal ideation, and potential legal complications were present. Strategies included covert sensitization, behavioral chaining, problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and use of homework. On completion of treatment, symptoms of depression and kleptomania had decreased significantly.