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100. Could Your Cheater Have a Personality Disorder? An Interview with Dr. Peter Salerno
09/09/2025
100. Could Your Cheater Have a Personality Disorder? An Interview with Dr. Peter Salerno
Tracy talks with pyschologist Dr. Peter Salerno about the intersection of infidelity and personality disorders. A lot of conventional therapy assumes that clients lack insight into their behavior and that antisocial behavior is the result of childhood trauma. Dr. Salerno argues that this approach ignores the behavioral science of personality disorders. Manipulation, deception, and a pathological lack of remorse are hallmarks of narcissism and sociopathy and these abusive acts are intentional. And to a certain extent, even hard-wired. How does this science challenge the victim-blaming narratives around infidelity? Could the serial cheater, family abandoner, or deadbeat parent have a personality disorder? Do these manipulative characters keep you confused and hopeful on purpose? *** Peter Salerno, PsyD, is a retired licensed psychotherapist, trauma-informed educator, and the author of Nature and Nurture of Narcissism; and Traumatic Cognitive Dissonance: Healing from an Abusive Relationship with a Disordered Personality. Dr. Salerno has received specialized training in trauma treatment and personality disorders and was trained to administer and score the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), the international standard for the clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy. He has treated mental health conditions in a variety of clinical settings. His first book, Fit For Off Duty, has been required reading for law enforcement officers at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Dr. Salerno has consulted internationally for educational purposes with individuals who have experienced traumatic cognitive dissonance resulting from pathological relationship abuse. He is also a featured expert in the Hulu/Disney+ docuseries Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil, where he contributed his expertise on psychopathy and personality pathology. Follow him at Instagram On Youtube
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