As I was searching for another story about a psychopathic criminal, I found a fascinating case study about a young child diagnosed with psychopathy. This particular study became widely known in the 1990s after it was televised as a documentary called, Child of Rage. In the case study, Beth Thomas, a six-year-old girl, was studied by Dr. Ken Magid, a clinical psychologist, and was later treated by Connell Watkins, an educated “therapist” (Watkins allegedly never got a therapy license and practiced questionable types of therapies). What influenced Beth’s adoptive parents to seek professional advice about the six-year-old’s behaviors? What environmental factors influenced Beth’s development of personality disorders? What kind of treatment did she receive? Lets explore the fascinating story of Beth Thomas and find out what happened to her.
After Beth and her brother were adopted by a pastor and his wife, the six-year-old girl began to display startling behaviors that concerned the adoptive parents tremendously. In an interview with Dr. Ken Magid, Beth openly confessed to sticking pins into her brother and her pets, stealing sharp knives from the kitchen, sneaking into her brother’s room at night to punch him in the stomach, killing baby birds, and many other alarming behaviors. On top of the chilling pastimes for the young girl, Beth calmly explained to Dr. Ken Magid that she desired to inflict pain on her family members and her pets because she wanted to kill them. Beth never shed a morsel of emotion or sympathy as she revealed her infatuation with pain and murder to Dr. Ken Magid, which is extremely disturbing to watch. As a result of Beth’s behaviors and cold-blooded lusts, she was diagnosed with psychopathy and reactive detachment disorder (RAD). You’re probably wondering what sparked Beth’s personality disorders in the first place, and if we take a look at Beth’s early childhood, the answer to your question will be crystal clear.
As a young child, Beth was raised solely by her biological father because her birth mother passed away when she was at the age of one. Her father was no loving parental figure whatsoever and severely abused both Beth and her brother. To elaborate, Beth experienced neglect, physical trauma, and violent sexual abuse until she was 19 months old. Beth’s childhood was extremely unpleasant and is difficult to process, yet it uncovers the source of Beth’s aggressive behaviors and her anger. Her childhood also explains how she developed reactive detachment disorder (RAD), which is a disorder caused by a lack of love and nurture at an early age. Beth’s story emphasizes the importance of proper early childhood treatment and the impact of early childhood traumas on maturation. After determining Beth’s diagnosis and gathering information on her background, a trained individual was able to work with Beth and was able to give her a second chance at life.
To help Beth recover from her early childhood horrors, Connell Watkins welcomed Beth into her home and focused on building trust. Beth was eventually able to gain Watkins’s trust by asking permission for every single thing, which was a habit that Watkins enforced. Slowly but surely, Beth began to develop an emotional bond with Watkins and was able to understand emotions and sympathy. Watkins transformed Beth’s lifestyle and achieved a wonderful miracle…
As of today, Beth works as a nurse in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and has co-authored books, participated in talks, and spoken in webinars about reactive attachment disorder with her second adoptive mother, Nancy Thomas. Beth’s early childhood traumas may have impacted her at a young age, but with the right help and guidance, she was able to overcome the dreadful hauntings. Beth’s story is truly inspirational and gives professionals a sense of hope as they continue to engage in old and new therapies with other struggling children.
Wow, her story really does give hope that psychopaths and sociopaths aren’t necessarily lost causes and that people should try to help them to the best of their abilities. It’s great that they did not give up on her and she was able to recover and be free from all the suffering she endured. When I first began reading I thought this post was going to end way differently but it turned out pleasant. This was a great and interesting post.
She wasn’t a psychopath or a sociopath. For anti social personality disorder there is no treatment and/or cure. Her diagnosis was reactive detachment disorder.
By the way you can very well be a psychopath or sociopath and still function as a normal person, many learn to adapt to social norms. They wear a mask and do not harm others, they can develop cognitive feelings.
👍
Yeah I know it’s not popular to say, but for most personality disorders, and especially psychopathy, sociopathy and NPD, there’s far more evidence that religion has something to offer than science.
Cite your source
How is lying to a child beneficial? The parents didn’t take her to a religious therapist, they used the best science of the time. I’m kind of surprised she improved so much in spite of the unnecessary layer of superstition she was exposed to.
As someone educated in psychology, I have not seen anything that relates to this study as to helping anything as serious as RAD. So, instead of spewing nonsense, please post your source.
Why don’t you learn to form a sentence with proper syntax, so that people can discern your “meaning?” (chuckle…)
Yeah, I know it’s not popular to say, but for treating psychopathy, sociopathy and NPD, religion has far more to offer than modern medicine.
Les sociopathes, non mais les psychopathes, oui. Cette petite était plutôt sociopathe, ses troubles résultant de son environnement. Tandis que la psychopathie, c’est biologique et la, y’a pas grand chose a faire, hélas.
There may be hope by the age of 5, but after that, no way. But maybe “wellness” is just a mirrored behavior after all. Sociopaths are not dummies. Look at Ted Bundy. I certainly wouldn’t want to be home alone at night with her.
Do you actually think that’s true, or do you just want that to be true?
You should learn more , watch a documentary about it. By the end she was very different. This disorder is not the same thing as an adult psychopath.
Recent studies show that it’s unlikely you can turn anyone into a psychopath. Was she ever diagnosed psychopathic? And if so was the diagnosis correct? Psychopaths come from good and loving homes too. Now they say you’re born psychopathic, like colour blindness, but empathy blindness, and so far therapy does not work.
But I agree, what a fantastic success story and best of luck to that beautiful person ❤️
Im glad she is doing better and keeping it together she didn’t deserve the things that were done to her she was an innocent child and it broke her mentally and I’m happy she has been living a positive life but I would still remain cautious if I was involved in her life because I believe she could still easily snap and kill and feel nothing about it and its not her fault it’s the trauma that’s been suppressed in the far back of her mind and it will always be able to resurface in the right conditions but I hope that isn’t the case and that she lives a long happy life
This story is really interesting, definitely not the ending I was expecting! Have you ever heard of Harlow’s monkey attachment experiments? There was this one psychologist, Harry Harlow, who performed some very ethically questionable experiments on baby monkeys. He would take them right after they were born and put them in isolation cages with different levels of a mechanical “mother” and other horrible conditions, studied the effects of this abuse on their social interactions later in life. Although he did some terrible things, it did help us understand the importance of parenting and a RAD.
I have heard of those studies! That is a great comparison and despite the adverse effects of the experiments, what Harlow discovered has definitely helped us better understand the importance of nurture during the early stages of development.
I 100% disagree to abusing one species to learn how to help another. That is pure evil. Humans are not superior to monkeys and abusing them should be just as punishable as if he abused a human child just to find out how it would effect them! Absolutely disgusting!!!!!
Yes I’m with you lovely, this is terrible/inhumane 😢
In fact, what Harlow “discovered”, was already known by psychologists who did not have to torture anyone, John Bowlby for instance.
Sorry to break it to, but humans are superior to monkeys and all animals.
But I do agree abusing animals is wrong.
Sorry to break it to you Joe but more intelligent and compassionate among us disagree with you
Absolutely
can anyone tell me why there is no mention of the monster father that created and caused this? bafflling? no name, or wheather he was brought to justice? i can not find anything? he was the monster , not her
I completely agree with you, I can’t stand animal abusers, those people should never have been born, total abominations
So mankind should just remain ignorant with beliefs based in what…. Exactly?
There would be no advancements in anything medical because experimenting in new born babies would’ve been far worse.
Very unfortunate that it didn’t help us understand why torturing living creatures is never ok as an avenue to help us understand “nurturing”. The height of humans’ hypocrisy.
How cruel . That psychologist who did that to the baby monkeys in his research is a psychopath. How can psychologists be caring and kind in their care for abuse and neglected children if they do these horrible research experiments on animals and children in the first place? Horrible ! We all know that abuse and neglect effects people and animals, and anyone having gone through that just needs a loving, nurturing, kind, understanding and patient environment/home. Researching and experimenting on animals in this manner is evil.
This is so interesting! I watched some of the interview you linked, and it was truly chilling. Beth was so open about the things she did, and her intent to kill them- it seemed like she was incapable of remorse. I’m so glad they were able to help her, without them she most likely would have gone down a very very dark path. I’m noticing a pattern here about trauma and psychopathic tendencies, it’s no wonder kids who have awful childhoods like Beth turn out that way.
It’s always hard to think that anybody is born purely evil, and this post is a great example of how even if someone is on a bad path, that good will always prevail over evil. This was such an interesting post to read and touching to see her progress. The human mind is so complex and hard to navigate how each individual person thinks/feels, and its incredible to know that there are people out there that can fix specific attitudes and personalities of people. It’s hard to explain exactly, but I have a lot of respect for successful therapists that are able to change people’s lives for the better. Great post!
It is so sad seeing how your past experiences can haunt you for the rest of your life. I found disturbing the fact that she snuck into her brother’s room at night just to punch him in the stomach, picturing it makes it gruesome. Fortunately, this is not the ending I expected and she ended up healing some of her scars. One more thing, have you ever heard about the Zodiac Killer???
Yes, I have heard about the Zodiac Killer and the case is one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes I have ever heard about. I will consider writing a blog post about the Zodiac Killer in the future!
She was not diagnosed with Psychopathy. Psychopathy has no cure. She was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder.
I Would NOT Trust.
10000000% agreed
This girl did some of the things my mother did to me as a child, including sticking me with pins. I raged as a child and abused my dolls. I was doing to them what my parents did to me. At some point I had an awakening and began to study my peers. I made mental notes of normal and not normal. I decided to mimic my peers from normal loving families. I made notes about how their families functioned, how they talked to each other, how they interacted. I didn’t realize till high school that I wasn’t hugged or loved. It took me twenty years to be able to hug someone – my own daughter. I went to therapy so I could be a better parent. I’m not perfect, still less physically loving than she needs. I still have psychological damage. But I communicate openly and honestly with her about my problems and explain that something I do or feel isn’t normal and how I should be. She’s very understanding and supportive and knows my history. She knows I want her to end up normal and not having problems like me. She feels generally supported and loved. The intergenerational abuse stopped with me. She can go on to be a better mom some day than even I was. I hope she gets therapy too so she can fix any mistakes I wasn’t able to. I understand Beth better than anyone should ever have to.
This can’t be easy to talk about and I think you’re amazing for sharing your personal experience. You’re trying and in my opinion that’s a step closer to healing. Sending much love and light your way.
well done for studying it out (and finding your own remedies) … not easy when the objectivity is affected…
well done for studying it out (and remedying it)… in a situation where it’s hard to be objective…
What happened to the brother who was abused by both his father and by Beth?
Great question. I’d like to know that myself.
Sadly I read that he has still 32 years to go in prison for child trafficking sentence. So while Beth (the middle abuser in the story between father and son) the son here is the true victim. He suffered from his sister. Possibly also from his father, at least in terms of neglect and physical abuse…. then like many sufferers he perpetrated it. I would really love to do astrology workups but couldn’t get birth data.
The brother is the real victim? She was sexually brutalized as a toddler. As far as astrology goes, well that explains nothing.
Connell Watkins was responsible for the death of Candace Newmaker.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/candace-newmaker
thank you for sharing. There is hope . I pray he is healed and gains conscience and empathy. GOD understands why he does and acts the way he does. Hurt people hurt people severely
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But are the people posting how wrong it is to experiment on animals meat eaters? Although farming animals is not considered experimentation, it is cruel and there are many youtube videos showing what farmed animals are put through. Hunting or fishing might be less inhumane than raising animals for their meat, eggs and milk.
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the article is very interesting and very inspiring for all of us, hopefully the author is always given health and convenience in all things
Alexandria, I agree with you on every level!!!!!!!!!😢
Please disregard my above comment, as it was mistakenly misdirected, and was intended to address Jennifer Wolford, who I agree with 1000%!!!!!!! It is truly both ignorant and heartless to subject innocent animals to such horrific cruelty, and there must be much more compassionate and humane ways to understand and help these precious little children who have endured such underserved abuse and neglect at the hands of their supposed care givers, as did Beth and her baby brother!😢💖💙💖 CPS needs to act more swiftly and promptly in such cases where it’s obvious children are suffering, and their lives are in danger! So glad that in this situation, Beth and her brother were finally rescued by good and kind people, and congratulations to Beth for all of her hard work and dedication to helping other children who have suffered as she did, and also to her adopted mother for believing in her and saving her precious life!!!!!💜💖💜
Hi, so interesting and I would love to add some research about this for an essay I am writing. Can you recommend any journals that touch on attachment Theory-RAD with a relation/link to Beth. Thanks.
It appears the brother may have needed help as well and not just Beth.
Of course the brother needed help. While I watched the documentary tonight I desperately started researching him. If we know her issues to be caused by trauma, how could he not be affected by the trauma she inflicted on him? I worried about him immediately. My question remains, why did it take so long for her to be removed? Perhaps they tried multiple times, but I have a child with RAD and I can’t imagine letting it get that bad before I would have removed her. Anyhow, can anyone link the brother’s conviction? I’d love to learn more.
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It’s great that Beth was able to find happiness. Unfortunately she was so deeply brainwashed and retraumatized by murderer-to-be Connell Watkins that she is still a proponent of the approach that was used on her. Beth may be a great nurse, but she is not able to view these RAD “therapies” with any sort of nuanced, evidence-based perspective, as a modern health practitioner should. And her voice has volume, which is a problem as long as she lends it to advocacy of the “therapists” who worked with her and the abusive, even lethal quackery they push. Watch some videos of these techniques. Read about Candace Newmaker.
I remember seeing this documentary when I was a kid. Pretty scary. Glad she turned out okay. Blessings to her!
I’m sorry, but I don’t believe for one second that she is “cured”.
All those thoughts are still there. All the evil she did to her baby brother and helpless creatures are still there. There’s no cure for that kind of evil. Maybe she is faking it until she makes it, but it’s still there.
She’s a neonatal nurse? Pinching little babies penises and doing God know what to tiny vaginas until they have “dirty booboos”? Hell no! I wouldn’t want her anywhere near my grand babies.
Nope. Not buying for a second she’s a normal thriving adult. That woman fights demons daily.
Carmen, everything you said was exactly what went through my mind as well. I kept scrolling through these comments to see if anybody else felt the same way. I’m stunned that she would even be hired as a nurse, and a neonatal nurse at that, given her history! Everything about her story is very unsettling and disturbing, including everybody’s claim that she is “cured”. OMG. I honestly hope we are wrong and we don’t see her name come up in the news some day for something horrible that happens.
Wow, what a powerful and thought-provoking article! The story of Beth Thomas is both fascinating and heartbreaking. It’s truly disturbing to think about the level of abuse and neglect that she suffered at such a young age, and the impact it had on her developing personality.
It’s inspiring to see how she was able to overcome her traumatic past and build a successful life for herself with the help of caring professionals like Connell Watkins and Nancy Thomas. It’s a testament to the power of therapy and the importance of early childhood intervention in preventing personality disorders from taking root.
I’m glad that Beth was able to find healing and recovery, and it’s heartening to know that she is now using her experiences to help others who are struggling with reactive attachment disorder. Her story is a powerful reminder that with the right support and guidance, anyone can overcome even the most challenging of circumstances.
Thank you for sharing this important and enlightening article. I hope that it will inspire more people to seek out the help they need and to be compassionate and understanding towards those who are struggling with mental health issues.
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Wrong she bloody killed a ten yr old boy diong a therapy called rebirth
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The transformation from deviant childhood to model adulthood is truly inspirational. Not everyone with same childhood issues turn out good as Beth
Time:
This is really great and informative. Thanks for the knowledge and please do not stop, you’re a good writer.
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Nice narrative. Although a sad one
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