Treating populations with antagonistic traits-Reflections on Hyatt, Phillips, et al. (2025) and considerations for clinical psychology training programs

Abstract

The treatment of populations with antagonistic traits and disorders, particularly psychopathic personalities, poses a significant challenge for mental health practitioners and trainees. This commentary reviews Hyatt, Phillips, et al. (2025), highlighting the critical clinical training gaps related to working with individuals exhibiting externalizing and antagonistic behaviors. Hyatt, Phillips, et al.'s (2025) findings reveal that graduate students receive less training and experience working with these populations compared to clients with internalizing disorders, contributing to lower self-efficacy and greater emotional strain in therapeutic encounters. This commentary discusses the urgent need for enhanced training, including exposure to structured evidence-based interventions for child conduct disorders, such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and its adaptation for children with callous-unemotional traits. It also discusses possible reasons for Hyatt, Phillips, et al.'s (2025) findings, including the pervasive underfunding of research on conduct disorders and psychopathy, which contributes to the scarcity of effective treatments. Finally, future training initiatives are considered, including the potential of novel training techniques such as deliberate practice and simulation-based education to improve psychology trainee's clinical competence in working with clients with antagonism. This commentary emphasizes the importance of equipping future clinicians with the skills needed to address the complex needs of these challenging populations to help reduce their societal burden. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).