by Marla Friedman Psy.D.,<\/span><\/p>\n I just finished watching Detective Gary Traver\u2019s video, The Joy of a Missing Person Case.\u00a0 I know exactly what he means.\u00a0 I am a police psychologist However, my secret wish, when I heard there was such a job, was to become an FBI profiler. Too bad, so sad.\u00a0 I was too old, and I don\u2019t run fast or jump high.\u00a0 So I decided to create my<\/em> training program to learn how to investigate crimes.\u00a0 How happy was I to find that some of the top investigators from the FBI, NYPD and other departments and associations were teaching during their off time or their retirement.\u00a0 At the time I didn\u2019t realize that some of these people were the developers of profiling at the FBI behavioral unit.\u00a0 I learned so much from Robert Ressler and Roy Hazelwood.\u00a0 I took the basic and advanced courses in \u201cthe Reid Method.\u201d \u00a0I learned how to detect deception from Avinom Sapir, and did a 24-hour training with Vernon Geberth forcing myself to look at all kinds of nasty pictures until I could read his book and eat my lunch at the same time (not easy and a wonderful weight loss method.)\u00a0 I did ride a-longs, field interviews, went to jail to talk to bad guys, watched interviews through the two-way mirror, wrote up psychological analysis on cold cases; you name it I did it.\u00a0 I attended everything I could, even when told, \u201cno psychologists allowed!\u201d\u00a0 I found a way to talk myself in.\u00a0 So, my adventure began!<\/span><\/p>\n I talked a detective nearing retirement to accept me into his private investigations business and train me top to bottom.\u00a0 We have worked together on private and police department cold case homicides and missing persons for 15 years or more.<\/span><\/p>\n So, the following case is sanitized to protect the identity of the family.\u00a0 This is the one that relates to Det. Travers case.<\/span><\/p>\n A 21-year-old Asian female was reported missing, and after two years the PD declared it cold as no further leads were producing any useful information as to her whereabouts.\u00a0 A call was placed to Bob Stachnik who is the Private Investigator I work with when cases have a psychological overlay.\u00a0 The family of the female called the PD, and they were given Bob\u2019s name, as he has an excellent reputation in the state, to see if he was able to work it as a private case.<\/span><\/p>\n Bob called me in, and we went to work.\u00a0 I believe besides physical evidence; the interview is GOLD.\u00a0 We separately interviewed everyone we could, family, friends, coworkers, etc.\u00a0 We have different styles as he is a 30-year law enforcement professional and I have been doing clinical work since 1979.\u00a0 Psychology and investigations combined.<\/span><\/p>\n Facts of the case:\u00a0 A 21-year-old female with a history of depression has a relationship with an abusive male with a criminal history of assault. Could this be a murder?<\/span><\/p>\n She is estranged from her family except for her grandfather who is pushing for information about her whereabouts.\u00a0 Could she have just \u201d walked-away?\u00a0 Adults can do that.<\/span><\/p>\n The female gives away her belongings including her car and 20 thousand dollars to a close friend, raising the question of suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n What would be your guess?\u00a0 Three viable options.\u00a0 Murder, walk-away or suicide?<\/span><\/p>\n Extensive interviewing by both Bob and myself of friends, family and coworkers reveals information that allows me to develop what I call a \u201cpsychological profile in absentia.\u201d\u00a0 I have done psychological autopsies, but unless I see the autopsy report and or photos of the body, I like to leave the family with some sense of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n I develop a picture of a depressed woman in therapy, a physically abusive boyfriend and a family history of physical abuse.\u00a0 The missing woman becomes very religious and essentially devotes her life to serving others at church.\u00a0 She is known for helping the needy and those in distress.\u00a0 Her friend said she wanted to join the Peace Corps. She is self-sacrificing of her time and money.\u00a0 She speaks ill of her family or nothing at all depending on whom she is speaking.\u00a0 She is very private.\u00a0 She takes antidepressant medication and complains of difficulty sleeping and lack of appetite.\u00a0 She displays no anger but often appears to be in pain.<\/span><\/p>\n I contact her psychiatrist who listens to what I have developed as a profile, but she is frustrated because she cannot speak to me because her client owns the \u201cprivilege,\u201d which exists in Illinois whether the patient is alive or deceased.\u00a0 \u201cPrivilege\u201d is sort of like confidentiality but a lot stronger and with more legal ramifications if broken.\u00a0 I respect her position, and as a result, I develop a form called, \u201cRelease of Information-Special Circumstances\u201d which many of my patients sign early in treatment which allows me to release information to law enforcement only to help solve a crime.\u00a0 I can limit what information leaves my office, as I want to protect the client regardless of their eventual situation.<\/span><\/p>\n Bob had contacts he has made over the years and explored those avenues.\u00a0 I finally decide that the woman has not committed suicide, or has not been killed by the abusive boyfriend.\u00a0\u00a0 My data collected through interviews and Bob\u2019s data pulls us together to believe that she has walked away as a defense against an unhappy childhood and adult life.\u00a0 We know she has hyper-religious tendencies, so we start exploring churches and other charitable organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n Bingo!\u00a0 We find her alive and living in a homeless shelter and volunteering at a church about 50 miles from her home. She was using a false name and had destroyed her credit cards.\u00a0 The relief, excitement and elation I felt were overwhelming.\u00a0 Without the years of training and the goodness of the different chiefs of police and the excellent skill of a highly trained detective, Bob, she may have remained hidden.<\/span><\/p>\n Here is the conundrum. The woman does not want to reunite with her family but has agreed that we can tell them she is alive. She does not want them to know her location, so we had to simply inform them that she\u2019s alive but desires no further contact.<\/span><\/p>\n We were hired by and are paid by the family.\u00a0 So it was a sticky ending, but the family accepted the outcome.\u00a0 I think the combination of retired cop and a psychologist make an excellent team. And that\u2019s just one of our stories. The others are even more incredible!<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Site editor:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.\u00a0 Also follow me on Twitter and YouTube\u00a0 for other articles and ideas,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Come back regularly for more updated articles on police psychology<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Finally, hit the donate button to make a contribution to the advancement of this site.<\/span><\/p>\n Save<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Police Psychology | Becoming a Psychological Investigator When No One Asked Me To by Marla Friedman Psy.D., I just finished watching Detective Gary Traver\u2019s video, The Joy of a Missing Person Case.\u00a0 I know exactly what he means.\u00a0 I am a police psychologist who has a full-time therapy practice, trains chiefs of police, FTO\u2019s and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17168954,17168797,17168831,17168958],"class_list":["post-4459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","tag-investigations","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress","tag-psychological-investigator"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":877,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=877","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Law Enforcement Spirituality Part 2","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In New York, as I am sure in many major cities, it is common to find many members of the departments who are Jewish.\u00a0 But isn't their faith antithetical to police work?\u00a0 My conservative Jewish Intern will explain.\u00a0 As we are traveling through the Hanukkah season we must not forget\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Other Tools"","block_context":{"text":"Other Tools","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168889"},"img":{"alt_text":"Star of David, Police Psychology","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Star_of_David-260x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4002,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4002","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology | Inertia: Video Post","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Inertia:\u00a0 Video Post by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP A principle of motion in Physics that can be applied to police work in a psychological way \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Motives and Opportunity"","block_context":{"text":"Motives and Opportunity","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168884"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":682,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=682","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | Fit To Be A Cop? How Much Testing is Enough?","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"POLICE PSYCHOLOGY | FIT TO BE A COP?\u00a0 HOW MUCH PSYCH TESTING IS ENOUGH? Laurence Miller, PhD BALTIMORE (Associated Press) \u2014 \"A psychological firm paid to evaluate troubled Baltimore police, including a lieutenant charged in the killing of Freddie Gray, is under investigation by the city and has been put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=50","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":4},"title":"Book Review: A Handbook for Psychological Fitness-For-Duty Evaluations in Law Enforcement","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"January 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Cary Rostow asked me to review his book and I thought \u201cno problem.\u201d\u00a0 It was a supposedly a Handbook on Fitness for Duty Examinations.\u00a0 So I figured it would be a short, little boring thing with a lot of statistics, but I will slog through it and write something inane\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168876"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rostow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/rostow-216x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1306,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=1306","url_meta":{"origin":4459,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | What the Heck is \u201cInsulin Resistance\u201d?","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"March 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | What the Heck is \u201cInsulin Resistance\u201d? by Doug Gentz, Ph.D. - Psychological Services A specific form of Receptor Site Resistance The condition that immediately precedes a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes A condition that used to show up mostly in old people and is now appearing in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Other Tools"","block_context":{"text":"Other Tools","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168889"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police psychology, Insulin Resistance?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/insulin-1-300x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-19V","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4545,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4459\/revisions\/4545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"detective\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/detective.jpg?resize=212%2C175\")
who has a full-time therapy practice, trains chiefs of police, FTO\u2019s and rank and file officers as well as publishes articles nationally on mental health and suicide prevention.\u00a0 I love all that I do with law enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Case<\/h2>\n
The Profile<\/h2>\n
The Resolution (Sort Of)<\/h2>\n