UKPTS Bites: Dr Kirsty Butcher

Hampshire-based Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership’s Dr Kirsty Butcher explores ‘Stalking: a psychological approach to a complex issue.’

Stalking, according to Dr Butcher, is complex often misunderstood and in her session asked two core questions: what is it, and how can we address it? In essence it is pattern of fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated behaviours that causes distress in the targeted person. The majority of perpetrators are male, and the majority of victims are female.

Having worked for over 17 years in NHS forensic settings, Kirsty is currently a Principal Clinical Psychologist with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust and Clinical Lead of the Hampshire based Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership (MASP). She has led the MASP clinical team since its inception seven years ago, during which time they have developed and delivered therapeutic interventions with stalking perpetrators, trained over 2,000 Police and Probation staff in how to address stalking and won the British Psychological Society’s Innovation Award and The Alice Ruggles Trust award for contribution towards perpetrator intervention.

In 2024 the Suzy Lamplugh Trust reported that only 1.7% of stalking complaints resulted in a conviction. International evidence (e.g. McKewan et al, 2019) has shown that of those convicted of stalking, half go on to reoffend within two years. “The offender population is highly recidivistic,” Dr Butcher said and custodial sentences aren’t effective at changing these behaviours. Around a quarter of cases seen by MASP had previously been charged with stalking, whilst 22% were targeting their second victim at time of referral. Therefore effective interventions are key.

“Stalking is complex… and the offender population is highly recidivistic.”
– Dr Kirsty Butcher

Kirsty outlined the main categories of stalking (as per Mullen et al, 2009), each with their own motivations and potentially associated pathologies. She reported that around three-quarters of cases seen by MASP are cases of ex-intimate partner stalking, or ‘rejected stalking’. In these cases, the stalking has been preceded by a breakdown of a close relationship and the primary motivation seems to be reconciliation and/or revenge for perceived rejection. In these cases, stalking is seen as a way for the perpetrator to continue to feel close to the victim and maintain the relationship in some way.

Much less common is non-intimate partner stalking, where the victim is more likely a stranger or an acquaintance. These categories include: incompetent suitor stalking where the motivation is to initiate a relationship; resentful stalking where the perpetrator pursues a person such as a healthcare worker or person in authority who has perceived to have slighted or acted unjustly towards the perpetrator; intimacy-seeking stalking motivated by delusional beliefs about the perpetrator and victim being ‘star-crossed lovers’; and predatory stalking in which the ultimate goal may be to carry out a sexual attack.

So what of the underlying causes and subsequent interventions, especially with such variation in stalking types? For those engaging in stalking, there is a lack of anything else meaningful in the person’s life, resulting in the perpetrator becoming myopically fixated on the victim. The role of underlying mental health issues also varies. For example, a higher prevalence of paranoid illnesses are evident in those who engage in resentful stalking, whilst intimacy-seeking stalking may have a strong underlying delusion-based psychopathology.

“The longer it continues, the more likely it is that the perpetrator is mentally ill but most of those who stalk aren’t ill – rather they have underlying psychological issues,” she said. These can include poor empathy, a sense of entitlement, impulsivity, poor social functioning and reduced emotional regulation. These factors can be related to adverse childhood experiences, and particularly the rupturing and disruption of attachment and subsequent relationship-building. It is these elements that Kirsty and colleagues’ interventions address.

“Since 2023 we have consulted on 180 cases with Police and Probation helping them to understand the psychology of the stalking of the person they are managing.”
– Dr Kirsty Butcher

Whilst motivations may differ across different behaviours, central to a psychological approach to understanding stalking is a viewing the behaviour as a symptom of underlying factors. In addition, contextual issues such as lack of employment, substance misuse or lack of social support may also play a role. Interventions include Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy working on rumination and emotional dysregulation. Schema focused therapy may also be employed, with all interventions being person-centred, trauma-informed and exploring empathy and entitlement. The goal is working out how to help a person live a value driven life without stalking.

Of course, the ultimate focus is still on the victim and preventing further harm to them. The burden of psychological distress as a consequence of stalking is significant. One UK study found that more than 90% of victims went on to experience psychological impacts due to their experiences (Storey et al., 2023). She stressed that MASP’s work has been really well-received by victims.

“We work really closely with our victim advocate service to ensure that the victim is at the heart of everything we do because our ultimate aim is to avoid this type of reoffending in order to safeguard future or current victims”. However more widely, the gendered context of stalking needs acknowledged: these are crimes predominantly committed by men against women. “We often hear the statement ‘she doesn’t get to decide when this relationship ends, I do’. So we need to work with the individual about where have they got these attitudes from, what was it like growing up for them… and how else can they control for their deep-seated fear of abandonment and rejection”.