Aakash Desai
 Theodore Robert Cowell was born on November 24,
1946 to Louise Cowell following her stay of three
months at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed
Mothers in Vermont. Ted’s biological father, who was
an Air Force veteran, was unknown to his son
throughout his life. Shortly after his birth, Ted and his
mother moved back to the home of his grandparents
in Philadelphia. While growing up, Ted was led to
believe that his grandparents were his parents and his
natural mother was his older sister. This was created in
order to protect his mother from harsh critism for
being an unwed mother.
 As a youth, Ted was terribly shy, self-doubting and
uncomfortable in social situations. He was teased in
school and he felt as he were different from other
children.
 In high school, Ted really came out of his shell and had
a keen interest in politics.
 He said things like “I didn't know what made things
tick. I didn’t know what made people want to be
friends, I didn’t know what made people attractive to
one another. I didn’t know what underlay social
interactions.
 Ted was very inconsistent with his work outside of
school. This would all change when he met a girl. She
was a beautiful and highly sophisticated woman. He
really loved her but she would end up breaking up
with him. She liked Ted a lot but believed he had no
real direction or future goals.
 Ted never recovered from the break-up. He dropped
out of college and could not hold a job for very long.
Ted became obsessed with this young woman and he
couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was an obsession
that would lead to the killings that made Ted Bundy
who he is.
 Ted Bundy is diagnosed with manic-depressive.
 His murders took place during his depressive episodes.
His pathology may have been due to his relationship
with his grandfather, Samuel Cowell. Sam was known
as a bigot and was seen torturing small animals.
 Pornography was of a violent nature.
 Bundy’s grandmother suffered from depression as well.
She received regular treatments for her depression.
 Bundy suffered from extreme depressions over the
break up and learned about his family history.
Axis I: Maniac Depressive ;Severe with Psychotic Features
Axis II: 301.7 Antisocial Personality D/O
Axis III: None
Axis IV: Problems with Primary Support Group: Girlfriend Broke Up Due to Lack of Ambition,
Unaware of Biological Father, Abusive Grandfather
Problems Related to the Social Environment: Difficulty with Acculturation
Educational Problems: Dropped out of College A Couple Times
Occupational Problems: Lack of Employment Due to Always Being On The
Run
Housing Problems: No Settled Household
Economic Problems: Inadequate Finances
5 Problems Related to Interaction With The Legal System: Incarcerated and
Charged With The Murder Of 30+ Women
Axis V: 31-40 Some impairment in reality testing, serious impairment in occupational, school
functioning, interpersonal, judgment, thinking, or mod.
 Cognitive-behavioral treatment- this type of approach
focuses on how the psychopath sees himself and the
world.
 Ted should be placed on medications that target his
Bipolar I disorder, his mood changes and his irrational
emotions.
 Ted should be referred to a psychiatrist within the jail.
The therapy should also begin right away for the
treatment to work and stop his compulsive behavior.
 There is a possibility that Ted might be hesitant to take
part in it but we have set forth treatments for him.
 He has many different disorders and each has a
different treatment but it is a good plan to help stop
his compulsive behaviors to be violent.
 You have to treat Ted Bundy as a normal person and
have his best thoughts in mind. He is very selfcentered and it is easy to manipulate the treatment in
his favor. You are trying to get rid of his negative
tendencies and bring more positives through the role
he plays when he is in his “killer mindset.”