Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter was born in Lithuania in 1933 to a family of artistocrats. His younger sister, Mischa, lived with Hannibal in their mother and father’s castle. The family appeared to be well adjusted, loving, nurturing. It becomes apparent very early on how dearly he cares about his sister, Mischa. When World War II broke out, Lithuania became a battle ground for warring Soviets and Germans. Hannibal’s family fled to a cottage in the woods in attempts to avoid being caught in the cross-fire. Their attempts to stay safe would prove unsuccessful. Hannibal’s mother and father die in a battle between the Soviets and Germans. Hannibal and little Mischa witnessed both the deaths of the parents, in addition to plane/foot battles between soldiers. At this point, Hannibal assumes responsibility to care for himself and his little sister. Soon after, a group of Russian soldiers invades the cottage, taking Hannibal and Mischa captive. The soldiers searched the house for food, but were unsuccessful in their search. Famine began to take over the group of soldiers, at which point they realize Mischa has pneumonia and will likely die soon. The men suggest to kill and eat the girl. The soldiers drug his little sister outside, where they slaughtered and devoured her. Hannibal managed to escape, and was placed in an orphanage until his teenage years.

In the orphanage, Hannibal experiences horrific night mares about Mischa’s unresolved death. He is haunted by the image of his parents’ deaths, Mischa’s death, Mischa’s cannibalized body, and the faces of his abusers from this childhood trauma. In the orphanage he does not speak, except when he is screaming in his sleep due to nightmares. It is possible that this form of muteness s...

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...ably never recover from his violent, cannibalistic tendencies. Dr. Lecter is far too sophisticated and may outsmart any psychiatrist assigned to work with him. However, if treatment were pursued, I would begin with a psychotherapeutic approach. Dr. Lecter has few individuals he trusts/opens up to. He needs an established therapeutic rapport for therapy to continue successfully. He trusts no one. To help him cope with night terrors, intrusive thoughts, avoidance issues, and many of his antisocial behaviors, I would suggest Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), prolonged exposure, and possibly mood stabilizers. These treatments may help reduce symptoms/reminders of his trauma, that cause outbursts of anger/violence. Though these treatments may help reduce symptoms, it is unlikely that Dr. Hannibal Lecter will ever function safely/non destructively within society.