<p>Welcome to Psychology.SE! <a href="https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/502/why-was-my-self-help-question-closed-as-off-topic">For a number of reasons outlined in this meta post</a> we can not, and will not, give advice for any individual. Therefore, if you was seeking advice for yourself or a friend, this question would be off-topic.</p>

<p>One of the reasons is that we cannot properly diagnose any psychological disorder here. The same will be said for the person in your question.</p>

<p>Forde (2007) highlights the following concerning assessment techniques:</p>

<ul>
<li><strong>reliability</strong> means 

<blockquote>
  <p>the extent to which a test consistently measures the same thing, </p>
</blockquote></li>
<li><strong>validity</strong> is 

<blockquote>
  <p>the extent to which the test measures what it is intended to measure</p>
</blockquote></li>
<li>a test

<blockquote>
  <p>cannot be valid if it isn't also reliable</p>
</blockquote></li>
<li>any form of assessment 

<blockquote>
  <p>(and not just a traditional pencil and paper test) must be both valid and reliable, or it is useless.</p>
</blockquote></li>
</ul>

<p>With this in mind, you cannot say anyone has a psychological disorder without a valid and reliable method of diagnosis (Forde, 2017).</p>

<p>In other situations where someone says someone has a psychological disorder, they can be situations where they are voicing <strong>possible but not confirmed</strong> psychological disorders, <strong>which are personal opinions</strong>, which cannot be taken notice of officially without the necessary valid and reliable assessment(s).</p>

<h2>References</h2>

<p>Forde, R. A. (2017). <em>Bad Psychology: How Forensic Psychology Left Science Behind</em>. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-11T10:49:23.260Z
2019-02-11T10:49:23.260Z
Chris Rogers
<p>Elizabeth Holmes CEO of Theranos is charged with massive fraud. I'm watching her interviews on YouTube from her rise to her fall. On YouTube comments sections, some people say she's a <strong>psychopath</strong> and some say she's a <strong>sociopath</strong>, usually without providing strong argument. Is it safe to say that she's got psychological disorder without any mental health investigation?</p>

<psychology>
Is Elizabeth Holmes having a psychological disorder?
Megidd
# Is Elizabeth Holmes having a psychological disorder?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-11)

Elizabeth Holmes CEO of Theranos is charged with massive fraud. I'm watching her interviews on YouTube from her rise to her fall. On YouTube comments sections, some people say she's a **psychopath** and some say she's a **sociopath**, usually without providing strong argument. Is it safe to say that she's got psychological disorder without any mental health investigation?

**Tags:** psychology


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-02-11. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Welcome to Psychology.SE! [For a number of reasons outlined in this meta post](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/502/why-was-my-self-help-question-closed-as-off-topic) we can not, and will not, give advice for any individual. Therefore, if you was seeking advice for yourself or a friend, this question would be off-topic.

One of the reasons is that we cannot properly diagnose any psychological disorder here. The same will be said for the person in your question.

Forde (2007) highlights the following concerning assessment techniques:

* **reliability** means
  > the extent to which a test consistently measures the same thing,
* **validity** is
  > the extent to which the test measures what it is intended to measure
* a test
  > cannot be valid if it isn't also reliable
* any form of assessment
  > (and not just a traditional pencil and paper test) must be both valid and reliable, or it is useless.

With this in mind, you cannot say anyone has a psychological disorder without a valid and reliable method of diagnosis (Forde, 2017).

In other situations where someone says someone has a psychological disorder, they can be situations where they are voicing **possible but not confirmed** psychological disorders, **which are personal opinions**, which cannot be taken notice of officially without the necessary valid and reliable assessment(s).

## References

Forde, R. A. (2017). *Bad Psychology: How Forensic Psychology Left Science Behind*. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.


---

