NCJ Number
138284
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 155-167
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article describes the use of the offense script -- in which motivational diagnostic, and treatment aspects of the offense are recognized -- in the treatment of sex offenders in a Dutch forensic clinic.
Abstract
The term "offense script" was coined to incorporate cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and circumstantial factors associated with the offense in a semi-structured interview, as if it were a script of those events. The script takes into account 6 hours prior to the offense. There are four stages in outlining an offense script. Each requires a different approach by the therapist and different expectations of the offender. The educational stage is designed to motivate and instruct the offender. The "remedial" stage helps the offender to adapt the procedure and learn to distinguish between the various components and to work out each one of them. Any lack of skills in outlining an offense script are addressed at this stage. The confrontational stage develops a complete profile of the offense, fills any gaps, and reduces offender resistance. The treatment stage consists of an examination of the actions, feelings, and thoughts associated with the offense and taking responsibility for them. The offense scrip provides important information about the way the offender deals with potentially stressful situations, how he handles conflict within himself and with others, what roles sexuality and aggression play in the offense, and whether a behavior pattern in the offenses can be discerned. With the information from the offense script, specific methods of treatment for specific problems, mostly relapse prevention techniques, may be devised. Checklist for the offense script and 19 references