NCJ Number
211064
Date Published
2005
Length
291 pages
Annotation
Based on an extensive review of the literature, this book offers students and practitioners an introduction to sex offender treatment programs; it describes programs delivered in and evaluated data from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.
Abstract
Over the last two decades, the problem of sexual offending has received widespread public media and political attention, leading to calls for tougher sentences for sex offenders. However, despite the trend towards more punitive action, rehabilitative intervention for sex offenders, cognitive-behavioral treatment, has gradually developed and expanded. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of cognitive-behavioral sex offender treatment programs based on findings of published literature. The book is divided into nine primary content chapters. Chapter 2 begins by describing the development of cognitive-behavioral programs in the context of the “what works” evaluation literature. In chapter 3, an outline of the current use of these programs in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are provided. Chapters 4 and 5 describe the theoretical underpinnings and the therapeutic approach/ethos of this form of intervention. In addition, chapter 5 examines the effects of this work on treatment practitioners. Chapter 6 explores, in more detail, the cognitive-behavioral programs with a description and evaluation of the range of treatment goals. The following three chapters focus on the evaluation of this treatment, with chapter 7 exploring the methodological difficulties of program evaluation, chapter 8 assessing the outcome literature and determining whether these programs are effective or not, and chapter 9 reviewing literature to determine what treatment works and with whom it works. The last chapter draws together the findings from the previous chapters and examines cognitive-behavioral treatment in the wider context of public protection and sex offense prevention. References