NCJ Number
127893
Date Published
1991
Length
357 pages
Annotation
Intended as a compendium of behavioral approaches in an overall treatment plan for sexual offenders, this book describes a multitude of techniques for treating the sexual offender in either an outpatient or an inpatient setting.
Abstract
The techniques described evolved from the treatment of over 5,000 sexual offenders in a sexual abuse clinic in the northwestern United States between 1971 and 1990. The treatment was primarily on an outpatient basis. The offenders were largely young, white, married, and employed in labor-related jobs. Heterosexual pedophilia was the most common disorder. A description of assessment methods is followed by a chapter on aversive respondent conditioning techniques. This involves the use of aversive stimuli to reduce inappropriate sexual arousal. The use of electric shock and foul odor were the primary aversive stimuli used. Another chapter discusses reconditioning techniques which use the arousal already present in sexual fantasies and masturbation. By slightly shifting the timing and sequence of images, reconditioning techniques weaken deviant arousal while strengthening appropriate arousal. This is used in combination with aversive conditioning and the other techniques described. The latter include positive respondent conditioning techniques, operant conditioning techniques, adjunctive techniques, and somatic therapies. Separate chapters discuss homework assignments and data generated by the clinic's treatment program. Future treatment directions are discussed. Appended scales and forms, a 280-item bibliography, and a subject index