A Call for Research on Sex Offender Treatment Programs

Abstract

The effects of sex offender treatment programs have been addressed in the literature, but there are opportunities to expand research and potentially improve existing sex offender treatment programs. The Federal Bureau of Prison's Sex Offender Treatment Program gives offenders the opportunity to change their behavior by reducing criminality and recidivism, and receive transition services as offenders exit the prison system and reenter society. This program is evidence-based and utilizes landmark research in sex offender treatment, however there are a few details that may present limitations to the effectiveness of the treatment program within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Entry requirements, such as literacy, cognitive, and remaining sentence requirements, as well as the treatment program environment, present opportunities for research to evaluate the effects of these variables on the convicted sex offender population.

Empathy and Cognitive Distortions in Sex Offenders Participating in Community Based Treatment

“…Jones and Neal (2019) called for research to improve and address treatment programs geared toward addressing problem sexual behaviors and those who commit sexual offenses. The current study provides clinical implications for treatment providers to address empathy and cognitive distortions to impact their development of empathy.…”

“…Interventions and techniques to assist the client with accepting responsibility for their offending behaviors, understanding healthy relationships, healthy communication, empathy, and understanding cognitive distortions are often the foundational constructs of a robust sex offender treatment program. Jones and Neal (2019) called for research to strengthen and improve treatment programs for people who commit sexual offenses and, in an effort, to address some of the gaps in the literature, the current study explored the relationship between empathy and cognitive distortions. As will be discussed, these two constructs are two of the foundational constructs often explored in treatment programs for this population.…”

The Integration of People Convicted of a Sexual Offence Into the Community and Their (Risk) Management

“…In recent years, we have seen continued growth in strengthsbased approach to the treatment and rehabilitation of people convicted of a sexual offence, with increased focus on the Good Lives Model and pro-social inclusion [1, 12••, 63••, 64,65,[72][73][74]. The strengths-based approach to rehabilitation reinforces that rehabilitation is a process rather than an outcome [28••].…”

“…Traditionally, most individuals convicted of a serious sexual offence will receive a prison sentence, or a suspended prison sentence to be served in the community, in conjunction with a treatment or rehabilitation programme tied to the nature of their offence and the risk they pose [ 9 , 60 , 61 ]. Rehabilitation is based on the underlying principle that people can and want to change and is delivered though a Cognitive-Behavioural framework that uses strength-based models and pro-social behaviour modelling [ 1 , 12 ••, 62 , 63 ••, 64 – 68 ]. In recent years, we have seen a de-pathologising of people who commit sexual offences as it is no longer accepted that all people who commit sexual offences have a severe mental illness [ 69 – 71 ].…”

Lessons of a Failed Study: Lone Research, Media Analysis, and the Limitations of Bracketing

“…Indeed, most of these studies focus largely on historical or quantitative analysis of sex offenders' behavior. While a few recent papers have centered on sex offender treatment (Jones & Neal, 2018;Stinson, Becker, & McVay, 2015), therapeutic alliance (Watson, Daffern, & Thomas, 2015), and community-based sex offender integration (Keer, Tully, & Vo ¨llm, 2018), biometric assessment dominates the body of work (Davis & Archer, 2010;Janka, Gallasch-Nemitz, Biedermann, & Dahle, 2012) conducted on sex offenders. Most biometrics assessment range from arousal assessment (Reyes, Vollmer, & Hall, 2011), risk assessment scales to determine the rate of recidivism (Janka et al, 2012;Kim, Benekos, & Merlo, 2015;Lehmann et al, 2013;Simon, 2000) to "multiscale inventories" that enhance typologies to distinguish types of offenders (Davis & Archer, 2010).…”