Breaking the Cycle of Abuse and Abusing: Individual Psychotherapy for Juvenile Sex Offenders

Abstract

Adolescent sex offenders present a therapeutic problem in that they are both victim and perpetrator. As perpetrator they present a social problem and need containment while the underlying victimization needs treatment. A special unit has adopted an integrated model of systemic, cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic frame works. To take into account both victim and perpetrator, psychoanalytic psychotherapy needs to be modified by (a) the incorporation of child protection measures and (b) a continuing focus on the offending behaviour. Given this structure the psychodynamic work helps to support a sex offender safely in the community and also produces dynamic material that illuminates the pathological processes from abuse to abusing. Themes that emerge in the treatment include sexualization of attachments, re-enactments of the abuse and a constant testing of the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship. Working actively with these issues can be seen to strengthen creative capacities in the young person as well as to help prevent recurrence of abusive behaviour. Clinic material is presented for illustration of these points.

Predicting dropout from a residential programme for adolescent sexual abusers using pre-treatment variables and implications for recidivism

“…Current behavioural problems associated with certain thinking patterns and their links to past problems are examined, alongside the formulation of a personalized sexual assault cycle and issues of deviant arousal, where relevant. Individual psychotherapy either follows CBT work to help a young person develop a mature sense of self, or runs in parallel, in order to explore the psychodynamic aspects of fantasy and unconscious irrational processing (for a fuller account of the applicability of psychotherapy to the treatment of adolescent sexual abusers, see Woods, 1997). Family work, supervised by psychiatric experts in family therapy, has traditionally been encouraged, whenever possible, as most young people can be seen as victims of dysfunctional family systems (Bentovim, 1998).…”

Aspects of young sex abusers—a review of the literature concerning young sex abusers (1996–2004)

“…Despite the importance of treatment following identification it was noted that social and educational problems played a large part in the victimization of children by other children. Treatment often required the perpetrators in some cases to be placed in special units and there such youngsters were to be treated preferably by cognitive-behavioural and psycho-dynamic approaches (Woods, 1997). Other researchers felt that consideration could be given to the individual causes of sexually abusive behaviour when providing treatment (Ryan, 1997).…”

Becoming a success story: how boys who have molested children talk about treatment

“…1988) and residential (Hunter & Santos 1990) settings. Currently, there are descriptions of offender‐focused therapy (Sciarra 1999, Flanagan & Hayman‐White 2000), reality therapy (Henry & Cashwell 1998), individual psychotherapy (Woods 1997), and rational‐emotive therapy (Whitford & Parr 1995), but there is limited scientific support for these treatment models. There have only been two well‐controlled treatment outcome studies (Borduin et al.…”

“…Their deviant behaviour notwithstanding, youthful offenders have the potential for pro‐social adult sexuality (Ryan 1999, Ward 2002) . They can rejoin the social order by atoning for the harm they have caused (Duncan 1968) and by engaging in treatment to learn new ways to think about and engage in relationships with other people (Woods 1997, Sciarra 1999). Seeing the process through the eyes of boys who have satisfactorily completed treatment provides a unique perspective that can add to clinicians’ understanding and control over the treatment process.…”