Dialectical Behavior Therapy for the Treatment of Stalking Offenders

Abstract

The need for effective mental health interventions for specific offender populations has become clear in recent decades. In particular, individuals who engage in stalking and harassment have increasingly attracted the attention of the public and mental health and criminal justice professionals, however no evidence-based treatment currently exists for this population. We adapted Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for the treatment of this offender group, in part because of the high prevalence of personality disorders. This study describes the application of a 6-month treatment program to a sample of 29 individuals, 14 of whom completed treatment. Treated offenders were significantly less likely to re-offend with another stalking offense (0 of 14) compared to treatment drop-outs (26.7%) or to published recidivism data (47%). Measures intended to help determine the nature of changes revealed increased thought suppression, but are qualified by the high degree of defensive responding. These preliminary data suggest that DBT holds promise for reducing stalking behaviors and warrants further study.

Management and treatment of stalkers: Problems, options, and solutions

“…The only empirical research to date that has investigated the efficacy of treatment was conducted by Rosenfeld and colleagues (2007). Their study evaluated a six‐month treatment program adapted from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a technique developed by Linehan (1993) for working with people with borderline personality disorder.…”

Advances in stalking risk assessment

“…In such cases it may prove more effective to employ targeted psychological interventions to end persistent stalking or prevent its recurrence, in the event that such circumstances persist or are re‐encountered in the future. Though a number of treatment approaches have been described in the stalking literature, including short‐term cognitive behavioral therapies (Walter & Sonkin, 1994), functional analysis‐based interventions (Westrup & Fremouw, 1998) and dialectical behavior therapy (Rosenfeld et al, 2007), the strategies outlined in the SRP are based on the problem behavior model proposed by Warren et al (2005), which incorporates aspects of each of these approaches. The problem behavior model adopts interventions from a range of psychological theories, including cognitive behavioral therapy, relapse prevention models, social learning theory and motivational interviewing principles.…”

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment and Management of Sex Offenders

“…Preliminary data suggest that using DBT with forensic inpatients significantly improved their global functioning and adaptive coping abilities and significantly decreased their hostility and depression . Additionally, preliminary findings from a study evaluating DBT for stalking offenders sentenced to probation are also promising: individuals who completed the DBT program were significantly less likely to recidivate than those who dropped out (Rosenfeld et al, 2007). While no DBT program has been specifically developed and evaluated for the treatment of sex offenders (Berzins & Trestman, 2004), these initial findings suggest DBT may prove useful in the treatment of sex offenders.…”