FAP with People Convicted of Sexual Offenses

Attachment theory and its relation to adult men who sexually offend.

“…As the therapy proceeds, the task of exploring current relationships with attachment figures becomes a focus of the therapy. This is especially important as most dynamic risk factors for sexual recidivism are rooted in interpersonal domains (Newring & Wheeler, in print). By exploring the "internal working models" of self and other, the client can begin to understand why he may have difficulties in regulating affect or why he experiences a need to control others as a means to regulate attachment-related affect (Sonkin & Dutton, 2003).…”

“…For example, when faced with distressing interpersonal conflict outside of the session, a client may turn to sexualized coping through masturbation, impersonal sex, use of pornography or other topographically similar sexual problem. In the therapeutic context, the response demands may overwhelm an overtly sexual coping response yet may foster a response that works similarly, such as sexualized talk, directed conversation towards a previous sexually inappropriate act, that would function in the same sexually self-soothing manner as would more overtly sexual behavior (Newring & Wheeler, in print). As attachment behaviors can be obvious or subtle, it is important the therapist pay close attention to the client's verbal and non-verbal behaviors in order to hypothesize how the client's attachment system is activated (Sonkin & Dutton, 2003).…”

“…Notice the clinician's effect on the client, and 5. Provide functional interpretations of the client's behavior (Newring & Wheeler, in print).…”

“…Additionally, the use of Functional Ideographic Assessment Template (FIAT) can help to breakdown the client's responding into classes of behavior based on function of responding. The use of this type of assessment looks at the correlation between interpersonal effectiveness and distress (Newring & Wheeler, in print).…”

Editorial: Behavior analysis's forgotten promise.

“…For example, Wheeler and colleagues have demonstrated the applicability of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) approaches to empirically derive risk factors for sexual recidivism (Wheeler, George, & Stephens, 2005; Wheeler, George & Stoner, 2005). Newring and Wheeler have extended this approach with the inclusion of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) as a component of sex offender treatment (Newring & Wheeler, in press). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may also be an appropriate intervention for sexualized misbehavior when that misbehavior is motivated by factors such as emotional avoidance and cognitive fusion (Penix Sbraga & Brunswig, 2003).…”