“Simply Speaking Your Mind, from the Depths of Your Soul”: Therapeutic Factors in Experiential Group Psychotherapy for Sex Offenders

Willemsen, Jochem; Seys, Valerie; Gunst, Ellen; Desmet, Mattias

doi:10.1080/15228932.2016.1172423

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…A primary aim of experiential therapy is to help the individual understand and learn how to process past traumatic experiences. By doing so, people who have committed sexual offenses can improve on their ability to engage in self-reflection, have empathy for others, and develop emotional self-regulation and coping skills (Gunst, 2012; Willemsen, Seys, Gunst, & Desmet, 2016). Self-reflection and self-regulation are considered important skills to acquire, as sex offenders tend to engage in "hyperbolic discounting" at the time of their offenses (Pedneault, Beauregard, Harris, & Knight, 2017).…”

Section: Experiential Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, groups should foster an environment of strong cohesion and aim to achieve greater interpersonal learning effects (Jennings & Deming, 2017;Lampalzer & Briken, 2019;Levenson, Prescott, & D'Amora, 2010;Willemsen et al, 2016). Jennings and Deming (2013) suggest using operant conditioning in group psychotherapy to reinforce social interaction and bonding.…”

Section: Group Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To help foster interpersonal skills, Willemsen et al (2016) found that group cohesion was an important therapeutic factor to help foster and improve emotional awareness and emotional regulation. When individuals trust their peers and feel that they are respected by the group, they are more capable of monitoring their own emotions which can improve the way they relate to others (Willemsen et al, 2016). Wakeling, Mann, and Carter (2012) reviewed the evidence for the "risk principle" for sexual offenders.…”

Section: Group Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A narrative review of research on clinical responses to the problem of sexual offenses in the last decade

Fedoroff

Briken

2020

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Research on the treatment and programs for people who have committed sexual offenses has greatly increased in the past decade. The aim of this review is to discuss research that has been published over that period (2010–2019) that is relevant for treatment providers. The articles included in this review were found through PsycINFO and PubMed (Medline) using the keywords “treatment or therapy” and “sex offen*”. The inclusion criteria were publications that discuss treatment of persons who have committed sexual offenses (written in the English language only). Any articles that examined only special populations were excluded, such as those that examined persons who committed sexual offenses who were female, had intellectual disabilities, deafness, juveniles, etc., because these groups will likely have needs and responsivity factors that differ from the “average” natal‐born male sex offender. Results showed that several meta‐analyses indicate that treatment is effective in reducing sexual recidivism. The most frequently used treatment for sex offenders is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is often provided in conjunction with pharmacological treatment to reduce sexual impulsivity and/or sex drive. This review is limited to the specific key search terms. The findings of this review support the use of treatment and a community reintegration approach when treating persons who have committed sexual crimes to prevent sexual recidivism.

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Section: Experiential Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Group Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Group Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A narrative review of research on clinical responses to the problem of sexual offenses in the last decade

Fedoroff

Briken

2020

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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“…It is assumed that the therapeutic factors at play do not profoundly differ between therapies for forensic and nonforensic patients. In therapies with mentally disordered offenders, the improvement of a person's ability to talk about and to regulate feelings, to reflect about experiences, and to build a coherent narrative, are seen as major therapeutic goals (18). These regulatory skills are expected to translate into pro-social behaviors and may therefore contribute to prevent further delinquency.…”

Section: Therapeutic Factors and Micro-processes In Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Well-Being as a Precursor and Consequence of Micro-Processes in a Group Psychotherapy With Forensic Patients

et al. 2020

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Psychotherapy is an important approach for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Apart from treating disorders as such, psychotherapy aims at increasing patients' well-being. The Therapeutic Cycles Model (TCM) is a process-oriented theoretical model that makes predictions about the psychotherapeutic progress based on verbatim content. The model helps to identify therapeutic factors on a language level. The present study aims at analyzing transcripts of group therapy sessions with forensic psychiatric patients using the rationale of the TCM. Furthermore, the relationship between linguistic features of psychotherapy sessions and patients' well-being before and after therapy are investigated. In order to identify therapeutic factors, a group psychotherapy with nine drug addicted forensic psychiatric patients was videotaped and transcripts of N = 16 sessions were analyzed. Process-oriented measures were rated by the patients, their therapists, and an external observer. Patients' self-reported well-being before therapy was negatively related to Connecting (indicating emotional insight), and the frequency of therapeutic cycles, which are both thought of as key moments in therapy. Well-being of forensic patients is not necessarily a helpful precursor for insightful and productive events in therapy to occur. The findings help to better understand psychotherapeutic microprocesses throughout forensic therapies, and their relationship with patients' well-being. Implications for research and the forensic practice are discussed.

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“…Coping with the stigma itself may even be part of the explanation for the fact that sex offenders demonstrate heightened levels of negative emotions, traumatic experiences, mental health issues, and emotion disregulation, with its subsequent treatment needs. 35…”

Section: Focus On Post-sentence Control In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Legal Control on Social Control of Sex Offenders in the Community: A European Comparative and Human Rights Perspective

Wolf¹

2016

Erasmus Law Review

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This paper provides first of all the introduction to this special issue on 'Legal constraints on the indeterminate control of "dangerous" sex offenders in the community: A European comparative and human rights perspective'. The issue is the outcome of a study that aims at finding the way legal control can not only be an instrument but also be a controller of social control. It is explained what social control is and how the concept of moral panic plays a part in the fact that sex offenders seem to be the folk devils of our time and subsequently pre-eminently the target group of social control at its strongest. Further elaboration of the methodology reveals why focussing on post-sentence (indeterminate) supervision is relevant, as there are hardly any legal constraints in place in comparison with measures of preventive detention. Therefore, a comparative approach within Europe is taken on the basis of country reports from England and Wales, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain. In the second part of the paper, the comparative analysis is presented. Similar shifts in attitudes towards sex offenders have led to legislation concerning frameworks of supervision in all countries but in different ways. Legal constraints on these frameworks are searched for in legal (sentencing) theory, the principles of proportionality and least intrusive means, and human rights, mainly as provided in the European Convention on Human Rights to which all the studied countries are subject. Finally, it is discussed what legal constraints on the control of sex offenders in the community are (to be) in place in European jurisdictions, based on the analysis of commonalities and differences found in the comparison.

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“Simply Speaking Your Mind, from the Depths of Your Soul”: Therapeutic Factors in Experiential Group Psychotherapy for Sex Offenders

Cited by 12 publications

References 21 publications

A narrative review of research on clinical responses to the problem of sexual offenses in the last decade

A narrative review of research on clinical responses to the problem of sexual offenses in the last decade

Well-Being as a Precursor and Consequence of Micro-Processes in a Group Psychotherapy With Forensic Patients

Legal Control on Social Control of Sex Offenders in the Community: A European Comparative and Human Rights Perspective

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