Program Considerations in the Treatment of Incest Offenders (From Sexual Aggressor, P 62-79, 1983, Joanne G Greer and Irving R Stuart, ed. See NCJ-98468)

• NCJ Number: 98472
• Author(s): K MacFarlane
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Van Nostrand Reinhold
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper provides a broad view of the major incest treatment issues and approaches currently being used and describes some of the clinical, legal, and systemic problems underlying the development of specialized incest treatment programs.

Abstract

Program considerations and treatment limitations of traditional legal and therapeutic approaches to incest are briefly summarized. These include (1) the difficulty of successfully prosecuting incest due to sparse evidence and reluctant witnesses, (2) the lack of psychotherapeutic expertise in treating incest offenders, and (3) the frequent removal of incest victims from the home by child protection services, which tends to be debilitating for the children. The criminal justice system's traumatizing of child incest victims in the course of prosecuting perpetrators is also identified as a major problem. Common overall objectives of incest treatment programs are considered. These are (1) provision of therapeutic alternatives to incarceration, (2) reduction of trauma to the child victim, (3) provision of treatment for the entire family, (4) coordination of legal and therapeutic action, (5) use of therapeutic sentencing, and (6) provision of pretrial diversion. Other common overall objectives are the coordination of criminal and juvenile court processing and the use of formal self-help groups and multidisciplinary professional teams. The concluding section focuses on treatment goals and methods. Characteristic treatment goals mentioned include helping family members deal with debilitating feelings, providing victims and nonabusing family members with appropriate outlets for their rage and hurt, and helping perpetrators to acknowledge responsibility for their actions and cooperate in therapy. The common treatment methods discussed are labeled as 'talking therapies,' 'concrete therapies,' 'educational components,' and 'group methods.' The need for program evaluation is discussed in the conclusion. Fourteen references are listed.