NCJ Number
208096
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2004 Pages: 365-380
Date Published
October 2004
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the therapeutic engagement of sex offenders enrolled in a prototypical prison-based group treatment program.
Abstract
Understanding how change occurs is necessary to developing effective treatment models for sex offenders. The current study examined the time between formal treatment sessions to discover the significance of out-of-session behavior on the therapeutic engagement of sex offenders. Participants were 16 adult male offenders serving sentences for sexual crimes against persons under the age of 16 years. Qualitative interviews with the participants focused on their experiences with therapeutic engagement and the significance of out-of-group time between sessions. Qualitative analysis of the interviews was guided by the grounded theory approach. The results indicated that participants made significant movement either toward or away from engagement in the therapy process between formal sessions. The results suggest a six-stage sequential model in which each stage is a precursor to the next and at any stage, therapy clients may either continue to the next level of therapeutic engagement or drop out of the process. Each of the six stages is discussed in turn. The implications of the findings are discussed and include the need for correctional institutions to harness the time between therapy sessions in order to increase the chances that treatment will be effective. Figure, references