NCJ Number
167671
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1996) Pages: 83-87
Editor(s)
B M Maletzky
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This editorial suggests reasons why physicians and psychiatrists do not treat sexual offenders and explores the possibilities of a team approach to treatment.
Abstract
The editorial notes that physicians and psychiatrists are conspicuous by their absence from the rosters of those who write about, discuss, or treat sexual offenders. An explanation for this phenomenon includes the following observations: (1) Medical schools rarely, if ever, include in their curricula information about offenders, their assessment, or their treatment; (2) Assessment and treatment of sexual offenders are not taught in psychiatry residencies; (3) Sexual offenders are not the most therapist-friendly consumers of psychologic and psychiatric services; (4) Some psychiatrists worry that treating sexual offenders increases liability risk; (5) A myth exists in jurisprudence and medicine that sexual offenders cannot be treated; and (6) Medical practitioners worry that reimbursement for services devoted to sexual offenders may be uncertain. References