Current status of North American assessment and treatment programs for sexual offenders

This article provides a summary of current assessment and treatment approac hes in North America. With the advent of cognitive behavioral therapy in th e early 1970s, programs for sexual offenders became more empirically based. Through the subsequent years, there has been both a proliferation of progr ams and an expansion in the range of assessment and treatment targets. Alth ough there is some diversity, the following issues are the most commonly ad dressed: a life history revealing the origins of current problems; sexual f unctioning, including both appropriate and deviant activities and fantasies ; empathy; cognitive distortions and dysfunctional attitudes; social and re lationship skills; self-esteem; substance use and abuse; and anger: Assessm ent procedures include interviews, psychological tests, and phallometry. Tr eatment is typically conducted in groups within a relapse prevention framew ork. Fortunately these processes seem to reduce recidivism.