Sexual offender research and treatment in the Netherlands

The number of men in the Netherlands who were convicted of sexual offenses rose significantly between 1980 and 1994. Empirical studies of offenders ar e relatively scarce, although interest in the field is growing. Since the l ate 1980s, the number of outpatient treatment facilities for these men has increased-especially now that some child molesters are given a choice by th e courts between treatment and prison sentence. Since the 1930s, sexual of Senders with severe personality disorders that are held not responsible for their offenses are court-ordered to be treated in maximum security forensi c psychiatric clinics. Until the mid-1980s, the treatment model for these o ffenders was based on a derivation of psychoanalytic and Rogerian therapy a imed at personality reconstruction Since the 1990s, however; the focus has been on the behavior itself and directive cognitive behavioral elements are now included in the eclectic treatment in several clinics.