Adult Male Sexual Offenders

Abstract

A review of common treatment approaches used with adult sex offenders was presented. Treatment approaches reviewed included: psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, skills educational training, family-system, pharmacological, and surgical therapies. While many procedures have some empirical and clinical support, claims regarding treatment effectiveness must be carefully scrutinized in view of the difficulties of formulating and operationalizing criteria for effectiveness, the lack of rigorous empirical valuation of most therapies, and the lack of long-term follow-up. Future research should focus on the following: (1) The extension and refinement of assessment methods that will serve to discriminate sex offenders from other persons and different types of sex offenders from each other; (2) future development of, and rigorous comparison among, treatment techniques effectiveness; and (3) long-term follow-up of sexual offenders who have been treated with different methods.