Handbook for the Treatment of Abused and Neglected Children by P. F. Talley

Abstract

The final three chapters of the book compose the section titled “Treatment Issues and Approaches.” Moving into specific treatment strategies, Yates provides a summary of cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. Techniques include anger management, instilling victim empathy, addressing deviant sexual arousal, and combating attitudes that support sexual offending and victim empathy. The last of these techniques is the sole focus of the chapter by Carich and colleagues. While recognizing that victim empathy is a commonly used component of treatment in some areas, these authors provide a number of techniques that clinicians can utilize to enhance offender’s empathy level. The other chapter in this treatment section reviews the various psychopharmacological treatments of men with paraphilic disorders (a diagnostic category to which sexual offenders belong). The authors review the current data on the “efficacy and tolerability” of testosterone lowering agents and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In sum, this book covers a range of issues that are relevant when working with sex offenders. Theory, assessment, public policy, treatment, and evaluation are given sufficient attention. A relative strength of the book is that many of the authors recognize the limitations of the current literature or discuss controversial issues, giving fair play to each side. The authors are clearly experts in their chosen areas, and both the experienced clinician and the emerging scholar in this area will benefit from reading this book.