NCJ Number
104941
Journal
Journal of Offender Counseling Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1987) Pages: 23-33
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The Child Sexual Offender Treatment Program (CSOTP) in Addison County, Vt., bases its assessment and treatment procedures on etiological theories of child molesting behavior.
Abstract
The four categories of etiological theories encompass sexual arousal theories, which focus on adult sexual arousal from a child; emotional congruence theories, which explain why a sexual relationship with a child is emotionally congruent for an adult; blockage theories, which examine why adult sexual relations have been blocked; and disinhibition theories, which explore why a person is not inhibited from violating strong social norms against child molestation. The CSOTP assessment process enhances early and full disclosure from the molester and determines to what extent each of the four etiological factors has influenced the molester's behavior. Group therapy is the core of treatment. A group consists of eight men who have been ordered to attend the weekly 2-hour group sessions for at least 18 months. Group sessions focus on the sexual assaults and are confrontational. In a covert sensitization procedure, the offender is asked to pair his deviant sexual fantasies and urges with highly aversive fantasties, so the deviant urges acquire negative associations. Treatment strategies for each offender differ according to the assessment as to which etiological factors are dominant influences in the deviant behavior. 12 references.