Much of the research on treatment of sexual offenders is focused on contact sexual offenses, which include physical contact with a victim. Conversely, there is a dearth of literature on effective psychological interventions for individuals who commit non-contact sexual offenses. This paper briefly reviews the research on the characteristics and risk of some of the main types of non-contact sexual offenders (i.e., online, voyeuristic, exhibitionistic) before critically examining the psychological treatment literature in this area. Suggestions for future research are provided.
Abstract A sample group of 19 recovering sex and porn addicts who had attended both one-to-one and group therapy at the Laurel Centre sex addiction clinic in the UK undertook an hour-long semi-structured interview relating to the usefulness of group work to their recovery. Interview data was analysed for themes and cross-referenced with Yalom’s 11 therapeutic factors of group therapy (Yalom and Leszcz, 2005). Some additional themes were also found that related specifically to the Hall Recovery Course psycho-educational programme that they each attended. Group work was found to be more important to participants’ recovery than one-to-one therapy but this was not consistent, and drawbacks to group work were also identified.
This study explored the stigma toward individuals with sexual addiction and how it compared to gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, and depression in both males and females. Undergraduate students (N = 241) were assigned to read one of eight vignettes (mental illness x gender) and completed quantitative stigma measures (e.g., social distance). Results showed that alcohol addiction was the most stigmatized, followed closely by gambling addiction. Sexual addiction and depression had similar levels of stigma. Participants were less stigmatizing toward females with sexual addiction, and no other gender differences emerged. Additional variables and measures (e.g., perceived causes) were also explored.
Helping someone consider what it might be like to desist from an ingrained, highly-prized, sexually-compulsive behavior is challenging. To help a client move toward such a goal, it may be helpful to break down the process of refraining into two parts or subsequences: first, the moment of choosing not to engage in the pleasure-seeking behavior(s); and second, the moments after one has chosen not to engage. This "second moment" is not often addressed granularly in intervention models because in a sense, it seems like a negative space, a void. It presumes the hard work and mental energy of desisting has already occurred. But we may conceptualize the "moment(s) after" as forming a temporal, affective, and psychological space in which the client needs specific help, support, and tools. This article uses theoretical and casework material to demonstrate how such a "two-step" model can help clients envision and prepare for the challenges of ceasing sexually addictive behaviors by also getting them in touch with what may follow an episode marked by inhibition.
