Relapse Prevention With Sex Offenders

D. Richard Laws, PhD, is a psychologist with Adult Forensic Psychiatric Community Services in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and Coordinator of the Victoria Adult Sex Offender Management Program.

George, Marlatt, Introduction. I. Problems. Marques, Nelson, Elements of High-Risk Situations for Sex Offenders. Jenkins-Hall, Marlatt, Apparently Irrelevant Decisions in the Relapse Process. Marlatt, Feeding the PIG: The Problem of Immediate Gratification. Russell, Sturgeon, Miner, Determinants of the Abstinence Violation Effect in Sexual Fantasies. II. Solutions: Assessment. A. High-Risk Situations. Pithers, Beal, Armstrong, Petty, Identification of Risk Factors through Clinical Interviews and Analysis of Records. Long, Wuesthoff, Pithers, Use of Autobiographies in the Assessment and Treatment of Sex Offenders. MacDonald, Pithers, Self-Monitoring to Identify High-Risk Situations. Laws, Direct Monitoring by Penile Plethysmography. Day, Miner, Sturgeon, Murphy, Assessment of Sexual Arousal by Means of Physiological and Self-Report Measures. B. Coping Skills. Miner, Day, Nafpaktitis, Assessment of Coping Skills: Development of a Situational Competency Test. Hall, Self-Efficacy Ratings. Sandberg, Marlatt, Relapse Fantasies. III. Solutions: Treatment. A. Specific Skills Training. Jenkins-Hall, The Decision Matrix. Nelson, Jackson, High-Risk Recognition: The Cognitive-Behavioral Chain. Steenman, Nelson, Viesti, Developing Coping Strategies for High-Risk Situations. Carey, McGrath, Coping with Urges and Craving. Hall, Relapse Rehearsal. Jenkins-Hall, Cognitive Restructuring. B. Global Interventions. Thompson, Lifestyle Interventions: Promoting Positive Addictions. Marlatt, How to Handle the PIG. Hildebran, Pithers, Enhancing Offender Empathy for Sexual-Abuse Victims. IV. Programs. Marques, Day, Nelson, Miner, The Sex Offender Treatment and Evaluation Project: California's Relapse Prevention Program. Jenkins-Hall, Osborn, C. Anderson, K. Anderson, Shockley-Smith, The Center for Prevention of Child Molestation. Pithers, Martin, Cumming, Vermont Treatment Program for Sexual Aggressors. V. Can Relapses be Prevented? Pithers, Cumming, Can Relapses be Prevented? Initial Outcome Data from the Vermont Treatment Program for Sexual Aggressors. Conclusion.