Treatment of Students with Sexual Deviant or Offending Behaviors: Should College Counseling Centers Go There?

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors discuss the pathways to sexual offenses, risk factors, treatment, and unique ethical challenges inherent in working with students who have a history of sexual offending behavior or exhibit risk factors for such behavior. We also address unique clinical competencies and knowledge and provide recommendations for clinicians who find themselves in a position of having to work with such students despite contraindications. Finally, we explore the consideration of implementing a systems approach to mitigate risks posed by a student with sexual behavior problems by way of the college or university’s behavioral assessment or intervention team.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual misconduct
• rape
• sexual assault
• pedophilia
• risk assessment

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Jeffrey W. Pollard, whose questions served to guide our research and refine our recommendations.

Disclosure statement

The authors know of no conflicts of interest in the publication of this article.