Clinical Considerations in Facilitating Closed and Open Group Treatment for Persons with Histories of Perpetrating Sexual Offenses

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of group treatment for persons with sexual offense histories as well as patient preference for group therapy over individual therapy. However, the literature in this field does not address practical clinical work from the perspective of group leaders. In this article, we briefly review the theoretical basis of group treatment for persons with sexual offense histories, and then discuss the clinical considerations for group leaders during different stages of the group, such as member selection, the addition of new members, preventing dropout/attrition, and group termination. Additional articles addressing these issues will contribute to the body of knowledge of group treatment for persons with sexual offense histories, and help clinicians and other stakeholders who are invested in working more effectively with this population.

KEYWORDS:

• Group psychotherapy
• group structure
• persons with sexual offense histories
• group leading
• interpersonal learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.