At the precipice: Assessing a non-offending client's potential to sexually offend

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to outline the issues raised by the increasing number of clients who present to forensic services with a limited offence history but who have disclosed that they are at risk of sexually offending against children. We consider the usefulness of current risk assessment approaches for understanding and developing treatment plans for these individuals and suggest that risk must be embedded within a psychological formulation that places the individual and their likelihood to offend within a descriptive context that includes an understanding of the nature of their disclosure and thus, potential triggers.

Keywords:

• Risk assessment
• sexual offender(s)
• formulation