Treatment of Sexual Offenders

Encouraging social interest and promoting a sense of social equality are certainly parts of a general treament strategy for rehabilitating sexual offenders. However, unless the style of life is actually "dissolved" there is still the risk of repeated offending. See the Stages of Psychotherapy section of "Classical Adlerian Theory and Practice" at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/theoprac.htm for an overview of therapeutic stages and strategies. From an Adlerian perspective, the best way to fully protect society from any individual's acts of aggression, exploitation, or destruction is to change that individual's fictional final goal of dominance, superiority, and revenge. This may take more time and skill than is actually available.

Our culture seems to be drifting toward people becoming "less personally connected." This can certainly contribute to an increase in sexual offending as well as other forms of exploitation. Another factor that may be influential is the uncertainty of sexual roles. In periods of transition, from the dominance of one sex, to equality, or to the dominance of the other sex, many people become insecure and confused about their sexual role. The experience of "social embeddedness" may become more difficult to attain, especially if one is simply trying to figure out, and then fit into, the shifting social expectations.

If a psychologically rooted "feeling of equality" is not promoted in a culture, it is possible, over long periods of time, for norms to alternate between male and female dominance, passing briefly through periods of "superficial social equality."

Replies:

Re:Treatment of Sexual Offenders, by , 09/13/03 Re:Treatment of Sexual Offenders, by Tim Chapman, 11/15/03

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