ABSTRACT
Most of the psychoanalytic understanding of paedophilia has derived from intensive clinical work with adult patients; however, we recognize, quite shockingly, that approximately one-third of all sexual crimes against children will be perpetrated by other youngsters. Eileen Vizard, a Consultant Child and Adolescent psychotherapists in the British National Health Service and Clinical Director of the Young Abusers Project, has lamented that none of the major diagnostic manuals actually includes an official psychiatric term for juvenile paedophilia. Patients undergoing the assessment and treatment programme at the Young Abusers Project must be referred by a professional agency, invariably a consultant child psychiatrist, and a social worker from a local social services department, or a probation officer in certain instances. The treatment of forensic patients remains a relatively uncharted territory, as many psychotherapists harbour fears—sometimes justifiably—about working with aggressive patients.
