ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on discussing the challenges of talking about sexual abuse in detail with perpetrators and the therapeutic/rehabilitative need for such an intervention. Sometimes a counsellor's resistance to talking about sexual offending in detail can be related to simple uncertainty about which words to use. Many therapeutic skills of counsellors and standard ways of working with general clients can also be used with individuals at risk of sexual offending. The ideal is for the client to admit to the abuse committed and to be willing and able to understand the emotions, thoughts, behaviour, and circumstances prior to, during and after the offending, and to empathically engage with the harm caused to the victim and others. A key component was facilitating individuals to understand their feelings, thoughts, and circumstances prior, during and after the sexual offence, using various cyclic models of sexual offending.
