ABSTRACT

This chapter provides some useful guidance regarding some of the key areas of training for practitioners delivering treatment for people who have committed sexual offences. It suggests the following five primary domains for training staff who work with individuals who have committed sexual offences. The primary domains are: understanding sexual offences and people who commit sexual offences; therapist skills, qualities and values; assessment, case formulation and treatment planning; finding and using the right approach with each individual, fostering inter-agency and inter-professional collaboration. Training should also focus on the ways in which sexual offending and the aetiology of offending differ across cultures, subcultures, age groups, genders and people with physical or intellectual disabilities or mental health conditions. In Marshall and Hollin's helpful overview of the history of sex offender treatment, the two provide a summary of research into therapists' skills and qualities. Using the right treatment approach demands subtlety; treatment cannot be delivered using a one-size-fits-all approach.