ABSTRACT
The heavily stigmatized nature of sexual offending can make for some very thick ice to break when working with sex offenders. Constructing a working relationship that allows for easy two-way communication that isn’t affected by embarrassment, denial, awkwardness, and defensiveness can be difficult but is necessary for an open, honest, and productive alliance.
This chapter will examine the nature of various skills and approaches to allow for more comfortable conversation and intervention around issues relating to sexual offending, particularly in the early stages of developing the working alliance. Many of the skills discussed – such as challenging, goal setting, and role clarification – are familiar skills in working with the general offending population. However, this chapter will explore adaptations of these skills when working with sex offenders. When practiced well, these skills allow for the effective implementation of common treatments programmes and offender supervision. Also, there will also be an overview of effective approaches that are more exclusive to working with sex offenders.
