Sex Offenders Denial

Sex offenders are one of the most reviled criminals by the public. Their actions cause extensive harm and trauma to many innocent victims as well as victims’ families and offenders families (1). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that 25-33% of adult women and 10% of adult men have been sexually abused as children (1). Just like substance abuse offenders, sexual abuse offenders incline to deny the actions of their offense, and additionally, deny the seriousness of their offense (Hanser and Mire, 2011). Denial is a psychological defense process to protect against unpleasant feelings of anxiety. In addition, denial may also be a normal, conscious action to avoid internal or external consequences

associated with sexual offenders (Hanser et al, 2011).

Correctional counselors should fully understand the importance initial denial as a critical treatment target in sexual offenders’ treatment, the detailed aspects of treatment for sex offenders, and how interrogation techniques such as the polygraph and the penile plethysmograph enhance treatment for sex

offenders.
When correctional counselors develop treatment plans for sexual offenders, the level of denial should be considered.

Even though denial can be a challenging aspect in counseling, the presence of denial does not prevent effective treatment. Foremost, the effectiveness of treatment is based upon the offender admitting the problem and the willingness to agree the behavior is a problem (Hanser et al, 2011). Offenders that are in complete denial and refuse to acknowledge his or hers offense, subjects that are discussed in group treatment meetings, such as cognitive distortions, deviant arousal, and offense cycles, will not be effective. The offenders in denial will simply denote these problems do not pertain to them (Hanser et al, 2011). As a result, treatment becomes unfeasible, and the denying offender distracts the effectiveness of the treatment for other attendees in the group. Therefore, in order for the success of the treatment, all attendees must admit their history or at least in some part. Correctional counselors should ensure the treatment of denial is conducted before the actual treatment begins. Two major courses of action, correctional counselors utilize in breaching denial in offenders are the utilization of the polygraph and the use of group treatment (Hanser et al, 2011). By utilizing polygraph examinations, the correctional counselor is able to obtain additional data which is very similar to data include in a police report. This data, as a result of

the polygraph examination, can be used to challenge the denial issues sexual offenders provide. Another challenging technique, correctional counselors utilize in challenging denial is to include offenders who are currently in an advanced treatment program. These individuals are able to challenge issues made by inexperienced offenders in the group (Hanser et al, 2011). Dovetailing off this technique, some correctional counselors find it beneficial to combine all groups of offenders who exhibit some type of denial. This method is called the “deniers group” (Hanser et al, 2011). The “deniers group” acts as a “pregroup” which last approximately 12 to 16 weeks, and prepares the attendees for the actual group therapy (Hanser et al, 2011).
Once the offenders who never denied their offense or those that successfully completed the “deniers group” now begin the actual process of treatment. This group treatment programs concentrate on four domains; deviant sexual interest, arousals, and preferences; distorted attitudes; interpersonal functioning; and behavior management (Hanser et al, 2011).
In examining deviant sexual interest, arousal and preferences, it is recognized that individuals commit sex crimes for a variety of reasons. In a large number of sexual offenders, the offenders only seek gratification vice dominance over the victim (Hanser et al, 2011). Exploitation is the tool used by the offender to obtain sexual gratification. For example, the offender, who molests his teen age stepdaughter, is more motivated by his sexual arousal vice having sex with a child. The offender is acting on normal sexual arousal, however the teenagers is the readily accessible victim. If this offender was evaluated in a laboratory setting to measure his sexual arousal pattern, the counselors would realize that the offender is mostly attracted to adult women, followed in intensity by adolescent females. Conclusions would show the offender possesses the normal sexual arousal for a heterosexual male (Hanser et al, 2011). Therefore, the counselor would conclude that the principal problem for the offender is not sexual interest. The act of molestation on the teenage female occurred due to using really poor judgement, difficulties in impulse control, poor self-management, problems in his personal relationships and other problems (Hanser et al, 2011). Conversely, an offender that is driven to commit sexual assaults to gratify his sexual arousal to children, or to coerce people to have sex, or just to expose certain parts of his body to strangers, has problems with sexual interests (Hanser et al, 2011). With sexual interests a major problem for offenders, there are some treatment programs that do not treat this type of domain (Hanser et al, 2011). This is a terrible mistake, since emphasizing the gratification sensation in offenders is a potent motivator for offenders (Hanser et al, 2011). One procedure counselors use is masturbatory satiation, and another procedure is the requirement of offenders to make audiotapes.
Most common among sex offenders is the distorted attitudes they possess. Distorted attitudes are common to everyone, however, sex offenders utilize these distortions to justify their offenses or to minimize the seriousness of the offense (Hanser et al, 2011).