Annotated bibliography: Treatment

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Adams, J.K., "Court-Mandated Treatment and Required Admission of Guilt in Cases of Alleged Sexual Abuse: Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues"*, Issues in Child Abuse Accusations, vol. 9, no. 3/4, 1997.

Clinical and forensic psychologist Judith K. Adams discusses ethical issues common to sex-offender therapy: use of unproven treatment methods, presumption of guilt, use of humiliation and confrontation, and lack of informed consent. She also addresses the therapist’s potentially unethical dual role as counselor and reporter to government authorities.

Crawford, D., "Treatment approaches with pedophiles," In Cook, M. & Howells, K. (Eds.), Adult sexual interest in children, London: Academic Press, 1981, pp. 181-217.

David Crawford of Broadmoor Hospital in England notes the conflict between the therapist’s role as enforcer of society’s standards and his responsibility to help his client adjust to, and cope with, his sexuality. He also notes the problem of obtaining free and informed consent in a criminological context.

Gieles, F.E.J., "Helping people with pedophilic feelings," Lecture at the World Congress of Sexology, Paris, June 2001.

Dutch therapist Frans Gieles raises ethical objections to sex-offender treatment for minor-attracted adults related to its goals, its view of the client, its intrusiveness, its control and suppression of thoughts and feelings, and its psychological effects.

Lee, F., "All fall down"*, Issues In Child Abuse Accusations, vol. 3, no. 1, 1991.

A man’s personal account of his experience in group therapy for sex-offenders.

Miller, J.G., "On Mitigating Professional Arrogance in the Treatment of Sex Offenders"*, Medicine and Law, vol. 11, 1992, pp.485-491.

The president of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives discusses "debilitating ethical and scientific implications" that have resulted from the adoption of the adversarial criminal justice model rather than the helping model by sex offender therapists.