Treatment for Men who have Sexually Offended: Tips for Success

Theresa A. Gannon

Those who work with individuals who offend sexually are engaged in a challenging yet vitally important role. In this talk, I will combine research evidence and clinical experience to discuss the elements required to ensure treatment for men who have sexually offended is as successful as possible. The focus will be on treatment for men who have engaged in at least one contact offence against a child or an adult. This talk will include an examination of theory, meta-analyses, as well as therapist factors important for treatment of these individuals. The key factors for improving treatment success will be presented as best practice “tips”. Key areas for future research will also be highlighted with some outlined as being an urgent priority.

Theresa A. Gannon, DPhil, CPsychol (Forensic) is Professor of Forensic Psychology and Director of the Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP) at the University of Kent, UK. Theresa has also worked as a Practitioner Consultant Forensic Psychologist specialising in sexual offending and firesetting for the Forensic and Specialist Care Group, Kent and Medway Partnership Trust for over 15 years.

Theresa has published over 150 chapters, articles, books, and other scholarly works in the areas of male and female-perpetrated sexual offending. She is particularly interested in research relating to both the treatment needs and overall supervision of individuals who have sexually offended. This includes offence-related cognition and emotion, rehabilitation models (i.e., the Good Lives Model), offense-process models of offending behavior, polygraph-assisted supervision and truth facilitation, and attitudes towards individuals who have offended. Theresa is lead editor of several books including Sexual Offending: Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation (Wiley-Blackwell) along with Tony Ward, Aggressive Offenders’ Cognition: Theory, Research, and Treatment (John Wiley) along with Tony Ward, Anthony Beech, and Dawn Fisher, and Female Sexual Offenders: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment (Wiley-Blackwell) along with Dr Franca Cortoni. Theresa is also co-editor of several books that discuss or integrate sexual offending with other forensic topics and psychological factors.

In 2019, Theresa was awarded the Lifetime Significant Achievement Award by the British Psychological Society for her services to forensic psychology. More recently, she was also Nominated Fellow of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, USA.