A BASIC GUIDE TO THE SEX OFFENDERS REHABILITATION PROGRAMME

1. The Induction Module
2. The Core Programe
   1. Cycles and Cognitive Distortions
   2. Relationships and Attachment Styles
   3. Self-Management and Interpersonal Skills
   4. The Role of Fantasy in Offending
   5. Victim Empathy
3. The Community Better Lives & Relapse Prevention Programme
4. The Internet Programme

 

THE INDUCTION MODULE:

This programme module is undertaken by all men who have not attended an accredited sexual offending programme previously but it can also be applied to some men who have. It begins with an explanation of the domestic arrangements and any other expectations and requirements of the programme. To help you to get to know each other you will take part in an introduction exercise which involves giving your name, a brief explanation of why you are attending, what why you hope to get out of the group and any anxieties you may have. The group will discuss and agree a set of ground rules in order to create a secure environment for everyone to work in.

 

After going through introductions and setting group ground rules, you will take part in a series of group exercises designed to begin build trust, confidence and self-responsibility. you will start to see and respect other's perspectives, assess your motivation and to recognise and understand the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This can be hard work but also a rewarding experience.

 

From this point onwards and throughout the remainder of the programme, you will take part in a range of group exercises which will look at the reasons, how and why, you came to do this programme and what other choices you could have made and can make in the future. The facilitators and group members will ask questions which are intended to help you fill in the gaps and enable you to describe your behaviour, thoughts and feelings around the time of your offending.

 

With the help of the group, you should begin to see that things don't 'just happen' and that the way you choose to see and interpret things at the time of your offending may not have been a true reflection of things. You may then start to recognise that patterns of thinking, feelings and behaviour can be identified. By looking at the thoughts linked to your behaviour and exploring different ways of thinking, you have the opportunity to make safer decisions and to make positive, risk-reducing changes in your life.

 

As the Induction Programme draws to a close, you are asked to consider and state what the important learning points have been for you and whether and how the hopes and anxieties you noted at the beginning of the programme have changed and if you have changed. Later, you will be informed of and directed to, the next phase of your programme. 

 

MODULE 1: CYCLES AND COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS:

You should be familiar with this module as some of its main themes were looked at when you attended the Induction Programme.

 

In the early sessions you will consider how distorted thinking is related to offending behaviour and how you found ways to justif your behaviour by minimising and distorting the consequences and finding other people and things to blame. You can then start to see that by exploring and recognising how and why you did this, that it is possible to take control of your behaviour and responsibility for it. You should be beginning to accept that sexual offending is abusive behaviour in whatever form it takes. Sessions will ask you to look at your ideas, beliefs and attitudes about people and situations. This will help you to identify any distorted thinking you may have, which supported your justifications to offend.

 

Moving towards the halfway point of the module, each of you in the group will have the opportunity to present what you know about your own offending cycle or behaviour pattern. This will include such things as pro-offending thinking (wanting to) arousal, targeting, grooming, fantasy, abuse and so on. This also helps you to recognise how your dysfunctional thinking supported your offending behaviour. You will be able to overcome internal inhibitors (those beliefs and consequences that might otherwise have helped to stop you from offending, for example "it's wrong", and "it's illegal").

 

As you approach the end of the module, having thought how distorted thinking would be linked to your offending, you will consider how your distorted thinking would be 're-framed'. For example, a pro-offending thought might be "s/he has asked me for a cuddle, this shows that s/he fancies me." This could be re-framed as "s/he just wants a cuddle to feel reassured". By selecting cuttings and clippings from newspapers or magazines you should be able to see what the links might be between these and your pro-offending thinking and that you have choices in what you think and how you behave. The message is that your offending is your responsibility. The last session of this module examines the so-called unimportant decisions that you made and used to support your offending behaviour. We term these as "Seemingly Irrelevant Decisions" (or SID's for short). By recognising these as choices that you made, you will be enabled to make less risky decisions in the future. 

 

MODULE 2: RELATIONSHIP AND ATTACHMENT SYTLES:

This module is designed to help you to explore and understand the links between the experiences of your earlier life and how these may have influenced the ways in which you interpret, feel about, form and respond to relationships. YOu should begin to see how it is possible to learn from past experiences and not be trapped by them.

 

The module starts by introducing you to four main ways in which you might see yourself, see others, how you make choices and decisions about what you want from a relationship and how you respond in a relationship. Building on this you will explore your personal history to see what links there may be between any of your unhappy or traumatic experiences and how these could have contributed to any poor coping strategies or belifes you may have developed. This understanding can help you to set positive goals and better anticipate future hopes and directions in your life.

 

As the module enters the mid-way stage, you will start to identify the ways in which relationships and attachment styles develop early on in the family setting. One way of doing this is by creating models (or sculpts) of 'safe' families and 'unsafe' families. A 'safe' family is based on trust, protection, love, good guidance and no damaging violence and secrecy. You and the other group members can ask questions about the family, you can draw comparisons and openly discuss and explore your own thoughts, feelings, experiences and ways of coping. The message is reinforced that you do not have to remain trapped by past experiences and coping methods. New learning can replace unhelpful styles and strategies.

 

The concluding sessions of the module provide you with further opportunities to use your increasing self-awareness for positive self-change. An example of how this can be done involves an exercise in which you write a letter from yourself (as you are now) to yourself (when you were younger) expressing encouragement, strength and hope.

 

By sharing painful memories ane experiences within a safe and supportive setting, you can learn that it is possible to become emotionally and positively closer to others and have that confirmed back to you.

 

MODULE 3: SELF-MANAGEMENT AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

This module is designed to help you to identify situations and feelings that you could find difficult to deal or cope with in your life. For example, arguments, anger, disappointment, loneliness and so on. It looks at why it may be that you feel unable to properly express your feelings and focus on building on your strengths and improving your communication skills. 

 

The early sessions consider your view of yourself, your self-esteem and self-image. Sessions will explore these issues through the use of simple questionnaires, group exercises and discussion. Through a series of 'mini-steps', you will be shown a number of skills to improve the communication of your thoughts and feelings and be encouraged to practice these outside of the session.

 

As the module progresses, through role-playing and discussing different scenarios, you will be given opportunities to learn and develop skills in building and maintaining intimacy in relationships (empathy, warmth, trust, caring, sharing etc).

 

As you approach the end of the module you should be able to more fully grasp what impulsive behaviour is, consider the problems it can cause and identigy ways in which you can lessen your own impulsivity. These skills-building sessions should help you to become more assertive when dealing with potentially difficult situations and/or with negative feelings such as anger or frustration.

 

By the completion of the module, you will have had the chance to learn that changing your abusive behaviour involves new ways of thinking about yourself and how you relate to others. You should be able to recognise and accept (and practice) that change is possible and can offer positive, personal rewards.

 

MODULE 4: THE ROLE OF FANTASY IN OFFENDING:

This module is divided into two sessions:

 

The first section (sessions 1-6) provides an opportunity for you to consider your understanding of sexual knowledge, sexual functioning and stereotypes about men and women (such as the idea that men should 'fit' a macho image). This work is achieved through a variety of group exercises including a question and answer session, a sexual knowledge board game and a collage representing how you viewed yourself and your victim when you were offending. Having done this you should then be able to make links and consider how these issues can contribute to the development of abusive (non-consensual) fantasies. At the end of this session you will present this learning to the group.

 

The second section (sessions 7-12) looks specifically at the role of abusive fantasy in sexual offending. This is done in three distinct stages:

1. You should identify the different types of fantasy and what it si that makes some sexual fantasies abusive / inappropriate.
2. You will then be asked to identify the meaning and purpose of your abusive sexual fantasy / fantasies.
3. Having done this you will then work on introducing methods for controlling and/or adapting these fantasies that they are no longer abusive. This will include work on specific techniques (such as relaxation and distraction) and you should be able to recognise the 'triggers' to your abusive fantasy (thinking back to earlier exercises from your Induction).

 

By the end of this module you should be able to identify the techniques you will use to manage any future abusive fantasy / fantasies, the difficulties you might experience in putting this 'new me' thinking into practice and how you will deal with these. This work will form an important part of your Relapse Prevention plan in the 'Relapse Prevention and Lifestyle Change' module.

 

MODULE 5: VICTIM EMPATHY:

This module is designed to enable you to look at the effects of sexual abuse on others. It will help you to better understand:

• How to look at things from another person's point of view and the difference between abusive and non-abusive behaviour.
• All the harmful and damaging effects of sexual abuse and how these can 'ripple' out from an offence.
• How your own victim was harmed in the short, medium and long term.
• What is meant by the term 'empathy' and how you can see this to understand your victim's thoughts, feelings and point of view.
• How to demonstrate this learning practically.

 

You should be able to develop and maintain your ('new me') respectful, non-abusive thinking so that you are not at risk of creating any new victims. The first sessions of the module ask how you understand and practice empathy, which means being able to understand, relate to and respond to a person on the basis of how they see and feel about things.

 

By using a variety of exercises, the module moves on to show how the victim and many other people can be harmed by abuse. This provides the opportunity for you to think about the questions victims may want to ask and how you would answer them.

 

The last series of sessions ask you to consider the differences between your thoughts, feelings and behaviour at the time when you were offending and the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of your victims. This will help you to better understand how your own wishes, distorted thinking and interpretation of your victim's behaviour further enable you to commit your offence(s). As this module draws to a close, you will be asked to demonstrate how well you have accepted responsibility for your own behaviour, your learning and your 'new me' thinking. One example of doing this would be by writing a letter to your victim (not sent) showing how you are now able to see her/him as a real, individual person with her/his own rights, thoughts and feelings. By taking on this responsibility, facing up to what you have done and using 'new me' thinking you can be helped to reduce your risk. It should also enable you to think and feel more positively about yourself.

 

THE COMMUNITY BETTER LIVES AND RELAPSE PREVENTION PROGRAMME:

This is a programme for all men who have completed all their other required programme modules. It is designed to bring a positive approach towards helping you to recognise, develop, use your strengths and skills and apply these to your personal goals and needs. For example, these might include working towards healthy living, self-management, problem solving and controlling stress, building good relationships, sexual attitudes and interests and so on.

 

Early sessions will provide exercises designed to build on your motivation, set yourself targets and create support networks for making positive and safe changes in your life. Opportunities will be provided throughout the programme for you to identfiy real life challenges you have faced and how the programme has helped and can help you to deal with them.

 

The next stage of the programme helps you to build upon the early sessions by actually practicing new skills towards achieving your identified goals and needs and to overcoming the obstacles that may otherwise prevent this.

 

The final stages of the programme are designed to bring it all together. You will work through exercises and individual, personal tasks and be asked to form an 'action plan'. This plan will help you to maintain the positive changes you have made and are making, towards your new and realistic lifestyle goals and targets (known as 'The Good Life Plan'). Attention is paid to reinforcing your progress and achievements. You should be able to see that it is psssible to make constructive decisions and act upon them.

 

Throughout the programme you will be required to complete short pieces of work (work sheets, notebooks, plans) between sessions. These pieces of work form a major part of the programme. If you require any help and assistance in completing these you will need to ask for support from your probation officer or someone similar. Your probation officer will be supporting you in achieving your needs, goals and Good Life Plan during and after the programme.

 

THE INTERNET PROGRAMME (I-SOTP)

Decisions about who could benefit most from this specific programme are made on the basis of who it is most suited to. Therefore, some men with similar offences may be directed to Induction and the Core Programme. 

 

The programme is made up of 6 stages (or modules). The first of these looks at your motivation to change. It explores some of your past experiences and your attitudes towards such things as:

• Yourself (how you think and feel about yourself)
• To other significant people (who has had an impact on the way you see life)
• Important learning experiences (things that have happened that have shaped the way you think about things)
• Vales (what you believe is important in how you and others should live life)
• Drawing up a 'Personal Action Plan'.

 

The second stage looks at what needs your offending met for you and what triggered them off. It explores how you made a number of escalating decisions that ultimately led to your offending.

 

The third section asks you to consider and empathise (put yourself in the shoes of) the perspectives and experiences of your victims.

 

The fourth stage looks at how you can build upon your personal strengths and build self control. You will engage in exercises designed to build your social skills needs, understand and deal with emotions, and use thinking strategies to tackle risky moods and situations.

 

The fifth phase looks at the ways in which the Internet played a part in forming and developing relationship. It explores and helps you to recognise how or if, problems developed from collecting materials. You will begin to develop your Action Plan to reduce the possibility of future offending and also consider the part that fantasy plays in offending.

 

The last stage focuses on a review of relapse prevention plans and identifies links between your plans and your new learning and how these can be improved and updated.

 

Work between sessions is an important requirement in this programme and you will be given a number of tasks and worksheets to complete.