Sex Offender

Advanced Psychotherapy Services offers both assessment and treatment for sex offenders.  The assessment is a comprehensive tool that can help both attorneys and courts in helping to better understand the motivation behind the offenders behaviors as well as offering help the guidelines for probation.The assessment process is not intended to indicate innocent or guilt, but rather is a tool that may help the courts provide insight into labeling, as well as supporting the type of treatment regimen an individual might need to keep the community as well as himself safe.

The treatment process utilizes both individual as well as group treatment, and is provided in an open ended group modality.  Treatment may be long-term, and the length of treatment will depend on individual motivation, an openness to treatment, and willingness to make significant changes in ones lives.

Another added component is family treatment, where significant others , spouses, and other family members can be an active participant in treatment while gaining a better understanding of why these individuals do what they do. Staff at Advanced Psychotherapy Services can also provide expert testimony in court cases. Currently we provide group treatment on Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, Thursday evening, and Thursday morning.

Advanced Psychotherapy Services has a working affiliation with Grace Counseling on the west side of Cleveland and sex offender groups are available Monday evening and Saturday morning.  (Please call for their phone number).

Cost of treatment will vary according to insurance coverage and availability, and would otherwise be self-pay and/or will get  looked at on an individual basis.

Sex Addiction Defined

Patrick Carnes asserts that there are ten specific criteria of addiction. (These criteria, quoted directly from Facing the Shadow by Carnes, serve as guidelines for assessment and treatment of sex addicts):

1. Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses to engage in specific sexual behavior.
2. Frequent engaging in those behaviors to a greater extent or over a longer period of time than intended.
3. Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce, or control those behaviors.
4. Inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining sex, being sexual, or recovering from sexual experience.
5. Preoccupation with the behavior or preparatory activities.
6. Frequent engaging in the behavior when expected to fulfill occupational, academic, domestic, or social obligations.
7. Continuation of the behavior despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, financial, psychological, or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the behavior.
8. Need to increase the intensity, frequency, number, or risk of behaviors to achieve the desired effect, or diminished effect with continued behaviors at the same level of intensity, frequency, number, or risk.
9. Giving up or limiting social, occupational, or recreational activities because of the behavior.
10. Distress, anxiety, restlessness, or irritability if unable to engage in the behavior.

Not all sex addicts become sex offenders. Similarly, not all sex offenders are sex addicts. Approximately 55 percent of incarcerated sex offenders are diagnosable as sex addicts. Child molesters represent the largest group of sexually addicted offenders, 71% of them being sex addicts. Most sex offenders are friends or family members of the victims. In many instances, society will be protected only when violent and dangerous offenders are incarcerated. Some sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and for public safety must be kept behind bars.

Sexual addiction is progressive. Whereas some sex addicts may not progress beyond self-destructive behavior, i.e. compulsive masturbation, hustling, cruising, or the extensive use of pornography or phone and computer sex services, others may escalate to victimizing activities such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, obscene phone calls, child molestation, or rape. For some, sexual dependency may lead to more risky, intense, and exploitative acts. The lack of appropriate assessment and treatment of sexual addiction in its early stages may lead to failure to prevent more assaultive sexual acts.

For many years sex offender specialists have emphasized the non-sexual components of sex offending behavior while minimizing the role of sex itself. A need for power, dominance, control, revenge, sadistic satisfaction, or the expression of anger, has been the most frequently cited causes for sexual assaults. More recently, an understanding of addictive sexual patterns and their mood-altering function offers additional explanations of the many motivations for offending.

The intent of sexually addicted and non-sexually addicted sex offenders differs. Non-addicted sex offenders consciously attempt to inflict pain, do harm, and attack, driven by hatred, rage, and/or anger. Sex addicts who are also sex offenders are motivated by an attempt to use others for self-gratification, and to escape loneliness, shame and low self-esteem, denying the exploitive features and harm or pain they inflict.