Cognitive Approaches to the Assessment of Sexual Interest in Sexual Offenders

New for the Wiley Series in Forensic Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Approaches to the Treatment of Sexual Offenders describes and evaluates the current methods of measuring sexual interest in sex offenders - namely penile plethysmography, the Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest, Affinity 2.1, the Implicit Association Test, the Stroop test and the polygraph. The book also discusses how established cognitive assessment methods such as the attentional blink and the startle probe reflex can be adapted for use with sex offenders. It therefore brings together in one volume all the latest research and practice in this area, along with critical commentary on the effectiveness of each method.

David Thornton is Treatment Director at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Centre in Wisconsin, USA, which specializes in the rehabilitation of dangerous sex offenders. He developed the Thornton Program, which places emphasis on the patient implementing what has been learnt in therapy.

D. Richard Laws is the Director of the Pacific Psychological Assessment Corporation in Victoria, Canada, an organization that specializes in assessment and treatment tools for clinicians to use when treating sex offenders.