Therapists’ Experiences in Their Work With Sex Offenders and People With Pedophilia: A Literature Review

Abstract

This article presents a review of the literature that pertains to the experiences of therapists who work directly with child sex offenders and/or people with pedophilia. We draw together results from studies that attempted to identify how therapists experience such work and how they were personally impacted by it. Usually, such studies are embedded within one of the following theoretical frameworks: Secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization and burnout. Most literature on the topic has therefore sought to determine to what extent and why, work-related stress responses may occur among these therapists. The aim of this paper is therefore to provide insight into this, arguably, important line of research, while evaluating the current knowledge as well as providing recommendations for future research efforts.

Keywords

• sex-offenders
• pedophilia
• treatment providers
• therapists
• experience
• personal impact
• work-related stress
• secondary traumatic stress
• vicarious traumatization
• compassion fatigue
• burnout