Review: Michael B. Buchholz, Franziska Lamott & Kathrin Mörtl (2008). Tat-Sachen. Narrative von Sexualstraftätern [Objects of Crime. Narratives from Sex-offenders]

Abstract

The authors of this substantial book adopt a more objective view of the "sex crime" phenomenon. Their contribution is based on the analysis of therapy records, which were evaluated using modern methods from the social sciences and psychology. The research material—videotapes of group therapy meetings—was transcribed and analyzed with the use of an innovative combination of conversation, narration and metaphor analyses based on a psychoanalytical understanding. This provides the reader with a deep insight into the biographical patterns, problems and self-conceptualization of paraphylic sex offenders—as well as their denial behavior and the stages of their development—in a therapeutic context. The authors present the most extensive qualitative research material to date on group therapy of sex offenders in German-speaking countries, as well as describe what happens in these therapeutic processes. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101199

Keywords

• sexual delinquency
• group therapy
• therapy process research
• narrative analysis
• conversation analysis
• metaphor analysis