Therapists’ perceptions of the therapeutic alliance in “Mandatory” therapy with sex offenders

Dowling, Jannine and Hodge, Suzanne Margaret and Withers, Paul Stanley (2018) Therapists’ perceptions of the therapeutic alliance in “Mandatory” therapy with sex offenders. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 24 (3). pp. 326-342. ISSN 1355-2600

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Abstract

Research suggests that the therapeutic alliance (TA) plays an important part in successful therapy. The pantheoretical concept of the alliance (Bordin, 1979) assumes a client seeks to make a change and joins the therapist in a willing journey. However, treatment with sex offenders can entail various levels of coercion. Little is known about the process of the TA in therapy with sex offenders whose therapy could be seen as coerced or mandated. Thus, the aim of this research was to explore therapists’ perceptions of the TA with sex offenders whose therapy could be seen as “mandated” because it was part of their plan for release/rehabilitation. Eleven therapists were interviewed about their experiences and a qualitative thematic analysis elicited five themes: dynamics of forced work, explicit terms of working, persuasive encouragement to engage, connecting with the human element and preservation and protection. Implications for practice are discussed alongside recommendations for future research.