Review: Cognitive Behavioural Treatment of Sex Offenders William Marshall, Dana Anderson and Yolanda Fernandez (eds) Wiley Series in Forensic Clinical Psychology, 1999; pp201; £24.95, pbk ISBN 0471975664
| Author | Mike Head |
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455050004700325 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
would have been seen as exploratory and
Although refreshing and thought-
fresh. Holman describes opening his home
provoking, this book is more of a flagship
up to young people - challenging their
of the community projects of its time, and
attitudes and in some cases their belief
in my opinion would not be as effective in
systems and values through the medium of
the present age due to the reasons I have
a constructive groupwork approach. All
highlighted. Perhaps more in line with
the young people involved described a
today’s climate would be effective
’sense of belonging’.
vehicles through which to address the high
incidence of
With today’s emphasis on preventative
drug misuse amongst young
work with
people. Furthermore, if the South Down
young people, this book
Estate
highlights how such
Project were conducted in other
a vehicle can
embrace social problems which
areas of the
are
country it would effect a
different
symptomatic of
outcome. Projects of this kind
a lack of facilities and
produce measurable results; Holman
are as much about demography as they are
describes how 27 of the 35
about funding and committed workers,
men
interviewed
and Holman’s account fails to recognise this.
were in permanent work. He
breaks the figure down by skills and
Susan Ashmore
degrees of professionalism. This is a
Probation Officer, Kent
relative result as the project was set in the
eighties against a backdrop of growing
unemployment. Amazingly a majority of
the young people showed a sense of the
work ethic, although some drifted in and
out of crime, and as Holman’s footnote
qualifies, some also into severe drug misuse.
Holman remains objective in what is a
highly subjective matter. He suggests that
on a risk scale 39% of the young people
were rated as at high risk of future
criminality, unemployment and unstable
relationships. He equates the favourable
outcomes to a number of factors; mainly a
non-stigmatising environment through
integration of all types of young...
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