THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED OR PSYCHIATRICALLY IMPAIRED CLIENT
Some clients do not have the intellectual capacity or verbal skills necessary to participate in specialized programming and require accommodations to meet their needs. These individuals include the intellectually challenged or the psychiatrically impaired. Often individuals in these groups are at higher risk of reoffending due to poor sexual impulse control secondary to central nervous system damage or psychotic processes that result in idiosyncratic patterns of thinking and impaired judgment. Specialized programming that is adapted to meet the needs of these individuals has been effective in reducing risk or repeat offending.
By simplifying treatment concepts, employing medication to reduce sexual drive or control the symptoms of psychosis when appropriate, and developing creative programming, the intellectually challenged or psychiatrically impaired client can learn to recognize his or her chain of deviant behaviors, potential triggers, high-risk situations, and to employ behavioral self-management techniques. It continues to be a source of inspiration to watch these individuals address their problems with courage and tenacity.
Guided by the work of Haaven, Little, and Petrie-Miller (“Treating Intellectually Disabled Offenders”), and Blasingame (“Developmentally Disabled Persons with Sexual Behavior Problems”), clinic staff have developed a program to serve the needs of developmentally and psychiatrically disabled clients.This program includes:
Ongoing specialized therapy for disabled clients;
Ongoing specialized therapy groups for disabled clients;
Simplified concepts, with an emphasis on visual imagery and experiential exercises;
A program of community agency referrals;
A specialized laboratory equipped with assessment and treatment capacities.
THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE CLIENT
Clients who are actively abusing substances will be referred to an appropriate treatment facility. Once the client has a documented 30-day period of sobriety, he or she may apply for entry into the Sexual Abuse Clinic program. Certain clients may require a longer period of time in substance abuse treatment before entering our program. This decision will be made in collaboration with the substance abuse treatment provider and the supervising officer.
Ongoing clients with a history of substance abuse who begin using drugs or alcohol while in treatment will be referred to an appropriate agency for evaluation and may be suspended from treatment until they have achieved sobriety.
Please feel free to contact us for a free initial appointment to see if our therapists are the right match for your problems. (Note: This does not apply to individual evaluations or testing for professionally-referred cases).
The
Sexual Abuse Clinic sponsors free annual workshops for related
professionals focusing on the assessment and treatment of sexual
offenders. We are happy to provide education, training and consultation
to your organization or group as requested.