In the last 10 years, relapse prevention (RP) has been adopted as the most popular framework for the treatment of sexual offenders. Although RP is conceptually similar to other forms of cognitive/behavior therapy, it has made an important contribution by focusing therapists' attention on the problem of long-term recidivism. In RP, posttreatment behavioral deterioration is not considered evidence that sexual offenders are untreatable; instead, lapses are considered as expected and workable problems. There are certain difficulties, however, with the application of RP to the treatment of sexual offenders. In some cases, RP has been interpreted so generally that it has had little real influence on preexisting practices. As well, it is not clear how some of the most distinctive concepts of RP (e.g., lapse/relapse, abstinence violation effect) should be applied to sexual offenders. Special efforts may also be required to convince sexual offenders that they are at risk before they are able to benefit from RP interventions.
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