Section 1905.120 Responsivity Factors and Special Populations

Section 1905.120  Responsivity Factors and Special

Populations

Treatment providers shall acknowledge the diversity among

individuals who sexually abuse others and that responsiveness to sexual

abuser-specific treatment can vary as a function of client characteristics such

as demographics, language, development, capabilities, functioning and

motivation to change.

a)         Treatment

providers recognize that not all treatments have been developed or evaluated

with various subpopulations of sexual abusers (e.g., individuals with

intellectual and developmental disabilities, clients with serious mental

illness, those with varied cultures and other demographics).  The limitations

of treatments with these populations should be identified prior to initiating

treatment services.

b)         Treatment

providers appreciate that treatment for sexual abusers is more effective when

responsivity factors are addressed and recognize the potential for unintended

collateral consequences when services fail to take into account responsivity

factors.

c)         Treatment

providers assess and identify responsivity factors, such as comprehension,

cognitive capabilities, adaptive functional level, psychiatric stability, and

other factors that may impact a client's ability to maximally benefit from

sexual abuser-specific treatment.

d)         Treatment

providers strive to adjust approaches to interventions and match clients to

appropriate services based on identified responsivity factors in order to

facilitate clients' maximum benefit from services.  This includes, for example,

the provision of language interpreters, services for deniers, services for

clients with cognitive or developmental limitations, and culturally competent

programming.

e)         Treatment

providers strive to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to

adequately address clients' responsivity factors and/or special needs by participating

in professional development activities

,

the provision of language interpreters, services for deniers, services for

clients with cognitive or developmental limitations, and culturally competent

programming.

e)         Treatment

providers strive to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to

adequately address clients' responsivity factors and/or special needs by participating

in professional development activities.

f)         Treatment

providers recognize their own strengths and limitations with respect to their

ability to provide adequately responsive services to clients and refer clients

to qualified providers skilled in addressing specific responsivity factors,

when necessary.

g)         Treatment

providers understand that, for some subpopulations of sexual abusers, sexual

abuser-specific treatment services are best provided subsequent to or in

concert with other psychiatric, behavioral or responsivity-oriented

interventions.  Treatment providers offering sexual abuser-specific treatment

collaborate with the providers of those services to ensure that sexual

abuser-specific services are complementary and not contraindicated.

h)         Treatment

providers providing sexual abuser-specific treatment work closely with a

client's partner, family members and other community support persons who can

facilitate successful treatment outcomes because of their abilities to attend to

a given client's specific responsivity factors.