Sexual Offending: Is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Effective?

166 Words1 Pages
A social learning response to sexual offending: Is cognitive behavioural therapy effective? The Australian criminal justice system often responds to serious crimes with harsh, punitive policies . This is despite growing evidence to support the effectiveness of alternative approaches. The use of alternative remedies to offending is not without controversy, particularly where sexual offenders are concerned (Macgregor 2008). The use of cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of sexual offenders has had proven results, however these results are limited by there grounding in social learning theory (Ward et al. 2006:156). The controversy surrounding cognitive behavioural approaches to sexual offending will form the basis of this essay.