treatments

• Bio treatment - hormone therapy

  • focuses on sex offenders, assume come from bio drives so assume suppressing sexual drive would reduce deviant behaviour
  • MPA- synthetic progesterone, high levels of T linked to deviant behaviour. MPA breaks down T and inhibits production, so reduces offending. But side effects like breast enlargement and depression
  • CPA- blocks effects of androgens like T and prevents them from interacting with their bio targets, androgen receptors. Has worse side effects
• Hormone therapy strength

  • Maletsky et al found those offenders who received MPA as treatment were less likely to reoffend after release. Found committed fewer offences, fewer parole violations and if did not sexual in nature
• Hormone therapy weaknesses

  • ethical issues due to extreme side effects, arguments whether should be voluntary/mandatory. May affect as after leave may stop taking
  • can be difficult and expensive to administer. Maletzky found just under half offenders recommended to receive MPA did not due to cost, availability, then went on to reoffend. Can't fully reduce future crime
• CBT

  • likely to be used in prison in group sessions
  • help offenders by developing insight into thoughts and feelings and show how these influenced their criminal behaviour
  • thoughts, feelings, behaviours closely linked. So develop awareness of own thoughts and changing them to be more pro-social
  • criminals shown to display distorted thinking like displacing blame on victim, schema related to self dominance, societal problems
  • these ways of thinking assumed to be learned, so CBT helps reconstruct thinking and develop empathy
• anger management

  1. cognitive preparation- reflect on situations that have triggered anger in past. Make more logical judgments eg if pushed by bar it may have been by accident
  2. skill acquisition- relaxation techniques, breathing exercising
  3. application of practice- therapist devises situations where can show skills learnt
• CBT strength

  • better than bio treatments like hormone therapy. Because hormone therapy specific to sex offences, but CBT can be applied to any, so effective for release to society. Also does not have side effects so might be more willing to take part in this type of therapy
• CBT weaknesses

  • only able to correct 'present thoughts'. Because CBT relies on what offender can tell therapist about recent thinking, it cannot tackle new thought processes that may arise in relation to other types of crime. May not be totally effective as still might commit different crimes in future
  • slow to work, requires significant number of sessions over time and has to practice techniques in between. So might not be effective if not motivated