DOCTORAL THESIS a Qualitative Investigation Into Therapists
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DOCTORAL THESIS A qualitative investigation into therapists’ perceptions on what factors facilitate abstinence in clients who self-identify as being sexually attracted to children Turner, Anna Award date: 2016 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 A qualitative investigation into therapists’ perceptions on what factors facilitate abstinence in clients who self- identify as being sexually attracted to children by Anna Turner BSc A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PsychD in Counselling Psychology Department of Psychology University of Roehampton 2016 Abstract This research explored the construction of helpful and hindering factors impacting an individual’s ability to abstain from acting on their sexual attraction to children (under the age of 16), through the eyes of their psychologist/psychotherapist. In an attempt to distinguish this client group from convicted sexual offenders or child pornography users, clinicians who had only worked with these clients group were excluded from the research, placing a sole focus on paedophiles/hebephiles who had not used the Internet or contact means to act on their sexual attraction to children. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory four categories emerged set within a sphere of client’s feeling as if they were suspended in “no-man’s land”. Category one, ‘stepping out from the shadows’, reflects the negotiation of disclosing a sexual attraction to children. The second category, ‘driving them underground’, demonstrated the societal push for paedophiles/hebephiles to retreat from society. The third category, ‘victims of bureaucracy’, reflected the required negotiation of bureaucracy from both the client and clinician. The final category, ‘therapy: the glue that holds everything together’, accounted for the perceived impact of therapy in the management of a sexual attraction to children. The final framework suggests that factors that could aid abstinence in individuals who are sexually attracted to children are constructed within a sphere of hope, facilitating their acquisition of social existence and their fight to belong in treatment services. The final framework draws attention to the role and impact of clinicians through the adherence to ethical guidelines, legal principles and the need for training programmes to engage with this difficult to think about client group. 2 Contents Chapter I: Introduction Definitions………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 Field of Counselling Psychology………………………………………………………………….... 13 Rationale…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15 Reflexivity…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19 …….. Chapter II: Literature Review Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 Sex offenders: An overview of treatment options……………………………………….......... 22 A European outlook on ‘potential’ offenders………………………………………………………. 34 Factors for and against: Understanding an individual’s ability to abstain…………….. 39 Overview and critique of the literature…………………………………………………..…………... 50 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 51 Chapter III: Methodology Research paradigm……………………………………………………………………………………………… 54 Ontological positioning……………………………………………………………………………............. 57 Epistemological positioning………………………...……………………………………………………… 58 Grounded theory………………………………………………………………………………………………… 63 Role of the researcher……………………….…………………………………………………..…………… 71 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 72 Chapter IV: Method Sampling……………..…………………………………………………………………………………….. 73 Recruitment……………………………………………………………………………………………..... 74 Ethical consideration…………………………………...……………………………………………… 79 Design………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80 Data analysis…………………………………….…………………………………………………..…….. 86 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 95 3 Chapter V: Analysis Introduction………..……….…………………………………………………………………………………….. 96 Summary of findings…..……………………………………………………………………………............ 96 Four major categories……….………………………...…………………………………………………….. 101 Category One: ‘Stepping out from the shadows’…………………………………………………. 102 Category Two: ‘Driving them underground’………….…………………………………………….. 110 Category Three: ‘Victims of bureaucracy’……………………………………………………......... 120 Category Four: ‘Therapy: The glue that holds everything together’…………………….. 130 Towards a Constructivist Grounded Theory………………………………………………………… 146 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 148 Chapter VI: Discussion Introduction………..……….……………………………………………………………………………………. 149 The findings…..…………………………………………………………………………………………............ 152 Reflexivity and limitations within the research process……….……………………………… 176 Contribution of knowledge and suggestions for future research………………………… 181 References………..……….………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 191 Appendices Appendix 1: Sexual Offence Act 2003……………………………………………………………...... 207 Appendix 2: Seven Divisions within SOA 2003……………………………………………………. 208 Appendix 3: The Children Act 2004……………………………………………………………………. 210 Appendix 4: Recruitment Email…………………………………………………………………………. 212 Appendix 5: Participant Information Sheet………………………………………………………… 213 Appendix 6: Demographic Questionnaire…………………………………………………………… 216 Appendix 7: Ethical Approval……………………………………………………………………………… 218 Appendix 8: Participant Consent Form……………………………………………………………….. 219 Appendix 9: Participant Debrief Form………………………………………………………………… 222 Appendix 10: BACP Ethical Framework………………………………………………………………. 224 Appendix 11: BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct……………………………………………………. 226 Appendix 12: BABCP Standards of Conduct Performance & Ethics……………………… 227 Appendix 13: COSRT Code of Ethics and Practice………………………………………………… 228 Appendix 14: HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance & Ethics………………………. 229 Appendix 15: UKCP Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct…….......... 230 Appendix 16: DSM-V and ICD-10 Diagnostic Criteria for paedophilia…………………… 231 Appendix 17: Definition of “CSA”………………………………………………………………………… 233 Appendix 18: Definition of “Operation Yewtree”………………………………………………… 233 Appendix 19: Definition of “statutory regulations”……………………………………………… 234 Appendix 20: Transcript of interview with “Oliver” with initial codes…………………. 235 Appendix 21: Excerpt from Transcript with “Oliver” with focused codes…………….. 303 4 Glossary BABCP – British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies BACP – British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy BPS – The British Psychological Society COSRT – College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists CSA – Child sexual abuse CSO – Child sex offender GLM – Good Lives Model (Ward & Brown, 2004) GT – Grounded Theory HCPC – Health and Care Professionals Council ISO – Internet sex offender LFF – Lucy Faithfull Foundation PPD – Project Prevention Dunkelfeld (Germany) SO – Sex offender UKCP – UK Council for Psychotherapy 5 Chapter I: Introduction The aim of this chapter is to locate the necessity of this research within the field of Counselling Psychology, exploring the rationale for encroaching on a subject matter monopolised within the forensic field, bringing the treatment of sexual attraction to children into the arena of community and private practice services. The present research adopts the use of terms that have been hotly debated and contested within psychology and the British media. Over the course of this chapter the definitions and rationales for using each term will be explored and explained. 1.1 Definitions 1.1.1 “Sex Offender” (SO) “Paedo”, “child molester”, “kiddie-fiddler”, “nonce” and “pervert” are all terms that have been used interchangeably within the British press to represent one group of individuals: those who have engaged in a sexual activity with a child. It has led to much debate over the correct terminology to be used, and what each term represents. Despite social preference, each term can be related to one overarching umbrella term of “sex offender”. The term SO is far reaching within UK law and can apply to individual’s committing acts against adults, animals, children and/or corpses, or conducting a sexual activity in a public lavatory (Sexual Offences Act, 2003). Thus it is confusing as to what being a “SO” actually constitutes, with the severity of the prison term dependent upon the 6 offence committed. For the purpose of the present research this term will be clarified and provided with a specific meaning. Currently in UK legislation there is over twenty specific sexual offences1 that involve the use of children (SOA, 2003). These range from the “rape of a child under 13” (S5, ibid) to “controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornography” (S49, ibid), by committing any of these offences an individual is breaking UK law and will be charged