Brunner/Mazel Publishers
19 Union Square West
New York, New York 10003
(212) 924-3344
$28.95
  

Description:

This 264 page book is divided into 11 chapters.  It is primarily written for professionals who treat child molesters who are convicted and sentenced to prison.  The book opens with the traditional chapters on incidence, history, etiology, and treatment with very little new material and then describes Florida's Residential Evaluation and Treatment Program for convicted sex offenders.  The last section, which deals with forensic issues, is practical and interesting.  The book has a useful index.
  

Discussion:

The data about sexual molestation upon which this book is based are vague and based on myth and old studies.  Nevertheless, this book will be ideal for practitioners working in the field of corrections as treatment plans are almost cookbooked in their detail.  However, the book does not deal with sex offenders who are not sentenced to prison.  There is no discussion of how to manage treatment for persons who are innocently convicted and since the book is concerned with a male offender prison, female perpetrators are not dealt with.  There is some data presented on sibling incest.

This book is recommended for professionals working with prison populations.

Reviewed by LeRoy Schultz, professor of social work, at West Virginia University.