Handouts are available below each session. If there is not a link for a session the speaker did not give permission to post, or we have not yet received their handout.
Sunday, March 4
Keynote 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
What Works and What Doesn’t in Adult Sex Offender Treatment and Management
Robert McGrath, M.A., Clinical Director, McGrath Psychological Services
During the past two decades, numerous state, national and international groups have developed evidence-based best practice standards against which providers and others can evaluate their programs. This keynote will examine characteristics of effective sex offender treatment and management programs for adults and noteworthy evaluation criteria being used by program standards groups in North America and abroad. Relevant research will be reviewed with a focus on how treatment providers, supervision staff, and program administrators can use these findings in their day-to-day work.
(3.75 Offender Hours)
Breakouts
1:15 – 2:45 pm
How to Use a Treatment Needs and Progress Scale
Robert McGrath, M.A., Clinical Director, McGrath Psychological Services
This workshop will begin with a brief review of recent research on risk and need assessment theory and practice. The major focus of the workshop will be on helping participants learn how to score and use the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS). The SOTIPS is a 16-item statistically derived dynamic measure designed to aid clinicians, and probation and parole officers in assessing offenders risk and needs, matching offenders to the appropriate treatment and supervision level, and measuring treatment progress. The SOTIPS is designed to be used with the Static-99R.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Law Enforcement and the Social Networking Phenomenon
HANDOUTS
Joel Pridgeon, TCLEOSE Certified Instructor, Master Peace Officer, Austin Police Department, Child Abuse Unit
This presentation will address the growing issue of social networking programs and websites serving as the medium for suspects to perpetrate against children. The first objective in understanding the issue is to first define social networking and fully understand what it is. Attendees are taught that social networking goes beyond Facebook and MySpace, and certainly goes beyond the Internet itself with cellular telephones and video game technology.
The speaker will provide a brief overview of victim and suspect behaviors within the social network and how suspects manipulate a child’s outlook on social networking practices to further victimize them. Then, attendees are given basic tools for furthering investigations into these matters (without compromising secured practices and information), as well as helpful prevention information to pass on to families and communities.
The presentation will also discuss “sexting” and “cyberbullying” and leave time for Q&A.
(1.5 Victim Hours)
Creative Therapeutic Techniques for Sexually Reactive Children
HANDOUTS
Allison Stewart, Psy.D., ASOTP, Jasmine Khan Professional Counseling Services
Tarleton State University
This workshop will present creative therapeutic techniques for working with sexually abused and sexually reactive children. It will describe experiential, art, and play therapy interventions that address such topics as healthy boundaries, private part rules, trauma, feelings identification and expression, self-esteem, and social skills. These activities are most appropriate for young children who have been sexually abused and/or are sexually reactive; however, with some modification they could be appropriate for use with older children and adolescents.
(1.5 Offender or Victim Hours)
Technology and the Explosion of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
Deena Graves, ABC, Traffick911
This workshop will explore how predators use the Internet and technology to facilitate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Technology has made it extremely easy for traffickers to meet, seduce and groom unsuspecting children. Social media, chat rooms, connected game systems, cell phones and other tools that are right at the fingertips give the approximate 50,000 perpetrators prowling the Internet at any given moment easy access to our children.
In addition, pornography exploded with the Internet with more than 100,000 websites featuring child pornography. Fifty-five percent of child pornography sites originated in the U.S. Any U.S. child featured in a porn image is a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking, but it goes beyond the law. Traffickers are forcing their young victims to act out “gonzo” pornography, which is for the express purpose of seeing how much damage you can do to another person’s body.
American children by the hundreds of thousands are being forced into sexual slavery and their average life expectancy is just seven short years. We don’t have time to wait; it’s time to learn how to protect our children and prevent victims of domestic minor sex trafficking through the very technology meant to make our lives easier.
(1.5 Victim Hours)
Breakouts
3:00 – 4:30 pm
How to Use a Treatment Needs and Progress Scale (Continued)
Robert McGrath, M.A., Clinical Director, McGrath Psychological Services
See description above.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Sex Offender and Community Transition Treatment for Federal Offenders
Bruce Cameron, LPC-S, LSOTP, Federal Bureau of Prisons
This presentation will provide an overview of the Bureau of Prisons Sex Offender Treatment, Sex Offender Management Programs and Community Transition programs for federal offenders. A brief overview of sex offender treatment contracts, as well as Implications for Risk Management and Registrations issues, will also be covered.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Sex Offender Treatment for Persons with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities
Bobby Todd, M.S. SOTP Supervisor,
Charlotte Kimmel, Ph.D.,
Andrew Griffin, Ph.D., Forensic Psychologist,
Mexia State Supported Living Center
This presentation will address treatment components used with persons with cognitive and developmental disabilities, for both juveniles and adults. Treatment components including discussion of offense cycles, thinking errors, and relapse prevention have been modified to use with these populations. This program will present examples of the ways that the components have been changed to make them more usable with persons with cognitive disabilities, as well as additional components to make the treatment environment more effective. The admissions process and issues with risk assessments will also be discussed.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Technology and the Explosion of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (Continued)
Deena Graves, ABC, Traffick911
See description above.
(1.5 Victim Hours)
Monday, March 5
Keynote 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Youth with Illegal Sexual Behaviors: A Developmental Approach – Juveniles are not Adults!
Sue Righthand, Ph.D., Clinical and Consulting Psychologist
Problematic and illegal sexual behaviors (PISB) are found in children and adolescents. Sometimes their actions appear similar to adult sexual offending; however, there are major differences between youth and adults who engage in such behaviors, especially regarding their motivations, treatment responsiveness and appropriate interventions.
This presentation will provide an overview of the latest research and best practices for understanding and working with children and teenagers with PISB. Normative sexual behavior in youth as well as the characteristics and heterogeneity of children and teenagers with PISB will be discussed. An overview of risk and protective factors and recidivism rates, as well as appropriate assessment strategies, evidence-based interventions, and public policy considerations will be reviewed. The overarching goal of this presentation is to provide a research-based, developmental approach to children and teenagers who present with sexual behavior problems that, if adopted, can enhance effective intervention and positive outcomes for these youth and their families, while facilitating safer societies.
(3.75 Offender Hours)
Breakouts
1:15 – 2:45 pm
Advanced Assessment: Improving Decision-making, Case Plans, and Interventions
RESOURCE LIST
Sue Righthand, Ph.D., Clinical and Consulting Psychologist
This seminar will address current issues and controversies regarding risk and needs assessment with adolescents who have offended sexually. It will provide a historical perspective on assessing violent behavior, and discuss strengths and limitations associated with current approaches (e.g., actuarial, structured risk assessment, and unstructured clinical judgment). Strategies and guidelines that may promote quality assessments and facilitate effective interventions will be presented and discussed.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Testifying as an Expert in Sex Offense Trials
Matthew Ferrara, Ph.D., Westlake Trial Consulting,
Robert Cramer, Ph.D., Sam Houston State University,
Amy Wevodau, M.A., Sam Houston State University
Testifying in a sex offense trial is difficult and often anxiety provoking. This workshop is designed to help you reduce your anxiety and increase your effectiveness as a testifying expert in a sex offense trial. Whether you are testifying in the guilt-innocence phase, punishment phase or revocation hearing, the techniques and strategies you will learn in this workshop will increase your effectiveness as a witness. General principles of expert testimony as discussed by Stanley Brodskey, Ph.D. will be presented. Specific questioning issues for direct examination and cross examination will also presented. Those attending the workshop will have the opportunity to practice and begin skill acquisition during the workshop.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships
HANDOUTS
Paul Hamilton, Ph.D., LSOTP, University of Houston, Victoria
Once relegated to the margins of society, pornography has become one of the most visible and profitable sectors of the cultural industries in the United States. It is estimated that the pornography industry’s annual revenue has reached $13 billion. At the same time, the content of pornography has become more aggressive, more overtly sexist and racist.
WARNING: During this session a film will be shown and discussed which is very graphic and can be disturbing to some. Going beyond the debate of liberal versus conservative, the film features the voices of consumers, critics, and pornography producers and performers. It paints a nuanced portrait of how pleasure and pain, commerce and power, and liberty and responsibility are intertwined in the most intimate parts of our sexual identities and relationships.
This presentation will include a discussion about the film pornography’s impact on society, the criminal justice response to porn, and the film’s impact on the participants.
(1.5 Victim Hours)
Effective Sex Offender Treatment in Rural Communities
Kimberly Modisette, Ph.D., LPC, LSOTP, Clinical and Forensic Psychological Services
John Motley, MS, LPC, LSOTP, Van Zandt Community Counseling Center
This session will identify some of the unique challenges to providing sex offender treatment in rural communities. Effective strategies for addressing some of the logistical, political, social, financial and treatment issues unique to providing services to these areas will be presented. An argument will be made for the need to incorporate evidence based practices into rural treatment programs that is both realistic and reasonable. Examples of some of the more effective and successful rural programs in East Texas will be presented.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Breakouts
3:00 – 4:30 pm
Clinical Decision-making, Case Plans, and Interventions: A Case Discussion Workshop
RESOURCE LIST
Sue Righthand, Ph.D., Clinical and Consulting Psychologist
Drawing on principles presented during the morning, and other seminars held in the early afternoon, this workshop will provide the opportunity for clinical case presentations and discussions. The session’s goals will include using case specific information to guide developmentally appropriate clinical decisions and case plans. Appropriate assessment strategies as well as possible treatment targets and interventions tailored to the youth’s risks, needs and clinical presentation will be discussed. Participants are invited and encouraged to de-identify case information and bring cases for discussion.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Testifying as an Expert in Sex Offense Trials (Continued)
Matthew Ferrara, Ph.D., Westlake Trial Consulting,
Robert Cramer, Ph.D., Sam Houston State University,
Amy Wevodau, M.A., Sam Houston State University
See description above.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships (Continued)
Paul Hamilton, Ph.D., LSOTP, University of Houston, Victoria
See description above.
(1.5 Victim Hours)
Neuroscience and Self-Regulation in Adolescents and Adults with Sexual Behavior Problems
Bill Mory, Ed.S., LPC, LSOTP
This presentation will consist of an overview of neuroscience as it relates specifically to emotional self-regulation. These concepts will be discussed in the context of clinical application with both juveniles and adults with sexual behavior problems.
(1.5 Offender Hours)
Tuesday, March 6
8:00 – 10:00 am
An Argument for Best Practices Approach in Sex Offender Treatment
Kimberly Modisette, Ph.D., LPC, LSOTP, Clinical and Forensic Psychological Services,
John Motley, MS, LPC, LSOTP, Van Zandt Community Counseling Center
This presentation will survey many of the sex offender treatment approaches currently being provided by practitioners. Current research on effective treatment practices will be examined. Utility of maintaining diversity in available treatment programs will be acknowledged while also highlighting the numerous problems associated with the current lack of consistency among programs. The solution will be postulated as maintaining diversity of available empirically based programs, but with acceptance of core treatment domains as identified by professional regulating agency. Current offense specific treatment domains as established by the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment will be presented. It will be argued that “Best Practices” of the treatment of sex offenders can only be achieved when there is a professional commitment to providing empirically based treatment on standardized treatment objectives.
(2 Offender Hours)
10:15 am – 12:00 pm
The Assessment and Treatment of Victims of Sexual Abuse
HANDOUTS
Maria Molett, MA, LPCS, LSOTPS, The Counseling Institute of Texas
This presentation will educate the participants about the issues of sexual abuse. Further, the session will train those to assess the issue in clients and then provide therapy for these clients.
(1.75 Victim Hours)
1:15 – 2:45 pm
Ethics Panel
Liles Arnold, LPC, LSOTP, Summit Counseling Center,
Aaron Pierce, Ph.D., LPC, LSOTP, Clinical and Forensic Consulting Services,
David Richards, Assistant General Counsel, Department of State Health Services
This presentation by the CSOT Ethics committee will address the Top Ten ethical issues in the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders.
The audience will learn:
1) The process of filing an ethical complaint;
2) The procedure for investigating the complaint;
3) How to address the complaint and sight the standard that is involved in the Top Ten issues;
4) Ways that problems could be avoided and resolved from the attorney for the CSOT and the ethics committee;
5) How to state ethical concerns with the committee.
(1.5 Ethics Hours)
3:00 –4:30 pm
Ethics Panel (Continued)
Liles Arnold, LPC, LSOTP, Summit Counseling Center,
Aaron Pierce, Ph.D., LPC, LSOTP, Clinical and Forensic Consulting Services,
David Richards, Assistant General Counsel, Department of State Health Services
See description above.
(1.5 Ethics Hours)