Therapist characteristics in the treatment of sexual offenders: Tentative data on their relationship with indices of behaviour change

The present study examined the relationship between reliably identified therapist characteristics and treatment-induced changes in sexual offender treatment programmes in English prisons. The results indicated that 10 therapist features predicted beneficial changes in coping skills, perspective-taking, and relationship difficulties. A confrontational style, on the other hand, was negatively related to increased competence in coping. The results are discussed in terms of their research and clinical implications.