[Therapy effectiveness with violent and sex offenders]

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research

Background:

• The effectiveness of forensic therapy in preventing reoffending is debated.
• Therapy evaluation research in forensic settings requires careful methodological consideration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of research on the risk-reducing effects of offender therapies.
• To discuss methodological aspects influencing therapy evaluation in forensic contexts.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search for studies assessing the risk-reducing effects of offender therapies.
• Analysis of study designs and empirical evidence on relapse prevention.

Main Results:

• High heterogeneity in study designs complicates result comparison.
• Limited empirical studies exist on the relapse prevention effectiveness of forensic therapies.

Conclusions:

• Methodological diversity prevents definitive conclusions on forensic psychotherapy efficacy.
• Conclusions from meta-analyses require cautious interpretation due to study variations.