| With a recent increase in convicted sex offenders and mandated treatment for sexual offending there has been an increase in the number of mental health professionals providing this treatment. Little empirical research has been devoted to this group of mental health professionals and how they may differ from other mental health professionals. The present study explored how mental health professionals in correctional settings, community-based settings, and those providing sex offender treatment differ on levels of empathy, burnout, and attitudes toward sex offender treatment. Moreover, the study explored whether there was a relationship between empathy, burnout, and attitudes toward sex offender treatment among mental health professionals that provide sex offender treatment. Two hundred nineteen mental health professionals that had at least one year of licensed experience in correctional settings, community-based settings, or providing sex offender treatment participated in this study. Those that provide sex offender treatment had more positive attitudes toward sex offender treatment, but had similar levels of burnout and empathy compared to the correctional mental health providers. Additionally, among sex offender treatment providers more positive attitudes toward sex offender treatment were related to higher levels of empathy, lower levels of depersonalization, and higher levels of personal accomplishment. Despite the lack of research about sex offender treatment providers within the psychological literature, the results of the present study will provide some clarity, potentially providing ideas for further areas of research about this group of providers. The concept of this study was formulated based on prior research on mental health professionals generally and attempted to fill the gap in the research on sex offender treatment providers. This will help understand whether sex offender treatment providers require more training or emphasis on self-care due to the difficult clients that they are working with. As there is more of a push for sex offender treatment, this area of research will continue to be important in the future. |
