The Sexual-Abuse Treatment Offender Program (STOP) provides individualized out-patient treatment for male and female youth who display sexual acting out issues. STOP emphasizes a team approach in addressing each youth’s individual treatment goals, providing consistent treatment and communication with team members. STOP also provides treatment to those youth with sexual victimization issues.
Developed in 1998, STOP offers youth and adolescents evidence-based targeted treatment that promotes positive outcomes and focuses on risk factor re-duction so that sexual recidivism is prevented. As with all of our specialized programs, STOP treatment providers use a trauma-informed holistic approach to treatment combining cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, TFCBT, DBT and various other evidence-based models to meet the individual needs of clients. This program is not “one size fits all”. STOP is a weekly program which includes individual, group, and family therapy with a strong emphasis on psycho-education for youth, their family, and other treatment team members.
It is highly recommended that youth being referred for the STOP receive a thorough
Psychosexual Assessment prior to treatment so that treatment providers have a baseline understanding of the youth’s strengths and needs with regard to risk and treatment planning. CCP offers Psychosexual Assessments as a standalone service. Our STOP treatment providers are highly experienced clinicians who stay current with regard to research and practice with youth that have problematic sexual behaviors.
Clients participate in weekly, hour-long sessions with a licensed psychotherapist addressing the above components of the program. Programming can be tailored to the individual’s age, gender, and/or cognitive ability. The individual components of the STOP often take 9 months to one year to complete. Length of treatment varies based on the youth’s age, developmental level, cognitive functioning, trauma history and motivation to complete treatment.
Clients participate in weekly, 60-90 minutes group sessions with other clients in the STOP. The groups focus is on:
This component of the STOP is geared towards families in which sibling sexual abuse has occurred. The youth’s individual therapist coordinates co-therapy
sessions with the victim’s individual therapist with the goal of promoting and practicing healthy and safe sibling relationships.
The youth that has offended prepares and presents an apology to the sibling victim. The sibling victim is then encouraged to ask questions of their sibling offender. The primary purpose of the sibling reparative therapy component is to assist the victim in his/her “healing process”. This element also provides the family with guidance regarding safety and supervision planning. The sibling reparative therapy component is often utilized during the family reunification process after a youth with problematic behavior has been placed outside of the home where the victim(s) resides.
Active parent participation is strongly encouraged in the STOP. The youth’s individual therapist incorporates family psychoeducation at a frequency
determined by the youth’s individual treatment plan. This component focuses on educating parents on issues such as supervision and safety planning,
appropriate technology/media use, recognizing their child’s grooming behaviors, and understanding their child’s cycle of abuse. Parents participate in
sessions by actively listening to their child speak on their sexual acting out and problematic sexual behaviors.
Using the Trauma Model is sensible, easy to practice and effective in reunifying families. Trauma affects everyone and together families can learn the
language of trauma and the skills to prevent new traumas and heal old ones. Blame is taken out of the equation and instead, empathy and freedom from
suffering is encouraged for all.
