Sex Offender Treatment Program

Madison County Mental Health Sex Offender Treatment Protocol

The Madison County Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) serves individuals who reside in Madison County and who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors. The majority of individuals in the program are mandated by parole, probation, or family court conditions. Conditions for acceptance into the program will include individuals accepting responsibility for their behaviors, having a level of risk which can be safely managed by the resources available in the community, and having a willingness to comply with program expectations.

The Madison County Sex Offender Treatment Program follows the New York State Office of Sex Offender Management guidelines for mental health professionals providing treatment to adult sex offenders. The program is coordinated by a provider at the most-experienced level (clinical / full provider status) in accordance with these guidelines.

The program utilizes a Containment Model consistent with Best Practice in Sex Offender Treatment set forth by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). The Containment model includes collaboration between treatment providers, Post-Conviction Polygraph Examiners trained specifically to work with sex offenders, and probation/parole officers.

Areas of Progress

There are several areas in which individuals are expected to make progress during the course of their involvement in the program. These areas are:

Risk-Needs-Responsivity Factors

Assessment of the offender’s risk of sexual recidivism is on-going and employs the use of actuarial measures, clinical evaluation and polygraph exams. Clinical assessment includes static and dynamic risk factors to address individual treatment needs of participants.

Education

Learning about the nature of sex offending and the offense cycle.

Cognitions

Recognize thinking errors that increase risk and learn to stop and restructure thoughts that lead to safe, responsible behaviors.

Behavior

Changing habits and behavior patterns that increase risk.

Emotions & Empathy 

Participants learn to identify emotions and their triggers. They are presented with options to effectively respond to emotions. Participants complete victim impact work in order to increase empathy.

Socialization & Relationships 

Develop healthy relationship patterns and a positive support system that increase healthy socialization opportunities and their capacity for intimacy.

Relapse Prevention & Self-Management 

All of the components provide the foundation for development of a comprehensive relapse prevention/self-management plan. Plans include internal and external risk factors identified in treatment. They include, but are not limited to negative mood states, substance abuse, thinking errors, inappropriate fantasies, and all environmental situations that pose a risk. The plan includes alternatives to the identified risks.

The SOTP program’s philosophy is that individuals who function well in many aspects of their lives will be those least likely to relapse into abusive behavior patterns. Participants’ needs are determined and addressed within our program to maximize follow through and communication between team members. Services include psychiatry, individual therapy, substance abuse services, aggression reduction or domestic violence treatment. There is no time limit to achieve treatment goals.