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Pharmacological treatment of sex offenders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

F. Thibaut*
Affiliation:
University Hospital Cochin, University Sorbonne Paris Cité, Inserm U 894, Psychiatry and addictive disorders, Paris, France

Abstract

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Most people recognize that incarceration alone will not solve sexual violence. Indeed, treating the offenders is critical in an approach to preventing sexual violence and reducing victimization. In most cases, a diagnosis of paraphilia is associated with sexual violence. This review is intended to present and summarize the first recently published international guidelines about pharmacological treatment of paraphilias. Pharmacological interventions should be part of a more comprehensive treatment plan including psychotherapy and, in most cases, behavior therapy. Antiandrogens, and mostly GnRH analogues, significantly reduce the intensity and frequency of deviant sexual arousal and behavior. GnRH analogue treatment constitutes the most promising treatment for sex offenders at high risk of sexual violence, such as pedophiles or serial rapists, however informed consent is necessary. SSRIs remain an interesting option in adolescents, in patients with depressive or OCD disorders, or in mild paraphilias such as exhibitionism.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

Type
S79
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2016

References

Further reading

Thibaut, F de la Barra, F Gordon, H Cosyns, P Bradford, JMW, and the WFSBP Task Force on Sexual Disorders. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry: guidelines for the biological treatment of paraphilias. World J Biol Psychiatry 2010; 11: 604–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thibaut, F Bradford, JMW Briken, P de la Barra, F Hässler, F Cosyns, P, et al. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the treatment of adolescent sexual offenders with paraphilic disorders. World J Biol Psychiatry 2015 [in press].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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