The clinical assessment of young people with sexually abusive behaviour

This chapter outlines some basic ideas that can be used to plan and conduct a clinical assessment for a young person referred for problems with sexually abusive behaviour. It begins by considering key characteristics that reflect a good approach to clinical assessment with this population. It then considers aspects of motivation that are important in planning such assessments. It will outline the main areas usually covered during a clinical assessment and concludes with ideas on formulating information from the assessment, report writing, and contracting for intervention. We use fictional case material to illustrate key points made regarding assessment throughout. The ideas contained in this chapter are drawn from a variety of sources including Beckett (1994), Graham, Richardson and Bhate (1997), Becker, (1998), APA Task Force (1999), Will (1999), and Sheerin and O’ Reilly (2000), and O’ Reilly (2001). Each of these authors provide useful information and ideas on conducting clinical assessments with young people who sexually abuse.