PedophiliaHebephiliaChild Sexual AbuseProgram EvaluationPrevention InterventionParaphilias and Paraphilic Disorders
Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)
Talking for Change Group PsychotherapyHealthier Me: Managing Risk and Stress in Everyday Life
Talking for Change Group Psychotherapy: Talking for Change (TFC) is a secondary prevention program that targets dynamic risk factors for child sexual abuse, including (1) atypical sexual interests and sexual self-regulation problems; (2) problems in relationships; (3) offense-supportive attitudes; and (4) general self-regulation deficits and related traits (e.g., impulsivity, emotion regulation deficits). Participants will complete 20 weekly, 120-minute sessions delivered via WebEx.
Healthier Me: Managing Risk and Stress in Everyday Life: The active therapeutic control is a non-directive supportive psychotherapy that targets general mental health concerns. It consists of psychoeducation about human sexuality and common mental health concerns, as well as instruction and practice in applied relaxation and stress management, and group discussions that will facilitate sharing and problem-solving current stressors. This active control intervention is equivalent in length to Talking for Change (TFC), consisting of 120-minute long occurring weekly over the course of 20 weeks.
Study summary
The goal of this patient preference randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of Talking for Change (TFC), an intervention for the secondary prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA) perpetration. Blinded clinical raters will evaluate the primary endpoint-reductions in dynamic risk factors for sexual offending against children-and clients will provide self-reports to evaluate a second primary outcome-reductions in sexual contact with children, accessing online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), and desire for sexual contact with children. Researchers will compare the following groups: (1) those receiving 20 weeks of the experimental TFC group psychotherapy; (2) those receiving 20 weeks of a control group psychotherapy targeting mental health and stress more broadly; and (3) those receiving no treatment.
Eligibility
Sex
MALE
Min age
18 Years
Max age
—
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
For the treatment arms, the participant must meet all of the inclusion criteria to eligible for this clinical trial:
1. Must be deemed to have capacity to provide informed consent;
2. Must sign and date the informed consent form;
3. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures;
4. Be 18 years of age or older upon study commencement;
5. Be referred for care in the TFC program due to concerns about enhanced risk of sexual offending against children.
For the benchmarking interview arm, the participant must meet all of the following inclusion criteria:
1. Must self-report concerns about enhanced risk of sexual offending against children
2. Must be deemed to have capacity to provide informed consent;
3. Must check the appropriate box on the informed consent form;
4. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures;
5. Be 18 years of age or older upon study commencement.
For the benchmarking survey arm, participants must check the appropriate box on the informed consent form.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
For the treatment arms:
1. Inability to engage meaningfully in group psychotherapy (e.g., due to intellectual disability, other neurodiversity, active psychosis or substance use)
2. Those who self-identify as at-risk for reasons better accounted for by non-risk-relevant factors per clinical assessment (e.g., those with obsessive-compulsive disorder including thoughts about CSA, who commonly fear that they are at-risk but are not).
3. Non-male sex.
For the benchmarking interview arm:
1\. Non-male sex.
Primary outcome measure(s)
Violence Risk Scale - Sexual Offense Version (VRS-SO) — Treatment arm: pre-treatment (within 4 weeks of starting) and post-treatment (within 4 weeks of completing). Repeated for the second treatment. Benchmarking arm: Week 1 and Week 20. 24 items (7 static and 17 dynamic risk factors) rated on a scale from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate higher risk; total static scores range from 0 to 21; total dynamic scores range from 0 to 51; dynamic risk factors rated 2 or 3 are designated treatment targets; each treatment target is further rated in terms of readiness for change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance).
Trial sites (1)
Facility
City
Region
Status
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Toronto
Ontario
Recruiting
More Centre for Addiction and Mental Health trials in Canada
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
We use cookies to analyse site traffic and improve your experience. With your consent, we may also use cookies for advertising. You can change your choice at any time.
