Assessing and Managing Problematic Sexual Interests - Practitioners

Our review of Assessing and Managing Problematic Sexual Interests identifies it as a focused professional resource for clinicians, forensic psychologists and advanced students seeking a rigorous, practice-oriented treatment of atypical sexual interests. The book's single biggest reason to buy is its dual emphasis on both assessment tools and management strategies, which makes it useful for practitioners who must both evaluate sexual interests and plan interventions. This review highlights what the book delivers in terms of scope, clinical approaches and applicability across settings.

Key Features

• Comprehensive assessment overview: Part I surveys the full range of sexual interests and fantasies in men and women, helping clinicians recognise variation and identify problematic patterns.
• Practical management strategies: Part II presents contemporary interventions and treatment advances that practitioners can apply across custodial and community settings.
• Multiple therapeutic perspectives: The text integrates compassion-focused and psychoanalytic approaches, giving clinicians options for tailoring care to individual patients.
• Specialist chapters on females: The authors specifically consider assessment of females with sexual convictions, addressing an often underrepresented group in the literature.
• Tools for offence-paralleling behaviour: Part III discusses using offence paralleling behaviour as an assessment technique, offering a construct for clinical formulation.
• Forensic context focus: The book frames material for use in forensic psychology practice, including assessment and management in diverse settings.

Who It's For

This book is best suited to forensic psychologists, clinicians working with sexual offenders, probation practitioners and postgraduate students in forensic psychology who require a specialist practitioner's guide to both assessment and management. It is written with applied practice in mind rather than general readership.

Those looking for a basic introduction to human sexuality or a brief self-help manual should look elsewhere; the material assumes clinical knowledge and addresses complex assessment concepts and therapeutic techniques rather than lay explanations.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Balances theory and practice by covering assessment methods and concrete management interventions.
• Includes perspectives for both male and female subjects, filling an important gap in forensic literature.
• Offers multiple therapeutic approaches, allowing clinicians to adopt compassion-focused or psychoanalytic strategies as appropriate.
• Addresses application across different settings, useful for those in custody and community roles.

Cons

• Targeted to practitioners and students, so it may be dense for readers without clinical training.
• The specialised focus means it is not a general textbook on sexual behaviour or broad-based mental health.

Specifications

Title	Assessing and Managing Problematic Sexual Interests
Series	Issues in Forensic Psychology
Authors	Geraldine Akerman, Derek Perkins, Ross Bartels
Coverage	Assessment, Management, Approaches to assessment and management
Clinical focus	Deviant sexual interest and treatment advances
Population considerations	Men and women, includes females with sexual convictions

Our Verdict

For forensic clinicians and advanced students needing a practice-ready examination of atypical sexual interests, this book offers good value: it combines assessment frameworks with contemporary management techniques and multiple therapeutic perspectives. It is a specialist resource best used by professionals who will apply its tools in forensic or clinical settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book cover assessment tools for both men and women?
Yes; Part I overviews sexual interests and fantasies in men and women and Part III specifically discusses assessment approaches for females with sexual convictions.

Are treatment approaches practical for use in clinical settings?
Yes; Part II investigates cutting-edge tools, interventions and treatment advances intended for application across custodial and community settings.

Does the book present multiple therapeutic perspectives?
Yes; it integrates approaches including compassion-focused and psychoanalytic strategies to give clinicians a range of management options.