Treatment at La Macaza Clinic: A Qualitative Study of the Sexual Offenders' Perspective

Abstract

This exploratory study aimed at better understanding why pedophile sex offenders enter and remain in treatment and how they consider it to be helpful. Comparative analysis was applied to non-directive semi-structured interviews with 24 pedophile sex offenders from La Macaza Clinic at the La Macaza federal penitentiary in Quebec. Three major themes were explored: (1) the offenders' impressions about the voluntary basis of the treatment; (2) the nature of the motivation for treatment of the participants; and (3) the different ways in which therapy was or was not helpful. The results are discussed in reference to psychodynamic literature on therapy processes and sexual deviance pathology.