Treating Today's Juvenile Homicide Offenders

Abstract

This article discusses 12 components of effective treatment with juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs). Eleven of these were identified by psychologist Vicki Agee after many years of treating serious, chronic, and/or violent youth. The authors, both mental health professionals, add a 12th component to Agee's list and tailor the discussion of intervention strategies to juvenile murderers. The authors' discussion of treatment strategies is based on years of clinical experience evaluating approximately 100 JHOs as well as on knowledge of empirically based programs. In preparation for the discussion, the pertinent literature on treating juvenile offenders, including JHOs, is reviewed.