Sexual offenses evoke both fear and confusion in observers. Equally alarming is the lack of high-quality discussions on the topic. Never before have therapeutic processes involving sexual offenders been analyzed as thoroughly as in this book. The authors approach the subject using the latest social science and psychological methods. The video-recorded group therapy sessions have been transcribed and evaluated using a novel combination of conversation and metaphor analysis, set against a background of psychoanalytic understanding. This has led to surprising insights into moving stories, interesting conversation formats, and contributions, as well as linguistic images related to defense and self-reflection. Readers will gain insights into biographical patterns, deception strategies, aids for uncovering truths, doubts and justifications, the struggles of insight, and the arduous work of finding meaning.

Michael B. Buchholz is a teaching and supervising analyst at the Lou-Andreas-Salom-Institut in Göttingen, a professor at the International Psychoanalytic University in Berlin, and is currently leading a project on the comparative study of empathy in behavior therapy, psychoanalysis, and depth psychology.