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Abstract: 

Every few years since the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) listserv began, members have engaged in a spirited debate on whether pre-adjudication psychosexual evaluations are ethical. Some skeptics question whether an evaluator could or should conduct such evaluations, contending that such evaluations should only be done after a legal finding-of-fact. After all, they say, how can an evaluator know what, if any, offense occurred until the court has ruled? How, the skeptics contend, can the evaluator conduct a risk assessment without knowing the extent of any sexual or nonsexual abusive behavior? In this article, two experienced forensic psychologists address the pitfalls and potential benefits of pre-adjudication assessments—not for determining guilt or innocence, but as an aid in establishing a basis for subsequent clinical engagement, in risk assessment, and in determining an optimal course of treatment.

Keywords: ATSA Code of Ethics; Risk Assessment; Treatment Recommendations

Affiliations:  1: Somerset Psychological Group; 2: Somerset Psychological Group.