The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Vicarious Sensitization (VS) program has been rated by the CEBC in the area of: Sexual Behavior Problems in Adolescents, Treatment of.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Adolescent sex offenders

VS is a form of aversive conditioning for the treatment of teenage boys who molest younger children. The VS program is a series of individualized computer-based sessions using software, a personalized recorded audio fantasy, and aversive audio/video stimuli. Each session consists of a series of sequences in which the client is exposed to a recorded personal fantasy designed to evoke arousal, followed immediately by an aversive video vignette. The aversive stimuli consist of audio/video portrayals (on DVD) of adolescent sex offenders who must contend with the negative social, emotional, physical, and legal consequences of their crimes against young children. As with other conditioning procedures, many trials are necessary for cues associated with illicit sexual activity to evoke anxiety rather than deviant fantasies or actual abuse.

VS is intended to be an adjunct to offense-specific cognitive therapy, not a substitute for it.

The goal of VS is the reduction of deviant arousal in adolescent sex offenders.

The essential components of Vicarious Sensitization (VS) are:

• After establishing the need for VS with his/her client, the therapist should describe the program in detail to both the offender and his parents before treatment begins.
• Individualized audio fantasy scenarios constructed by the therapist and client, and recorded by the therapist, to evoke arousal to the type of offense committed by the youth.
• An aversive audio/video vignette designed to elicit anxiety in the viewer.
• The aversive audio/video stimuli are victim-specific by gender.
• Computer software that records the fantasy scenarios, manages the timing of each session, and controls each of the treatment sequences.
• Technical and clinical support available from the program’s company.

Vicarious Sensitization (VS) was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Molestation of younger children

Age range: 13 – 18

Developmental Delays:

This program was not developed for children with developmental delays, and has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Vicarious Sensitization (VS) was not designed with a parent/caregiver component.

Vicarious Sensitization (VS) was not designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended Intensity:

2-3 sessions per week, each 40-50 minutes in length until all assigned scenarios have been viewed, approximately 12 weeks. If arousal is not controlled by the end of the VS treatment, the program is repeated.

Recommended Duration:

12 weeks, if the above schedule is followed

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Outpatient Clinic
• Juvenile detention facility

This program does not include a homework component.

Vicarious Sensitization (VS) does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Vicarious Sensitization DVD (which includes software to be copied onto a computer) and 32-page Treatment Manual
• Computer (a laptop works well) with Windows 98 or newer, Windows Media Player, a sound card, an extra monitor port, a DVD drive, a simple microphone, speakers and/or headphones (Note: if a desktop system is used, it must have an internal DVD drive and a second monitor port out.)
• Larger screen TV (requires a private setting) or video goggles with sound

Therapists implementing VS should have at least a Master’s degree in psychology, counseling, social work, or related field. The treatment can be provided by a clinical technician.

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program; but there is not training available for this program.

This program is rated a "3 - Promising Research Evidence" on the Scientific Rating Scale based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The practice must have at least one study utilizing some form of control (e.g., untreated group, placebo group, matched wait list study) establishing the practice's benefit over the placebo, or found it to be comparable to or better than an appropriate comparison practice. Please see the Scientific Rating Scale for more information.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being