Understanding Viewing Time in the Assessment and Treatment of Males Who Have Sexually Abused
Please note: This training is not eligible for CE credits.
Each registration includes a certificate for attendance. To be eligible for a certificate, you must attend the entire live training and complete an evaluation form within 24 hours following the live event.
Viewing time measures provide an unintrusive way to assess sexual interests among people who have sexually abused. It can be used in risk assessments and to assist in diagnosing Pedophilic and related conditions.
“Viewing time” refers to how long a person spends looking at visual stimuli, typically images of people, during a psychophysiological assessment of sexual interests. It is used as an indirect indicator of sexual interest or attraction. Viewing time is typically measured using computerized tasks where participants are shown a series of images, and their response times are recorded. The basic premise is that people tend to look longer at stimuli they find sexually attractive or interesting. It’s considered a relatively unobtrusive way to assess sexual interests compared to more direct questioning or physiological measures.
Presenter Mervyn Davies, co-founder of the LOOK Assessment, developed this training to help evaluators and treatment providers use a viewing time instrument in their professional activities with clients who have sexually abused others. The training covers:
- The long history of using viewing time tools with people convicted of sexual crimes
- A review of existing approaches
- Three kinds of sexual attraction in males
- Why we assess sexual interests
- Review of top risk factors for sexual offense recidivism
- The use of measures to improve client disclosure of interests and engagement in treatment
- Reasons why there are no norm-referenced tools.
The training aims to enhance participants’ understanding of clients’ sexual interest and its relevance to risk assessment and treatment planning. Davies explains the functionality of ipsative measure—a type of assessment that compares an individual’s responses to their own previous responses—in gauging sexual interest.
This training focuses on viewing time generally, and skills learned in this training apply to the use of other measures. At the conclusion of the training, case examples (using the LOOK Assessment as an illustration) are used to promote discussion among the participants and provide practical insights into the application of viewing time measures in professional settings.
Interactive Follow-Up Meeting
Attendees are invited to join an open discussion 15 minutes following the end of the training, where you can engage with fellow attendees by turning on your camera and microphone. This is an opportunity to share your experiences and contribute to a meaningful exchange of ideas. Time will be allocated to address questions or insights from the training. Please note that attendance is optional and will not affect your eligibility for a training certificate.
1) Explain the role of viewing time in assessing people who have sexually abused.
2) Describe the role of viewing time in risk assessment.
3) Identify at least one established measure of viewing time in sexual interest evaluation.
4) Recognize three kinds of sexual attraction observed in males.
Audience
This training is primarily for professionals who work directly with adults who have sexually abused others. This includes mental health counselors, social workers, clinical psychologists, and forensic experts.
Content Level
Cancellations
Who's Presenting
Mervyn Davies, MA, ATSA-F
Mervyn Davies has an MA in counseling, was a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Addictions Counselor III, an Approved Domestic Violence Treatment Provider, an Approved Sex Offender Treatment Provider and Evaluator. He has 35 years of experience working with adult and juvenile domestic violence and sex offenders. He was a member of the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) from 2006 to 2018 and served as vice chair for 3 years. Mr. Davies was appointed to the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board (DVOMB) in 2013 and was very active in the development of the Colorado’s new domestic violence standards and served as Chairman from April 2017 to January 2019. Mr. Davies co-authored the Domestic Violence Risk & Needs Assessment (DVRNA) currently being utilized on all Colorado domestic violence offenders. He has done research in the areas of sexual interest and intimate partner sexual violence. He was in private practice and worked as a clinical supervisor retiring from private practice in 2020. He is a co-founder of the LOOK Assessment sexual interest test used internationally on sex offenders.
He has provided a multitude of trainings at a national level including workshops for various probation departments, state agencies, and non-profits for the past 20 years. He has been a consultant for CBS News and has appeared on the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather,” “48 Hours” and the A & E Channel. Mr. Davies received the Fellow Status with the Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers (ATSA) and the American Psychotherapy Association (APA).