Beyond Punishment: Evidence-Based Treatment for Sexual Offenders (4 CE Hours, 2026)

Course Description:

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the principles of evidence-based sex offender treatment;
2. Apply relapse prevention and risk management strategies;
3. Compare treatment approaches for various offender populations;
4. Assess the effectiveness of sex offender treatment; and
5. Identify ethical and legal considerations in treatment.

Activity Schedule:

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Kate Sutton is a clinical psychologist who earned her Doctoral degree at Queen’s University in Canada, where she studied the psychophysiological and brain mechanisms of vulvar pain in women. Her clinical work and training has focused on sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias, with a specific emphasis on pedophilia and sexual offending. Dr. Sutton completed her residency and pursued post-doctoral training at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, where her training and clinical work was focused on paraphilic and kinky sexualities, gender dysphoria, and hypersexuality.

Since graduating and moving to California, Dr. Sutton has been the director of an outpatient sexual offender treatment clinic and the chief psychologist for Santa Clara County Hospitals and Jails. She moved into full-time private practice in 2020. Her private practice specializes in individuals and couples with sexual and relationship problems, as well as risk evaluations and treatment of sexual offenders. She has published numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles on the topics of sexual dysfunction, hypersexuality, and paraphilias, as well as having won numerous awards for both her research and presentations.

Class originally recorded: upcoming

Social workers completing this course receive 2 general continuing education credits.