Greetings, Dan, I was so glad when you stopped using the term "skinners" after I wrote my concerns about your persistent use of this term a couple of years ago in another online forum. It was nice that it did not take a lot of discussion at the time, and it has been nice not to have to observe your continued use of this term since then. I was dismayed at your use of the term "skinners" at that time - apparently before you turned into a polygraph consultant. I am equally uncomfortable with your renewed use of the term here. It is not a term that I have ever heard from any polygraph examiner other than yourself, and I have never heard from a clinical or law enforcement professional. I´ve worked around jails and prisons for a few decades now, and I simply cannot recall ever hearing another professional using the term - other than yourself. But it is perfectly clear - given the context in which you use the term - that it is a bit of prison slang term you adopted during your tenure as a part time examiner with NH state corrections is clear. When I ask other professionals who work in jails and prisons they recognize the term but uniformly indicate that they are not aware of the use of this term in professional discussions. So I am glad that you ceased using the term. It does seem odd to me that you re-inject it here, and I hope you do not continue using the term. I am not quite sure what the point of your using the term here is, but I do understand that you like to stir controversy. Most of us are in favor of more language that is less de-humanizing. The tendency to de-humanize others is actually part of the problem of sex offending and it is impossible to imagine how any professional use of the term will lead to anything productive in terms of attitudes or understanding. How we treat others is more often not about who they are but more about who we are. Ark, I´m not sure what the question for me would be. There are a number of easy misunderstandings that get attached to both the polygraph and the sex offender treatment context. It is also rather easy to misunderstand "denial" in the treatment context. Denial is superficially similar to dishonesty, but it is definitely not synonymous. A broader view would say that everything in sex offense specific treatment - and perhaps other forms of mental health treatment - is about denial, including reducing denial and increasing a sense of personal responsibility, self-acceptance, and of course self-mastery and self-actualization. Denial, of course, will interfere with all this, and can result in all forms of distorted thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In the sex offense context it is obvious and tangible. Denial of behavior, denial of harm and impact on victims, denial of unlawfulness, denial of immorality, denial of deviancy, denial of the broader meaning of a pattern of behavior in terms of what kind of person one is, denial of dangerousness, denial of intent, denial of awareness and culpability, denial of awareness of the thoughts and feelings of others, denial of conscience, denial of propensity for continued behavior, denial that good choices matter - along with denial that bad choices also matter, denial of self-esteem - along with destruction of self-esteem when we do something that we are capable of recognizing as dysfunctional if we stop and think about it. Virtually every topic in treatment is, in some way, about facing reality, reducing denial, and increasing one´s capacity to deal with life on life´s terms, given the limitations and issues that an individual has to manage along the way. Denial and avoidance, in its many forms, along with the host of other maladaptive coping and defense mechanisms, is the reason or basis for the need for treatment. It is not necessarily a barrier to treatment. It is why people need treatment. It is also important to recognize that it is easy to confuse sex offenses with sexual deviancy and paraphilias. These are not synonymous. Oddly, some sexual offenses are not an expression of sexual deviancy, and not all sex offenses involve paraphilias. Some sexual paraphilias may not be unlawful. Some persons who have committed sexual offenses may not have problems with sexual deviancy. It is generally helpful for clinicians to first understand these concepts in general, and then understand the sexual behavior problem of the specific individual being treated. .02 rn
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