i'm amazed that the thread hasn't been locked. rarely are we ever allowed to carry a discussion like this this far......it is good to get things out in the open.

definitions on web:

1. an adult whose primary sexual interest is in children; some professionals make a differentiation between a pedophile, whose sexual partner of choice is a prepubertal child, and a hebephile, who is aroused by adolescents. nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/usermanuals/sexabuse/sexabuseh.cfm

2. pedophilia, psychosexual disorder in which there is a preference for sexual activity with prepubertal children. Pedophiles are almost always males. The children are more often of the opposite sex (about twice as often) and are typically 13 years or age or younger; they may be within or outside the pedophile's family. Sexual fantasies, looking, or fondling are more common than genital contact. Sexual offenses against children make up a significant proportion of reported criminal sex acts.

The cause or causes of pedophilia are not well understood. Personality problems may be evident, and the pedophile often shows little or no concern for the effects of his sexual behavior on the child. Researchers have reported that psychotherapy in conjunction with the use of testosterone-lowering drugs has substantially reduced the desire in male pedophiles to molest children. See also child abuse.

the below concerns treatment:

A number of proposed treatment techniques for pedophilia have been developed. Many regard pedophilia as highly resistant to psychological interference and have dismissed as ineffective most "reparative strategies," which may be analogous to homosexual reparative therapy.[11] Others, such as Dr. Fred Berlin, believe pedophilia can "indeed be successfully treated," if only the medical community would give it more attention.[5]

Treatment strategies for pedophilia include a "12 step support system", parallel to addiction therapy, though such a system is generally regarded as the least efficacious method of treatment. Anti-androgenic medications such as Depo Provera may be used to lower testosterone levels, and are often used in conjunction with other approaches.

More favoured is cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which the subject is taught to associate "pedophilic behavior" with various unpleasantries. Usually, this is done by telling the pedophile to fantasize of "deviant sexual activity", and then, once aroused, they are given instructions to imagine the assumed legal and social consequences of such an action. Other programs induce an association of illegal behavior with pain by means of more controversial aversion therapy, in which the pedophile is sent an electric shock while fantasizing. [12] These methods are rarely used on pedophiles who have not offended.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, the treatment center in New Mexico uses CBT and the 12 step program.......from what happened there, after the "patient" was released, neither of those work............pat


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