Protecting the World from Child Porn Offenders with Dr. Candice Christiansen

Candice Christiansen, M.Ed., LCMHC, CSAT, and Founder and Clinical Director of Namaste Center for Healing, has been setting new goals for people to get what they need in both assessment and treatment. She is a trauma expert and runs treatment programs in both Utah and Hawaii. Today, she talks to Rob about her work with non-contact sex offenders, the vast difference in the offender population between who we know will never touch and those who will, and why she chose to advocate for those that can’t for themselves.

 

TAKEAWAYS:

[3:27] One of the things Candice and her team offer is compassionate and judgement free treatment.

[4:14] Candice herself is a survivor of abuse, and worked for many years with both trauma survivors and convicted sex offenders. She found herself tired of a system that waited until someone committed a sex offense to provide them with treatment.

[6:19] Our legal system speaks to the idea that if someone looks, they are going to touch, when in actuality that is typically only 3% of the case.

[6:43] Candice advocates that non contact offenders get accurate treatment and assessment in the court system.

[8:52] Candice is hired by defense teams mostly on both a federal and micro level to advocate for individuals that are mentally ill, suffer from developmental disablements, or severe trauma.

[10:25] Candice speaks about a groundbreaking case that she testified for this past May, and how he got accurate treatment for his mental illness without facing jail time.

[13:02] From the start, Candice sets very firm boundaries between herself and who she works with. Because she herself suffered from trauma, she is able to transform her own pain into healing.

[16:02] At the Global Prevention Project, they educate people on appropriate social cues, touch, and consent.

[18:38] At the Namaste Center for Healing, they work with trauma, betrayed spouses and sexual addiction cases. From there, the Global Prevention Project grew. It has several different programs that gives people support and space for their needs, and also hosts The Prevention Podcast.

[27:02] Candice talks about her belief that someone on the spectrum should not be in the system, but rather in a program or situation where they receive rehabilitative treatment.

[30:02] One of the challenges is the reality that we aren’t able to help everyone, and some people are better off in jail. Candice advocates for people to be pulled out of the system when there is a chance for them to be helped, rehabilitated and improved.

 

RESOURCES:

Sex and Relationship Healing

@RobWeissMSW

Sex Addiction 101

Cruise Control: Understanding Sex Addiction in Gay Men

Prodependence: Moving Beyond Codependency

[email protected]

Global Prevention Project

Namaste Center for Healing

Link to Dr. Michael Seto’s work on internet offending - they will put in

The Prevention Podcast

Global Prevention Project - Twitter

 

QUOTES:

“Good treatment is all about accurate assessment in a non judgemental way.” “We have a very archaic criminal justice system that is based on points instead of the person.” “My plight is to not only be that expert on a federal level in court, but then also in the micro level of helping the individual get good, accurate treatment.” “If I can save one more child, this is how I do it. I don’t want any more children to be harmed.” “Children are at risk, and we need to talk about it.” “It’s not black and white.”