Psychosexual Evaluations

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Services

Texas PCS conducts Psychosexual Evaluations for both adult and juvenile sex offenders. The assessment is administered by one of our Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Providers (LSOTPs)

What is an Psychosexual Evaluation?

A Psychosexual Evaluation examines a client's sexual interests, attitudes, and behaviors to see if there are deviancy issues.  A Psychosexual Evaluation can serve as a means in assisting judges and other interested parties with making well-informed disposition determinations.  On the contrary, a Risk Assessment evaluates a client's risk for re-offending or acting out sexually in the future.  In some situations, a Psychosexual Evaluation and a Risk Assessment are combined.  It is important to know that no assessment can deem one has committed a crime or will commit another sexual offense in the future.    

Psychosexual Evaluations Purpose

Psychosexual Evaluations are designed to identify:

  • Level of risk for sexual and non–sexual recidivism.

  • Recommended types and intensity of interventions that will be most beneficial, including level of care (e.g., community versus more secure placement).

  • The specific dynamic risk factors or criminogenic needs to be targeted through interventions.

  • Amenability/Willingness to interventions.

  • Responsivity factors that may impact engagement in, and response to interventions.

  • Strengths and protective factors relative to the individual, as well as those that exist within family, peer, and other community support systems.

Psychosexual Evaluations Are NOT

Psychosexual Evaluations are not and should never be used for any of the following purposes:

  • Determining guilt or innocence (which is well outside of the scope and boundaries of the mental health professional’s role).

  • Identifying whether an individual is or is not a “sex offender” (which is not an appropriate referral question, because no specific type of assessment or set of assessment tools is designed for making this determination).

  • Concluding whether an adult or juvenile meets the “profile” of a sex offender (which does not exist; research consistently demonstrates the diversity of adults and juveniles who have committed sex offenses).