Stage 1 of the treatment program includes an extensive preliminary intake assessment, followed by individuals providing an account of their offences, reviewing disclosure, and completing a Statement of Acceptance. Acceptance is not seen as a milestone to be achieved but rather an ongoing process that begins with writing a Statement of Acceptance. Individuals learn about guilt, shame, and remorse. They also begin to identify patterns of power and control in their sexual offending cycle, which they will examine and interrogate more fully in the following stages. As part of Stage 1 tasks, individuals are asked to read On Repentance and Repair by Danya Ruttenberg. They are also required to attend the group program Addressing Sexual Behaviours 1 (ASB1), which focuses on acceptance and taking responsibility as an ongoing process.

Stage 2 of the treatment program is focused on building insight and understanding. Individuals begin to gain awareness of the consequences, implications, and root causes of offending behaviours. They become more aware of emotional states and psychosomatic responses while also learning to recognize and interrupt negative patterns via critical-compassionate reflection. Individuals gain greater insight into their unique relational and sexual challenges, adverse childhood experiences, their pathways to offending, and their reasons for change. They start to develop a deeper understanding of consent, boundaries, body autonomy, and healthy sexuality. A key part of Stage 2 is coming to terms with the sexual harm that has been caused as a result of individual actions and the ongoing impact of that harm over time for primary, secondary, and tertiary victims.

Stage 3 addresses victim empathy, perspective-taking, disclosure, and healthy communication. Victim empathy includes building empathy for primary victims first, followed by secondary and tertiary victims. This stage uses letter writing and narrative tools to facilitate learning, encourage vulnerability, and build insight and understanding. Individuals are required to write letters to their victims and letters from their victims. Please note that these letters are empathy-building exercises only and are typically not shared with victims. As part of Stage 3 tasks, individuals are also required to attend the group program Addressing Sexual Behaviours 2 (ASB2), which focuses on victim empathy.

Stage 4 of the treatment program focuses on accountability mapping and strengthening protective factors. Through various exercises and assignments, individuals gain a more comprehensive understanding of their cycle of offence through a relational lens. They identify their predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective factors. They are asked to identify and establish their Support and Accountability Team (SAT) to support their continued success and long-term risk management and mitigation. Stage 4 explicitly incorporates relational work as part of the treatment process, and individuals learn that their rehabilitation and recovery are only as effective as their community, and more specifically, their accountability team. They are required to participate in SAT joint therapy sessions in order to support their team as they enter into this critical role. As part of Stage 4 tasks, individuals are also required to attend the group program Addressing Sexual Behaviours 3 (ASB3), which focuses on accountability.

Stage 5 involves the conscientious integration of new learning and new habits into their daily life and relationships. As old negative patterns are disrupted and new healthy patterns emerge, individuals are equipped and enabled to move towards safety, balance, purpose, and planning for future success. The critical aspect of this stage in one's process is making meaning out of one's experiences and making reparations for one's actions. This phase of an individual's journey can take many different forms, depending on a number of variables including their personal circumstances, the unique aspects of their legal case, the details of their offending behaviour, the nuances of their community’s expectations, and/or the demands of their SAT, etc. As part of this stage of the process, individuals are asked to read The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks.

Stage 6 addresses maintenance and ongoing risk management. It involves recognizing that progress and growth are ongoing pursuits. The focus of Stage 6 is sustaining gains over time and continuing to avoid pitfalls, mitigate risk, practice accountability, and further strengthen protective factors. As part of Stage 6 tasks, individuals are strongly encouraged to attend our maintenance group, Men’s Accountability and Support Circle (MASC).

All of our program offerings are virtual and take place over online video conferencing platforms (e.g. Zoom, Google Meet, Jane, etc.). This means that you can log in and access services from wherever you are located across the province or across the country.

Not only do we believe that people can and do change, we also believe that the transformative change we are seeking is best facilitated in the community. People learn, grow, heal, and recover when they are able to stay connected to their families and community in a way that supports the safety of their victims and community safety. Our programs are not offered to individuals who are in custody because a carceral environment is rarely optimized for rehabilitation and healing.

All of our services are covered under therapist-client confidentiality. If you have legal representation, you may be doubly covered under both therapist-client confidentiality and solicitor-client confidentiality. Please read our full statement regarding privacy and confidentiality, and its exceptions.

If you have been charged with sexual offences and you know you are guilty, accessing treatment is the most important step you will take. Forensic psychotherapy helps you figure out what went wrong, what needs to change, how to make that change happen, and how to sustain your progress over time, so that no one else is victimized by you. You doing the right thing and getting help allows our society to be a safer place for everyone.

Individuals can register and enroll in the forensic treatment program at any time throughout the calendar year.

We do not condone bad behaviour. We do not condone violence. Participation in our program is not a “get out of jail free card”. However, we believe that real societal change and ending sexual violence require a compassionate approach that humanizes everyone involved.

Offenders participate in intensive programming that targets negative patterns of behaviour and interrogates problematic belief systems. Pushing back on these belief systems encourages participants to deconstruct inflated self-narratives that allow them to act entitled and wield power over their victims in profoundly harmful ways. By reconnecting them with empathy, specifically victim empathy, we reconnect them with their humanity, and vice versa.

Our approach is radically relational. We encourage connection, community, and collective awareness. We are dedicated to providing care and support that is compassionate and respectful while prioritizing victim empathy, acceptance of responsibility, lifelong accountability practices, and a commitment to creating a safer world for everyone.

No treatment program can be complete without a thorough and thoughtful accountability process that supports long-term safety and mitigates the risk of recidivism. For example, clients are asked to identify the individuals who will comprise their Support and Accountability Team (SAT), and their SAT is involved in their process at every stage of their treatment journey in meaningful ways. When a client is approaching “graduation” from the program, their SAT is an integral part of this process. This is one example of how our inherently relational accountability practices enhance treatment outcomes and continued success long after their involvement in the program has ended.

While many forensic programs focus solely on the index offence, our program begins with acceptance of responsibility, progresses to victim empathy, and culminates in accountability through a transformative justice lens. We meet each person with curiosity and compassion instead of shame, and we normalize the inherent discomfort that is an important part of doing the hard work to change.

Our approach incorporates a feminist perspective and addresses the role of patriarchy, sexism, and misogyny that is often entrenched in one’s offending behaviour. It includes a critical analysis of systems of power and privilege, the structures that reinforce them, and how patterns of offending behaviour uphold these problematic hierarchies.