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OtherSPECIAL ARTICLE

Assessing and Managing the Risks in the Stalking Situation

Paul E. Mullen, Rachel Mackenzie, James R. P. Ogloff, Michele Pathé, Troy McEwan and Rosemary Purcell
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online December 2006, 34 (4) 439-450;
Paul E. Mullen
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Rachel Mackenzie
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James R. P. Ogloff
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Michele Pathé
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Troy McEwan
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Rosemary Purcell
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    Figure 1.

    Establishing stalker type on the basis of limited information from the victim.

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    Table 1

    The Stalker’s Clinical Risk Factors and Future Hazards Specific to the Stalking Situation

    Risk FactorManagement Possibilities
    Clinical
        Attitudes toward, and beliefs about, the victim that sustain stalkingAppropriate legal interventions; CBT* and focused psychotherapies aimed at such areas as abandoning love, accepting loss, confronting misperceptions
        The conviction that the stalker is right to engage in stalkingEnhancing victim empathy; confronting false attributions using CBT
        The refusal to engage in any therapy, or conform to legally imposed restrictions on access to the victimUltimately confronting stalker with consequences (e.g. through breaching parole, referring back to court, etc.); employing motivational interviewing strategies to assist the stalker to appreciate the need for intervention
        Social incompetenceSocial skills training, therapies aimed at enhancing self-efficacy
        ParaphiliaSex offender program incorporating CBT with or without pharmacotherapy, as indicated
    Future hazards
        Likely future contact with the victimEvery effort should be made to enforce a total ban on direct contact or direct communications
        Lack of a feasible set of plans for avoiding a recurrence of stalkingEnsure structured plan around avoiding provocations and using protections against stalking; CBT to assist the stalker to overcome the compulsionto stalk
        The underlying precipitants remain unresolvedFocused psychotherapy aimed at the areas identified in the formulation; social skills training for the inept; assistance abandoning the relationship; the treatment of paraphilias using CBT with or without pharmacotherapy, as indicated
        Continuing instability to obtain residence and/or employmentAssistance obtaining housing; career counseling and active employment rehabilitation as indicated and appropriate
        Continuing social isolationUse of clubs, day centers, recreational counseling, domestic pets
        Likely low level of compliance with legal restraints on contact with victimEnsure knowledge of consequences of breaches and never collude, implicitly or explicitly, with avoiding those consequences
        Likely low level of cooperation with any treatment programUse of compulsory community treatment orders either imposed by court or as part of mental health legislation
    • * CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy.

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    Table 2

    The Clinical Risk Factors and Future Hazards in the Victim That Aggravate Risks Presented by Stalkers

    Risk FactorsPotential Management
    Clinical
        Unwillingness to make use of legal protectionAdvice and practical assistance in accessing police and other legal protection, advocacy when indicated
        Unwillingness to engage in therapy and take adviceEncouragement to join stalking survivor groups and provision of information about stalking
    Future hazards
        Anything that will compel ongoing contact with the stalker (e.g. joint custody of children, shared work environment)Strongly encourage total ban on direct contact or direct communication; provide direction for services to assist with managing any potentialfor contact
        Initiating contact with the stalker, out of guilt or just an inability to leave well enough alone, or through misguided efforts to negotiate an end to the harrassmentCounseling and information on stalking; stalking survivor groups; reinforcing no direct contact, no direct communications
        Continuing to reject the use of legal protection and therapeutic support, or abandoning the services that have previously failedCounseling to restore confidence in services and to provide active advocacy with law enforcement agencies and increased security
        Becoming caught up in attempting to fight back rather than reduce riskInformation and counseling on hazards of this approach; counseling aimed at managing anger more constructively
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Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online: 34 (4)
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
Vol. 34, Issue 4
December 2006
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Assessing and Managing the Risks in the Stalking Situation
Paul E. Mullen, Rachel Mackenzie, James R. P. Ogloff, Michele Pathé, Troy McEwan, Rosemary Purcell
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online Dec 2006, 34 (4) 439-450;

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Assessing and Managing the Risks in the Stalking Situation
Paul E. Mullen, Rachel Mackenzie, James R. P. Ogloff, Michele Pathé, Troy McEwan, Rosemary Purcell
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online Dec 2006, 34 (4) 439-450;
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    • Abstract
    • Types of Risk
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