Author: B4U_ACT

Seeking MAPs for Interview Study

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Seeking People Interested in Being a Part of a Study about the Therapy-Seeking Behavior of Men Attracted to Minors

UPDATE: Participants may now be interviewed by email rather than voice chat if they prefer.

Male MAPs are invited to participate in a research study about understanding the help-seeking behaviors of men who are sexually attracted to minors. The study is also intended to help identify how mental health services can be made more available to those who are attracted to minors. My name is Heather Cacciatori, and I am a doctoral student of Psychology at Walden University. I am conducting this study for my PhD dissertation. The intent behind this study is to gain an understanding of the professional help-seeking behaviors of people who are sexually attracted to minors. The study will also help provide an understanding of how the decision to seek help or not has impacted your well-being. Your shared experiences will help me understand how you think about therapy, as well as how you believe you will be perceived by mental health professionals. Your experiences will be able to provide an understanding into how mental health professionals can make therapeutic services more readily available to those who are attracted to minors. Upon completion of the study, a one to two page summary of the results will be sent to the parties involved via email.

For those interested in participating, the interviews will be conducted by email or by using free internet-based software, such as Skype. If conducted by Skype, the audio will be recorded, but no video, if used, will be recorded or saved in any way. The interviews will take no more than an hour. Your identity will be protected so any data collected and reported will be anonymous.

Please email me at heather.cacciatori@waldenu.edu for more information.

You may be eligible to participate in this study if you can answer YES to all of these questions:
– I am a male who is 18 years or older.
– I am attracted to minors aged 17 or younger.
– I have never sexually offended against a minor or child
– I have never used pornography that involved children.
– I have no intentions to ever offend against a minor or child
– I intend to never use pornography that involves children.

All selected participants must be 18 or over and meet the above criteria. If you would like to participate in this study, please email me at heather.cacciatori@waldenu.edu to express your interest. When I receive your email, I will send you more detailed information on the study along with a consent form that will require your signature. Once the consent form is received, we will set up the interview.

MAPs Wanted for Interview Study

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UPDATE: The researcher has found sufficient MAPs for his interviews, and is therefore no longer seeking participants.

Mikkel Rask Pedersen is an anthropologist from Aarhus University in Denmark writing his final Master’s thesis on the relationship between how minor attracted people shape and manage their identity in resistance to societal representation and definitions of pedophilia, illness and desire. This means that he is researching how minor attracted people position themselves according to statements such as ‘It is only a matter of time before they offend’, ‘you cannot live a life repressing you sexuality’, ‘if they are attracted to minor that must mean they want to have sexual relations with them’ and, ‘minor attracted people need extensive therapy and help to not offend’.

The purpose of his study is twofold. One, to gain a better insight into the lived experience of being a minor attracted person through listening to their life stories. Two, to explore how the discourses in western societies shape, influence and restrict the ways minor attracted people are expected to act. Mikkel wishes to challenge the ways we talk about and understand sexuality and desires to create a more nuanced understanding of how people are not entirely defined by their desires, nor that desire must also mean wanting to act.

The research, therefore, does not focus on how to stop minor attracted people from offending, but how minor attracted people experience exactly such a rhetoric and discourse, always being stigmatized as a reliability. He is conducting interviews through mail and skype, maintaining the anonymity of participants.

B4U-ACT Holds Spring 2016 Workshop

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B4U-ACT held its eighth full-day workshop, entitled “Mental Health for Minor-Attracted People: Keeping Wellness First,” on Friday, April 22, 2016, in Baltimore, MD. Approximately 35 people attended, including minor-attracted persons (MAPs), MAP family members, mental health professionals, graduate students, and professors.

B4U-ACT co-founder and board chair Russell Dick began the day with a brief history and overview of the mission of B4U-ACT, including a recognition of the contributions of dedicated board members Paul Christiano and Denise Sawyer who died this past year. Psychodramatist Steve Kopp then led an introductory activity which helped attendees get to know each other and become more comfortable discussing MAP issues.

During the first session, Richard Kramer, B4U-ACT’s science and education director, moderated a presentation and discussion of MAPs’ experiences of coming to an awareness of their sexuality and seeking wellness. Richard and another MAP told their personal stories, followed by a time for questions and comments from the audience, and discussion of factors that promote or inhibit attempts to achieve wellness. Some barriers to wellness identified by attendees included the risk averseness of the mental health profession (reflecting tendencies found in society in general) and the tendency to inaccurately think of MAPs and issues they face as being in a different category from those associated with other populations.

The purpose of the next portion of the workshop was to identify components of wellness and discuss how they applied to MAPs. Russell provided an overview of wellness from a mental health perspective, defining it as a healthy balance of mind, body, and spirit that leads to a sense of well-being. He described eight components of wellness: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. Then he described how he addressed these components in his own practice with clients, including MAP clients. This was followed by lively discussion.

After lunch, Richard provided an overview and update of B4U-ACT’s recent activities and accomplishments in four areas: MAP outreach, professional outreach, collaboration with researchers, and interaction with media.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to actions attendees could take to address the wellness needs of MAP clients, as well as possible initiatives that could help move the focus of the profession toward these needs. Steve led an exercise to help attendees identify their strengths and discuss how they could use them to address the wellness of MAPs through therapy or in everyday relationships. Attendees identified several things that MAPs and practitioners could do. For example, MAPs could tell their stories in a way that took account of their audience’s understanding, realize they can walk away from therapists who don’t seem to be a good fit, and work on self-acceptance rather than dwelling on the unhelpful ways that society responds to them. Mental health professionals could provide acceptance, listen and meet the MAP client where he or she is, help the client define wellness and determine areas where work is needed, and inform clients about the limits of confidentiality.

The final portion of the day was devoted to identifying initiatives to which attendees could commit in order to move the profession toward a wellness focus for MAPs. Participants brainstormed a list of about 15 ideas, then narrowed the list down to four initiatives that seemed to generate the most interest: presenting at conferences held by professional organizations, developing a handbook for therapists working with MAPs, creating a therapist referral system, and carrying out an anti-stigma/publicity campaign. Attendees divided themselves into groups corresponding to these initiatives and developed initial goals and action plans. Those who were able signed up to commit to working on these initiatives and selected one person to be the initial facilitator for the group’s continued work.