Among the benefits of using the polygraph in treating sex offenders are an expansion of the treatment program, assistance in checking problem areas, monitoring treatment stages, and as a check on treatment progress. The polygraph should be introduced in the early stages of the treatment plan to create rapport between the examiner and the offender and lessen the subject's fear of the polygraph. The first of the three-stage approach in examining the subject is the Sex Offender Polygraph Examination Booklet, which is a broad-based questionnaire designed to obtain comprehensive information from the subject. After the completion of the booklet, the subject is examined on the answers in the booklet. The completed booklet and examination results are forwarded to the therapist for comparison with the information gained in the therapist's sessions with the subject. The polygraphist and the therapist should become familiar with one another's techniques and treatment philosophies to ensure that the therapist gains from the polygraph examination procedure. Problem areas in examining the sex offender concern his defense mechanisms, specifically rationalization and denial.