When juvenile sex offenders enter treatment, they should be informed at the outset that their statements cannot be held completely confidential, that disclosures of further abuse and knowledge of more victims must be reported. In addition, past physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse suffered by treatment clients may have to be reported. Risk assessment is an important part of the initial treatment session; clinicians should know how dangerous the client is. Clinicians also need to be aware of their own issues before successfully treating juvenile sex offenders. Further, adolescents may have their own issues they want to address in treatment, including reasons for their offense, social isolation, self-esteem, and family difficulties. The most important variable in decreasing the client's potential to reoffend is empathy for victims. The author concludes that juvenile sex offenders can be more easily engaged when they are part of the treatment process and that respect for client perspectives can help therapists understand the dynamics which led to the offending behavior. 10 references