Circles of Support and Accountability

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Harry Nigh · 1994 · Hamilton, Ontario

What it is

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) is not a psychotherapy. It is a community reintegration programme in which a small group of trained, supervised volunteers meets regularly with a person who has been convicted of sexual offences or has shown harmful sexual behaviour (the "Core Member"),…

Format

• Circles Coordinator: sets up the Circle, supports and supervises the volunteers, links inner and outer Circles and shares relevant information; reviews progress and risk and decides when the Circle ends.
• Stage 0: Referral and eligibility. Referrals usually come from probation and/or police. General Circles take adults over 18 convicted of offences involving harmful sexual behaviour who have acknowledged it, are assessed as presenting a high risk of harm and are committed to a positive,…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Stage 0b: Volunteer recruitment and training (parallel). In the UK pilots, volunteers attended an assessment day and interviews, gave references and had an enhanced criminal records check, then completed an initial two-day course and further training over about a month before meeting the Core Member; they receive regular supervision from the coordinator. Volunteers commit to at least a year.
• Stage 2: Phase one, intensive support. In the UK pilots this lasted roughly 9 to 12 months: the most intensive phase, focused on accommodation, clubs, education, employment and safe activities. Meetings are regular and early on usually weekly, in neutral community venues, with volunteer contact between meetings, usually by phone; Quakers in the World describes daily contact (such as shopping trips or calls) at…
• Variants: Circles for Young People (harmful sexual behaviour with or without convictions; activity-based, age-appropriate; volunteers have extra training); Adapted Circles for people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism (longer, more intensive assessment and preparation; specialist coordinators); Circles ReBoot for adults convicted of accessing child sexual exploitation material (shorter, semi-structured, 12…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in one line: Canadian matched-comparison studies reported large reductions in sexual reoffending, Circles UK reports Duwe's 2018 Minnesota randomised trial as showing a large reduction in sexual re-arrest risk, while a systematic review (Clarke, Brown & Völlm) found control-group…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• collusion, punitive stance, burnout. Working: you can stay curious and clear about risk at the same time.
• sliding into a clinical role, being treated as the expert by other volunteers. Working: role is clear to everyone.
• signing to please; goals that are only about practical help. Working: the client can state both their goals and their commitments.
• informal groups calling themselves Circles without statutory liaison, training or supervision. Working: clear answers and written policies.
• role-play becoming humiliating; over-rehearsed scripts. Working: real challenges in the Circle are reported as uncomfortable but manageable.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.