https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18758895 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2018, Vol. 62(13) 4257–4277 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18758895 journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo Article Beyond Circles of Support: “Fearless”—An Open Peer- to-Peer Mutual Support Group for Sex Offense Registrants and Their Family Members Lisa L. Sample 1 , Brooke N. Cooley 2 , and Tusty ten Bensel 2 Abstract The term sex offender carries expectations that include a continuous level of sexual criminal risk and untreatable mental health conditions that govern sex offending behaviors. These role expectations by the public can socially isolate individuals who have been convicted of a crime and the people who love them. This is likely to contribute to negative self-images that can result in loneliness, isolation, and depression, and, subsequently, contribute to discontinuing support for sex offender’s loved ones and reoffending. This article highlights the creation and maintenance of a peer-to-peer social support group for registered sex offenders and their family members that helps combat the effects of “sex offender” labels. This group differs from formal organized circles of support model and traditional self-help groups such as Alcohol (AA) or Narcotic (NA) Anonymous. We review this group’s creation, processes and procedures, and outcomes, including changes in cognition, mood, and affect over time for members in the group. Keywords sexual offending, circles of support, support groups, treatment, cognitive and affective states 1 University of Nebraska Omaha, USA 2 University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA Corresponding Author: Lisa L. Sample, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, CB #218, Omaha, NE 68182, USA. Email: lsample@unomaha.edu 758895IJO XX X 10.1177/0306624X18758895International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologySample et al. research-article 2018