This paper summarizes our developing knowledge of factors that contribute added risk of sexual recidivism (risk factors) and factors that are associated with a reduced risk of sexual recidivism (protective factors). Specific implications for the design of future treatment programs are drawn. This information is contrasted with the common foci of sexual offender treatment programs that were designed before these research findings emerged, and suggestions made about how common clinical tasks might be re-revisited and revised in the light of this new knowledge.