Leanne Hanley, Olivia Henry, Julie Willis
Medication to manage problematic sexual arousal (MMPSA): An innovative tool in the toolkit and specialist approach for wellbeing and risk management. + Providing Accredited Programmes at Scale: The System-Aware Biopsychosocial Model of Change and Building Choices, translating conceptual framework into practice
Workshop Abstract
The MMPSA service is a specialist provision within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), jointly funded by HMPPS and HNS England, with governance from the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP).
The service includes pharmaceutical and psychosocial support for people who experience problematic sexual arousal. The primary aim of the service is to improve wellbeing and reduce subjective feelings of distress related to the experience of sexual thoughts and feelings, though its utility for risk management is clearly recognised.
This workshop will provide an overview of the MMPSA service, tracing its development from early pilot initiatives to its current national delivery model. We will outline the rationale for the service, key milestones in its evolution, and the collaborative framework that underpins its delivery, including partnership working with NHS England.
The session will also highlight how the Sentencing Review (May 2025) and the Lord Chancellor’s announcement of additional funding (June 2025) have shaped recent expansion and future plans for the service. Attendees will gain insight into referral pathways, assessment processes, and the range of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions offered, with a focus on how trauma-informed principles and lived experience have influenced service design.
We will share learning from implementation, highlight challenges and successes, and invite discussion on future directions, including evaluation plans. By attending this workshop, delegates will:• Understand the purpose and scope of the MMPSA service.• Learn how collaborative working across justice and health sectors supports individuals experiencing distress related to their sexual thoughts and feelings.• Explore innovative practices that align with NOTA’s priorities on intervention and trauma-informed care.
This presentation will be of interest to practitioners, managers, and researchers working in criminal justice, health, and related fields who seek to understand and contribute to the development of specialist wellbeing services for individuals presenting complex needs.
About the Speakers
Leanne Hanley is a Registered Forensic Psychologist with over twenty years’ experience of working with people who display sexually harmful behaviour. She currently works as a National Specialist Lead for Sexual Offending in HMPPS.
She sits on the national Steering Board for MMPSA and has led on the development of the Psychosocial Pathway attached to that service. Leanne is also a Senior Lecturer on the Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Forensic Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She also sits on Fitness to Practice Panels for the Health and Care Professions Council.
Julie Willis works for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) as a National Specialist Lead (NSL) for Sexual Offending within
Interventions Services. Julie holds joint responsibility within this role for the Building Choices programme and previously the
legacy Accredited Programmes Horizon and iHorizon.
Prior to this role Julie was a Senior Probation Officer most recently based in
custody and earlier in case management in the community. Julie has over 20 years of experience of groupwork in the National
Probation Service as a Facilitator, Treatment Manager and Programme Manager in the Interventions team in Greater Manchester,
delivering interventions in both community and custody settings.
Olivia Henry works for HM Prison and Probation
Service (HMPPS) as a National Specialist Lead (NSL)
for Sexual Offending within Interventions Services.
Olivia holds joint responsibility within this role for the
Accredited Programme Building Choices and
previously the Accredited Programmes Horizon and
iHorizon.
Prior to this role Olivia was a Senior
Probation Officer in the Divisional Sexual Offending
Interventions Unit in the South West of England. Olivia
has over 20 years’ experience of groupwork in the
National Probation Service as a Probation Officer and
Treatment Manager.
Olivia was a Regional Trainer for
the legacy sexual offending treatment programmes
(SOTP) in the community, and the associated dynamic
and static risk assessment tools. She was also
appointed as a short-term placement Inspector for
HMIP’s Thematic Inspection on Sexual Offending in
2018 and is a longstanding member of the Probation
Journal Editorial Board and has recently joined the
NOTA research committee.