Michael E. Holtby, ACSW, LCSW, BCD

Johns School

Between 1997 and 2011 I interviewed 536 "Johns" (men who were arrested for soliciting prostitutes). They saw me for individual assessment and counseling for a minimum of two sessions, but some elected to stay for up to two years. Many joined a weekly therapy group, that I facilitated, to address sexual addictions. This was part of a diversion program with the Denver City Attorney's Office.

Following that time I no longer interviewed the men, but joined Karina Rodriguez Abrams in her Johns School program with Better Communities Colorado, which works with the Denver District Attorney's Office.

My role is to present information to them about the underlying reasons men seek prostitutes, as well as the variety of risks they face. And secondly, to depict the sex workers' lives and dangers to dispel the fantasies the men have about who these women are.

These two classes have also taken the form of a professional workshop for psychotherapists and has been presented at national conferences: "Who Buys & Sells Sex and Why."

Here are links to a one of these classes: