Articles and Papers

New Authority in schools – the P.E.N. programme

The article starts with describing shortly the evolution from NVR to the New Authority concept by our team at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel (SCMC). The article focuses on our work in school’s settings and presents the Fundamental Principles of an NA intervention called the P.E.N. programme. The acronyms stand for - Presence Empowerment & Net-support and the rationale for it is explained through the article. The authors demonstrate the power of P.E.N. through case study that was first published in Hebrew. The case study presents the use of NVR tools to empower teachers, to reach out to parents and create support networks to reduce problematic behaviour among students. Read here also a translated version of it to Dutch.

Idan Amiel & Tal Maimon

Published also in ’Non-Violent Resistance Innovations in Practice’ - Chapter 20

Connecting Authority - Towards a new form of authority, based on the principles of Non-Violent Resistance

Psychotherapists working in the Dutch mental health care system (GGZ) for youth are often confronted with parents who feel terrorized by their child. The externalizing or internalizing problem behavior that these children exhibit
makes them feel helpless and desperate. Regular escalations combined with children unmotivated to seek help results in both parents and caregivers veering towards using classic authority based on punishment, force and pressure. The focus of this article is on a new way of looking at authority: connecting authority. The authors link the search for authority to the correlation between authority and forming one’s identity as well as to societal changes in the past decades, giving rise to tensions between authority and attachment. Connecting authority is based on the principles of nonviolent resistance and performs the seemingly impossible task of uniting extremes: hierarchical difference with relational proximity, a loving environment with clear boundaries, resisting the unacceptable behavior with belief in the other’s potential. This is conveyed in a practical way, as a method that provides anchor points for parents and therapists in their difficult and paradoxical quest to integrate connection with authority, in case of serious behavioral problems, as well as for ordinary educational issues.

Hans Bom & Eliane Wiebenga

Published in: Dutch Journal of Psychotherapy, July 2017

(Read here)

Connecting Authority - implementations with police officers

Dr. Ziv Gilad describes a pilot study comparing the behaviour of two groups of police officers in a simulated conflict situation; one had received training in NVR and CA and the other (the control group) had not. This interesting study has implications for the training of police especially where there is a climate of high conflict.

Read here the German publication and read here in Hebrew.

Dr. Ziv Gilad

A chapter in English from the author is available also here.

Vigilant Caretaking for Teenagers

A description of the handbook ‘Vigilant caretaking for teenagers’ is provided here by the author. The handbook combines the mindset of solution-focused with the concepts of ‘New Authority’ and NVR. The handbook defines various tools, language guidance, applications and techniques that can be employed in groups, but also in one-on-one sessions with parents.

Sven Bussens

English

We have a dream – we are, where the youngsters are!

The writers describe a new education program assimilated in a closed residential youth care called IZEO. IZEO stands for Integrated Care and Education and intend to combine education and treatment in a way that enhances transparency, break the secrecy, create a safe environment and improves the support network through working alliances between colleagues.

Dominique van Munster & Lianneke Ramaekers

English

The importance of the link between NVR and NA

The Article calls for a dialog concerning the difference between NVR and New Authority. The author describes the taboo on the word Authority and in what ways in her opinion should NVR be used.

Veerle Lisabeth

The New Authority: Family, School, and Community – Forward

(click to download)

New Authority and Non Violent Resistance.

An introduction to the concept, mindset and tools.

(click to download)

This article is based on a interview with Idan Amiel.

In this article you can find a walk through the concept of New Authority and Nonviolent Resistance. Idan talks about: the essence  of New Authority, cultural sensitive implementation in different contexts, a small history of development, tools and examples of Nonviolent Resistance, the need of belonging and the African saying: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.

Idan Amiel and Michal Herbsman announce what participants of the upcoming course of three days in November 2017 in Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium can expect. Read here more about this NA training.

Sven Bussens

Center for Solution Focused Work and Coaching.
University College Ghent -             Education, Health and Social Work

Published in: AGORA. Journal of Youth care. Informant.
33(1), 39-44, 2017

Adaptation and evaluation of a nonviolent resistance intervention for foster parents: A progress report.

Foster care faces serious challenges, such as behavioral problems in foster children and parental stress and ineffective parenting behavior in foster parents. The results of a pilot study that evaluated a training program for foster parents based on nonviolent resistance are described.

In a pretest–posttest design, data were collected from 25 families. Significant
reductions in externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behavior in the foster children and in parenting stress were found. Using a reliable change index, significant improvements in externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behavior were found in, respectively, 72, 44, and 80% of the cases. Most improvements proved to be clinically relevant. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large for problem behavior, and from small to medium for parenting
stress.

Prof. Frank Van Holen

Training in Nonviolent Resistance for Foster Parents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to evaluate a training in non-violent resistance (NVR) for foster parents who take care of a foster child (ages 6-18) with externalizing problem behavior. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was used to compare an intervention group (NVR, n ¼ 31) with a treatment as usual control group (TAU, n ¼ 31). The NVR-intervention consists of ten weekly home sessions. Measures regarding behavioral problems in foster children, parenting stress and parenting practices in foster mothers, and the size of the supportive network were assessed before, after treatment, and at three months follow-up.

Results: NVR showed to be an acceptable approach that lead to an increase in experienced support and some promising changes in parenting stress and parenting practices. Conclusion: Implementation of this intervention might increase the effectiveness of foster care. More longitudinal research using a Multi-trait-multi-method-approach is however needed.

Frank Van Holen

Connecting Authority in Primary Schools

Teachers nowadays need to confront oppositional behavior and aggression in the classroom. How can a teacher shape an authority role without returning to the classic top-down authority? Connecting Authority, based on principles of Non-Violent Resistance, offers a clear vision and concrete tools to achieve this goal.

Eliane Wiebenga & Eefke Faasen

Published in: Dutch Journal Youth in School and World

(Read here)

Multi-stressed families, child violence and the larger system: an adaptation of the nonviolent model

Non Violent Resistance (NVR) aims to change family relationships, when children and young people show violent, aggressive or self-destructive
behaviour. Trauma in multi-stressed families necessitates an adaptation of the original NVR approach in order to meet these clients’ specific
therapeutic needs when child violence arises. The author has developed such an adaptation. This article gives an overview of the larger system
aspect of the adapted NVR model, illustrating how NVR core principles are applied to help family members develop a sense of safety within the
larger system, so the nuclear family itself can become a safe and supportive recovery environment.

Dr. Peter Jakob

Published in: Journal of Family Therapy (2016).
DOI: 10.1111/1467-6427.12133

The interview describes the implementation process the school team did with Manuela Duft and René Frey from isi-netz24. A project group was set to work together and built support, parents were involved as supporters. After 2 years the most impressive result was declared by the school principal: “We do not just talk about ‘Stärke statt Macht’, we are increasingly living this attitude.” 

NA has been increasingly used as a method to help educational teams deal with behavioral problems of children in residential care. The NA model focuses on strengthening the authority of caregivers threw an intervention process. Educators work as part of a team in a social hierarchical organization. To further the work on adapting the method to this unique setting there is a need to consider the organizational structure, it’s impact on the educators and implications for the intervention. In this paper, I focus on the authority of the educators and how they experience it as workers. I discuss my view on organizational dynamics influencing the educators. I share my ideas on how to evaluate the nature of these dynamic. I end with a suggestion on how to intervene in such a medium based on the NA tool of supporters group.

Residential groups for children are common in the Belgium wealth fare system. In groups designated for children with emotional and behavioral problems, aggression and violence in the residential house is common. While NVR has been a model that confronts violence in residential settings for several years, the new authority model (NA) still needs adaption to this setting. In this paper, I present a process of strengthening authority figures in a residential team using the NA model. I share challenges found in this setting and how they were handled. I conclude with thoughts of residential care as a work place with unique challenges. I end with suggested NA knowledge and skills that should be at focus for each position of the team during an implementation process.

This article sketches the process of the implementation of NVR and New Authority in ‘Sporen vzw’, an organization for Youth Care in Belgium. The paper describes how it started and how over the years more and more actions were taken for implementing NVR&NA in the teams. The paper stars with a short presentation of the organization ‘Sporen vzw’ describes how gradually NVR ideas were spread and later New Authority concepts were implemented.  Finally the paper describes the up-to-date process which is running in the teams ‘De Pas’ and ‘Traject’ and the future prospect for this implementations.

A good teacher not only has didactic competences and skills, but also works in a pedagogical relationship with his students; students who take their own world with them into the classroom...
Nonviolent resistance is a way of thinking and acting for teachers that helps them take a stand against behavioral problems in the classroom and has proven effective for severe behavioral problems and school refusal.
Nonviolent resistance is characterized by proximity and support rather than distance and control. The point is not to control students or to be the boss, a stance that mainly leads to conflict and escalation. The first step in implementing NVR should be to de-escalate and return to the behavior when the heat of the moment has passed. A second and a critical aspect of an NVR treatment plan is realizing that not all of Behavioral problems can be solved by yourself. By cooperating with colleagues, parents as well as with students you can create a net of support that creates unity at school and enables you to reconnect with ‘difficult’ students.
This book describes the basic principles of NVR while demonstrating the core concepts through examples and tools to teachers to get started right away.

Dit artikel geeft een korte inleiding op de implementatie van het NA model in familie bemiddeling en  familietherapie, in  geval van echtscheiding en andere gezinstransities. U krijgt een overzicht van de belangrijkste argumenten om speciaal dan met dit model te werken. Waarom zal het ouders specifiek dan zo kwetsbaar helpen in de verhouding met hun dan zo vaak rebellerende kinderen.

This article gives a short introduction of the implementation of the NA model in family mediation and family therapy, in situations of divorce or other ‘family transition’. It gives an overview of the most important arguments why to work  especially in these cases with the NA-model. Why will it help the parents especially then so vulnerable, in the relation with their then, very often rebellious children.           

Ontwikkeling en proefimplementatie van twee ondersteuningsprogramma’s voor pleegouders

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Two interventions were developed to support foster parents caring for children with externalizing behavioral problems. Both interventions consist of ten home visits and three group sessions during which parenting and behavioral problems of the child are addressed.

Femke Vanschoonlandt, Frank Van Holen, Johan Vanderfaeillie

Vanschoonlandt, F., Van Holen, F., & Vanderfaeillie, J. (2012).
Ontwikkeling en proefimplementatie van twee ondersteuningsprogramma’s voor pleegouders. Orthopedagodiek: Onderzoek en Pratijk, 51, 69-83.

The treatment model at Schneider's hospital - The Telephone Support

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The therapeutic procedure at the parent's counseling unit in Israel includes telephone support to the parents, done by 'telephone supporters' who work with the therapist. The paper outlines the treatment for parents provided at Schneider's hospital in Israel with emphasis on the function of the telephone supporter while explaining the advantages and complexities in this kind of therapeutic team..

Yael Naim

NVR in the community - A municipal Announcement

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A governmental program in Israel intended to aid cities and towns in dealing with violent used NVR as a promoter to the process. The paper describes a process leading to change in the perceptions of the city's inhabitants regarding community responsibility concerning children and youth violence.

Nitzan Lifshitz

Name of Article/ Paper

The vulnerabilities of young people with conduct problems are largely obscured by their aggressive behaviour. Aggression also leads to alienation between them and their parents, carers, teachers, and other adults. This alienation further inhibits the recognition of young people’s distress by significant others. Following on from an introduction to the theoretical background and therapeutic methodology of the NVR approach, this article examines the need for a child focus in parents’ or carers’ nonviolent resistance to violent and destructive behaviour; it further outlines some therapeutic possibilities that are inherent in NVR reconciliation work, when reconciliation gestures are used to raise the awareness of young people’s unmet needs.

Peter Jakob