NVR in England

Non Violent Resistance in family therapy was introduced to the UK in 2006 by Haim Omer and Uri Weinblatt who were invited by Peter Jakob, to present NVR workshops in Southeast England. The first seeds of NVR were planet than in UK.

Peter Jacob (Partnership Projects) focused on the application of the NVR approach to working with individual family units. Elisabeth Heismann and Elizabeth Day (at that time working for Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust) trained practitioners interested in using NVR in a multifamily group model. Partnership Projects and Oxleas provided training and teaching in NVR and the number of NVR practitioners has gradually grown throughout the UK.

In 2011, Partnership Projects and Oxleas NHS Trust organized the first international NVR conference –Beyond Behaviour held in London. The international conference created a powerful momentum for UK practitioners and enthusiasts of NVR to come together and create a national NVR association to represent, promote and disseminate the NVR approach in the UK.

NVR UK is made up of NVR practitioners as well as parents and carers who have had training in NVR. One of the strengths of NVR UK is the inclusion of graduate parents who have not only experienced NVR personally but bring their expert experience to the organization which is invaluable.
The aim of NVR UK is simple: to support one another in the promotion and the dissemination of the NVR attitude in ourselves, in families, schools, communities, organisations and in the political sphere. NVR UK spreads the word about the NVR approach mainly via national conferences, with the first two conferences in London in 2014 and 2017. The third one will take place in Southampton on 28 June 2019. The theme of the third NVR UK Conference is: ‘NVR – what’s the way forward?’ focusing on NVR work done in schools and in other non-clinical settings.

Apart from organizing these national conferences and contributing to the international NVR conferences, active founding members of NVR UK have focused on developing a sound membership structure, a stronger media presence, standards for NVR training and procedures for good ethical NVR practice.