Newsletter - March 2015

March , 2015

In this year’s annual Newsletter, we will take you on a short journey through Europe and Israel, a journey that will highlight the main events and developments in our NVR community.

Our journey starts in Germany, where the 3rd International Conference was held in Munich University. The main theme of the conference, as was proposed by Tobias von der Recke, was placing our NVR work in a historical, political and ethical context. The conference was held  in the Munich University building, where in 1943, members of the non-violent resistance movement 'Weiße Rose' (White Rose) - Hans and Sophie Scholl with Professor Kurt Huber – risked their lives in an attempt to revive the voice of conscience and morality in Germany.

The historical main building of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the early springtime sun provided the backdrop for a productive positive atmosphere. The opening lecture – "What we can learn from the 'Weisse Rose’”, in itself, an interesting German-Israeli cooperation between Tobias from Germany and Idan Amiel from Israel set the stage for the conference lectures and workshops. Keynote speakers were Prof. Dr. Haim Omer and Idan Amiel from Israel, Elisabeth Heismann from England, Dr. Phillip Streit from Austria, Susanne Quistorp from Switzerland and Prof. Dr. Arist von Schlippe, Prof. Dr. Heiner Keupp, Martin Lemme and Tobias von der Recke from Germany. This is the right moment for our community to thank the team from NeNA network who organized the international conference. You can read here a summary of the conference as written by the NeNA team or read more in the website dedicated to the conference.
Apart from the keynote lectures and the workshops, the highlight of these two days was the incredibly moving testimonies of 4 mothers who arrived from England with Elisabeth Heismann, and shared their personal NVR struggle for their children's well-being. The 4 mothers - Angelique, Claire, Joanne & Helen, who continue their struggle, are now supporting other parents on their way to help their kids. These courageous mothers have agreed to lead together, along with Michal Herbsman (from Israel), an open forum for parents in our N.A.N.I website. NVR professionals seeking a supportive space for clients (parents) are invited to refer them to the online parent forum here.

Also in Germany, IF-Weinheim, the oldest institute for systemic therapy and a pioneer in our NVR community, continues to offer a 14 day NVR course in “systemic parental coaching and professional presence”. Read more about the NVR work done in IF-Weinheim and also some new developments from Systemische Academie Bramsche.

Before traveling further to Austria, we are pleased to note, that 2014 was the year where our NVR work began to really thrive in school settings. The INA-Conference "Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Geduld!“ with Prof. Haim Omer was dedicated to NVR in Schools and Family. The conference, with more than 450 participants took place in Linz (Upper Austria) and the impact, including in the regional media, were impressive. Read more about the NVR work done by INA. In addition, a group of 57 professionals from six different organizations in Vorarlberg Austria established the "GfW-Wiki“ (i.e. NVR-Wiki) in October 2014. The "GfW-Wiki" contains materials and information regarding NVR and offers a platform for working together with NVR.

In Switzerland, isi-netz24 continues to lead and disseminate NVR & NA, especially in the school environment and social institutions. NA keeps becoming more and more important as a reference for a value-based and relationship-oriented pedagogical approach. The 15th annual conference (!) “Stärke Statt Macht” took place in Zurich with Haim Omer, Uri Weinblatt and other professionals. Two basic NVR trainings with Idan Amiel, Uri Weinblatt and Claudia Seefeldt took place in Zurich. Read here a short summary about NVR in Switzerland.

In the Netherlands, the Dutch Network New Authority focused on “spreading the News” by exchanging reliable information about well-trained organizations and therapists, sharing knowledge and offering (low priced) lectures on a regular basis. Also a LinkedIn group has been created as a way of exchanging ideas and implementing the methodology in other potential setting.
In the southwest of Holland, VraagKracht teams were working hard, implementing NVR in the field. In Amsterdam the team from deBascule is expanding their work to include schools and and started an exciting new research about the impact of NVR in residential settings. An article about 'adolescent to parent violence', which includes interviews with parents and with Eliane Wiebenga (Lorentzhuis)  about the use and effectiveness of NVR in families was published in one of the largest national newspapers. Read here also a summary of NVR activities in the Netherlands written by Henk Breugem and Wim Bramsha.

Keeping in mind that our previous international conference took place in Brussels, it’s no wonder that so many NVR developments continue to emerge from Belgium. First and foremost, a new impressive website (in Dutch and English) was set by the BIGV organization. It’s worth checking out!

For over 3 years, Frank Van Holen, in cooperation with Brussels University, has lead an NVR research study, focusing on the impact of NVR in foster care families. It is considered one of the most in-depth NVR studies done so far, with promising results for the effectiveness of NVR. The first article concering the implementation and preleminary results has been accepted by the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and will be published soon. Interestingly, Frank formally completed and publicly presented his PhD. on the same day as the NVR international conference… Dr. Van Holen, congratulations from our NVR community!!!
Still in Belgium, a 2 days conference with Haim Omer was organized in Brussels, as well as a 4-day basic training with trainers from different organisations.
In addition, a group of NVR professionals established the 'BeST' (Belgisch School Team) to promote NVR in schools. Attached here (and as always also in our resource section) you'll find an article written by Hilde Leonard & Relinde Van-Lier about NVR work in school. The article is in Dutch and we will take this opportunity to remind you that you can publish your NVR texts in German, Dutch or English (see more information here).

Crossing the channel to the United Kingdom, the April issue of “Context”, the magazine of the UK Association for Family Therapy (AFT), was devoted entirely to NVR (download it here).
The first NVR UK national conference in London was oversubscribed, and took place in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and excitement and a second national conference for next year is already in the works.
As more and more in-service NVR courses (consisting of a 4-day foundation level and 6-day advanced level) are delivered by PartnershipProjects, much action is taking place in Oxleas and the Greenwich Community. As reported by Elisabeth Heismann in Oxleas a total of 450 graduate parents completed the NVR group sessions and 10 very active graduate parents volunteered to help direct the two NVR parent clubs. As mentioned above, four of these active volunteers presented their stories at the International NVR conference in Munich.
As Peter Jakob puts it: "It is fair to say that after much effort, NVR finally appears to be really “taking off” in the UK!" Read here his detailed summary on NVR in England.
Last from Europe, in 2014 the EU- Project “NON VIOLENT RESISTANCE IN THE EU” financed by the European Commission, Leonardo da Vinci Partnership, has ended. The project started in 2012 by members and organizations from Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. The differences in organizations and contexts (country, culture, legislation etc.) enabled the participants to experiment with different configurations, customizing NVR interventions to fit context and to further understand the diversity, flexibility and variety of NVR. The participants of the project created an international network regarding NVR practices and have been asked to arrange the next international conference in 2016 that will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden. Read more about the NVR EU- Project in the text sent by Laura Mans.

We will end our tour in Israel sharing some of the latest developments in NVR and NA. First, we offer the latest research news from Tel Aviv University by Haim Omer. Among them, an intervention model for suicide threats by adolescents and young adults, and a treatment protocol for parents of children with ADHD. Also read in Haim's report about some NVR developments in Italy and France.
One of the most interesting new developments in Israel concerning NVR is the promising and intriguing connection between shame and NVR done by Uri Weinblatt. The option to adjust NVR basic tools to be "shame sensitive" can be an eye opener for understanding escalating behaviors.
In 2014 our New Authority Center team has been providing workshops and trainings in Europe in collaboration with different intuitions. One of the newly added topics to our training is how to implement NVR with Muslim immigrants. We include here a new article written by Maisam Madi setting guidelines for an NVR therapist to work with immigrant populations. Read it here or as always look for more articles in our resource section on the website.
We would like to end this Newsletter with a short clip about an impressive NVR reparation act done in Sweden. Watching it will indeed show why Sweden is a great choice as the location for our next international conference in 2016. Watch it here.

Looking forward to a safe, joyful and productive 2015!

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

Albert Einstein

Did you know?

* The 3rd international NVR&NA conference  held in Munich was orginazied by NeNA. Read here their report.

* A new NVR help forum for parents is led by 4 mothers from England who also presented the most inspiring lecture at the international conference.

See it here and refer parents to get help and support there!

* NVR Wiki (GfW-Wiki) was created by an NVR-network in Vorarlberg Austria. It contains materials and information regarding NVR and offers a platform for
communication for NVR members.

* In Netherlands the Dutch NVR network created a linkedIn group to share information about NVR.

* 'BeST' (Belgisch School Team) added a new article about NVR work in school.

* The April issue of “Context”, the magazine of the UK Association for Family Therapy (AFT), was devoted entirely to NVR.
You can read it here. 

* Read here Haim Omer's latest news about NVR.

* Adjusting NVR tools to be shame sensitive - a new idea to work with.

* NVR with Muslim immigrants?
A new article that highlights the cultural sensitivity and possibilities within NVR. Read it here.