Violence Prevention Project

This project serves Europe-wide elaboration, analysis and further development of the highly efficient violence prevention programs with the emphasis on practical feasibility of the latest neurobiological, psychological, psychotherapeutical and social pedagogical research results.

Target: Limitation and prevention of everyday violence

Target groups: actual and potential offenders, young people at risk, young people with and without violent behavior pattern

Groups trained are: psychotherapists, social workers, life counselors, policemen, judicial officers, teachers, hospital personnel, families willing to host a perpetrator of violence

Project coverage: Europe-wide

Project implementation: by institutes based in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland

Project stages:

Stage I.
Analysis and research of the aggression-promoting and crisis-ridden views of the society and individuals as well as worldwide research results on the topic of violence and peace-fostering measures. The cycles of violence should be exposed and European differences demonstrated.

Stage II.
Development of the programs counteracting the disturbances of the social behavior of people. Aggressive experience creates a perception scheme in the brain. Family dynamics, psycho-dynamics, institutional dynamics and society dynamics are also taken into account. The huge influence of childhood experience in the parental homes on further aggression readiness is especially taken into consideration. Because of neglection or violence, the children in concern learn to use aggressive actions as the only successive strategy.

Stage III.
In psychological, psychotherapeutical and curative educational trainings the target group (psychotherapists, social workers, life counselors, policemen, judicial officers, teachers, hospital personnel) will be enabled to stop aggressive potentials and transform them into the meaning-oriented energies. They will be trained to find out what this incomprehensible aggression of a person tries to express, what is its real meaning that is calling for attention to itself and internal needs through brutality, irritation and outbursts of rage. Activation of aggression systems in a person occurs through social isolation and humiliation when the bonds are insufficient or threatened. At this, the standpoint of policemen, social workers, health staff, teachers to the problem of violence and their behavior in the situations of violence are of great importance for the extent of violence.

Stage IV.
The developed solutions will be practically tested in reduction and prevention of violence phenomena. Social project „Open Door“ offers to 5 juvenile delinquents a chance to overcome their previous inability to show loyalty towards individuals, groups or social values due to getting socially mature. Social acceptance, trust and interpersonal support activate motivation systems in a person. In the course of this social and emotional experience, challenging social circumstances of life, difficulties in the family, developmentally conditioned identity crises are modified through psychosocial attention and psychotherapeutic support.

Stage V.
This new knowledge is conveyed in films, manuals, CDs. Biologically implied basic human motivation – which unites all people with all people – is given special attention to. With the help of different media, it will be documented, in what way long-term changes in behavior of (potential) offenders can be achieved, which, from the neurological point of view, means to wipe out the old habit as an automatic reaction of brain and to replace it with a new one.

The results of this practice- and implementation-oriented work will directly flow into various trainings (psychotherapists, life and social counselors, teachers, hospital personnel). These results will be available to the public and professionals online and in manuals translated into English, German, Spanish, Catalan, Hungarian, Slovenian, Romanian, Bulgarian.