Non-violent resistance

28th January

Dr Nick Goddard

Non-violent resistance (NVR) is a technique with its roots in socio-political conflict. More recently it has been adapted as a systemic technique for use by parents, in a family situation with arguments and aggression.  On an acute adolescent ward aggressive incidents can also occur sometimes beginning with a small incident that rapidly escalates.  NVR has been adapted by Dr Goddard for use in this setting with the aims of:

• decreasing violence/aggression on the ward;
• decreasing the use of the isolation room;
• making the presence of the responsible adults more visible on the ward.

This talk will highlight how NVR has been successfully implemented on the ward and how the ward climate has changed as a result of this systemic way of working.

Dr Nick Goddard works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist on an acute adolescent psychiatric ward in Amsterdam (Netherlands).  Before moving to Amsterdam he trained and worked in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.  His interests are acute adolescent psychiatry and working with families in acute situations.

BOOK NOW

We are delighted to feature the first of our occasional series of articles relating to workshops. We are very grateful to Mary Newman for providing this exploration of the dilemmas raised for practitioners in applying principles of non-violent resistance.

Click here to read the article.