Department of Psychotherapy

Young people have a strong need for orientation and security during adolescence and are looking for perspectives for their lives. Developing their own identity and identifying with different social roles can be challenging during this time. If growing up is accompanied by difficulties or problems, there can be a danger that positions of extremist groups will find favour with them. Global crises, which have a very direct impact on many people’s lives, can lead to further insecurities and worries and fuel possible radicalisation processes. In this context, mental abnormalities or illnesses can be risk factors or arise as part of the radicalisation or disengagement process.

The Department of Psychotherapy has set itself the goal of strengthening the psychological perspective in extremism prevention and disassociation work. Similarly, the team offers itself as a bridge between the Berlin Advice Centre and professionals from the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy in order to strengthen the networking between the different professions and, if necessary, also to cooperate in concrete case work.

What we do

The therapeutic area of Violence Prevention Network combines years of experience from the classical approaches of radicalisation prevention and distancing and exit work and expands them with (psycho-)therapeutic offers. The central aim is to ensure that people who are in the process of radicalisation have access to the health system in a needs-oriented, culturally and religiously sensitive and target group-specific way, and thus to support the work of distancing themselves and exiting from the system.

Likewise, relatives are accompanied or professionals who work with (suspected) radicalised people are given case-specific advice. In practical case work, there is close cooperation with the Berlin Advice Centre, so that holistic case management from a therapeutic and socio-pedagogical perspective is guaranteed.

In addition, the department conducts further training and workshops and is involved in networking between the health and healing professions and the prevention of extremism.

Contact

Violence Prevention Network gGmbH
Department of Psychotherapy
Alt-Reinickendorf 25
D-13407 Berlin

+49 (0)30 91 70 54 64