Number 3, Page 278 - 292 Field report The intrinsic ...

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The intrinsic interlinkage between peacebuilding and mental health and psychosocial support: The International

Association for Human Values model of integrated psychosocial peacebuilding, Intervention 2017, Volume 15,

Number 3, Page 278 - 292

Field report

The intrinsic interlinkage betweenpeacebuilding and mental healthand psychosocial support: TheInternational Association forHuman Values model ofintegrated psychosocialpeacebuilding

Katrien Hertog

In view of the evolving discussion on bridging the

mental health and psychosocial support and peace-

building ¢elds, this article proposes that they don’t

need to be bridged, but are already intrinsically

interlinked.The approach and methodology of the

International Association for Human Values is

presented as a conceptual and practical model of

integrated peacebuilding, both addressing a gap in

peacebuilding as well as working complementary

to traditional mental health and psychosocial sup-

port methods.This article will present an overview

of several congruencies between the mental health

and psychosocial support and peacebuilding ¢elds,

illustrated with practical examples from Interna-

tional Association for Human Values programmes

from around the world.The author argues that sus-

tainability of peacebuilding cannot happen without

psychosocial peacebuilding: an approach that inte-

grates the full range of psychosocial factors into

peacebuilding including, but not limited to, the inte-

gration of mental health and psychosocial support.

She concludes that as an integrated ¢eld, we can

move forward to the full and joint aspiration of

both mental health and psychosocial support and

peacebuilding, towards optimal health and positive

peace.

Keywords: International Association forHumanValues, mental health, psychosocialpeacebuilding, psychosocial support

ht © War Trauma Foundation. Unautho

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IntroductionBackground and terminologyFrom the perspective of peacebuilding (PB)theory, the overlap between the PB ¢eldand mental health and psychosocial support(MHPSS) seemed minimal until a decadeago. While there was attention for psycho-social aspects of PB, such as building aculture of peace, peace education, reconcili-ation and trauma relief, as well as in themore interpersonal ¢eld of con£ict resolu-tion, this attention came mostly as anaddendum to the ‘hard core’of peacebuilding,which focused on political, economic, secu-rity and justice issues (see Hertog, 2010 foran overview of the respective literature onthis). However, sustainable peace remainselusive without attention to the psychosocialaspects, even when all the structural, formalpeacebuilding blocks are in place. Providingvocational training for youth to increaseemployment opportunities and improvelivelihoods will be hampered if the youthare depressed, do not have hope or are tooworried to be able to focus on learning.Demobilisation and disarmament processeswill be hampered without basic trustbetween groups being restored. The emo-tional, psychological, socio psychologicaland existential spiritual issues involved in

rized reproduction of this article is prohibited.

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peacebuilding are integral peacebuildingaspects. They include, but are not limitedto, attitudes, perceptions, cognitive thinkingpatterns, values, expectations, desires, emo-tions, traumas and wounds, assumptions,motivations, relationships, intentions, con-cerns, taboos, principles, norms, beliefs,identities, loyalties, worldviews and memo-ries (Hertog, 2010).Integral and structural aspects are interde-pendent, interacting and mutually rein-forcing components for peacebuilding.Integral aspects are needed to bring struc-tures to life and to make them function inthe way for which they are designed, whilepolitical, economic, security and judicialinstitutions and structures can play a sup-porting role for integral aspects to developin the support of peace (Hertog, 2010).Working on the integral aspects of peace-building allows for the envisioned peace tobe internalised and socially supported, andhencemore sustainable. In viewof the anger,frustration, depression, pain, greed andalienation driving many con£icts aroundthe world today, it is the need of the hour tocomplement existing e¡orts with an equallymassive investment in the (often) intangiblepsychosocial factors of peacebuilding.Over the last decade, attention to variouspsychosocial aspects of peacebuilding in the-ory, policy and practice has vastly expanded(see Hertog, 2010 for examples). However,we still need a better understanding of thespeci¢c contribution of integral aspects topeacebuilding processes and their speci¢cway of interacting with, in£uencing, rein-forcing or inhibiting the other respectiveareas of peacebuilding. For example, whatis the e¡ect of relieving posttraumatic stressdisorder (PTSD) in war a¡ected popula-tions on the reduction of interpersonal vio-lence? Or do peace negotiations producemore results when accompanied by self-re£ective methods for negotiators? Infusingthe integral dimensions of peacebuilding inan integrative way into the peace architec-ture, allows us to really be able to speak


about ‘the art and soul’ of building peace(Hertog, 2010).In this article, peacebuilding and the vio-lence it aims to prevent and address, areunderstood in their broader meanings.Peacebuilding is a wide range of activitiescarried out by many actors in di¡erentspheres and at di¡erent levels (see Hertog,2010 formore onthe de¢nitionof peacebuild-ing). Countless small and large activitiescontribute to a peacebuilding process: activ-ities aiming to enhance public security, gen-erate economic recovery, facilitate socialhealing, promote democratic institutions,build sustainable relationships or installmechanisms to resolve con£icts in a nonvio-lent way. Peacebuilding activities can begeared towards long-term changes, such asaddressing principal political, economicand social root causes of con£ict, or focuson short-term goals, such as managementof humanitarian crises, negotiating settle-ments, addressing refugee issues or pro-viding temporary essential governmentfunctions. Hence, it includes activities bystate and non state actors, individuals andcommunities, religious and secular actorsor theoreticians and practitioners at thelocal or grassroots level, the middle rangeor the top level. As a process, peacebuildingencompasses the prevention of violence upto the reconstruction of society after violencein a dynamic, but not necessarily linearprocess. It relates to the individual as wellas to community, society, state, internationaland global levels. Similarly, violence isunderstood in its multiple dimensions,comprising physical, psychological, crimi-nal, environmental, cultural and structuralviolence.

The International Associationfor HumanValues approachThe International Association for HumanValues (IAHV), a largely volunteer based,non-pro¢t, nongovernmental organisation(NGO)with around 25 branchesworldwide,


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o¡ers an innovative and comprehensive psy-chosocial approach to peacebuilding.1Work-ing to e¡ectively integrate psychosocialfactors into peacebuilding, it simultaneouslyaddresses a crucial gap in peacebuilding pol-icies and practices, as well as complementstraditional MHPSS e¡orts. The approachis broader than just the integration ofMHPSS and PB. It works with minds andmindsets, in general, not just with mentalhealth issues, and integrates a wide range ofpsychosocial factors, not just those relatedto psychosocial support. Its aim is to trans-form mindsets, attitudes, wellbeing andbehaviour of people involved in, or a¡ectedby, con£ict and violence in the world today.IAHV programmes do not only focus onalleviating symptoms and providing ‘psycho-social’ support, but also on laying a strong,healthy psychosocial foundation on all sidesof the con£ict for sustainable peacebuilding.In this way, they aim to strengthen otherpeacebuilding and development e¡orts,increasing overall impact. Providing ane¡ective link between inner and outer peacethrough a profoundly human centredapproach, it o¡ers a model to scale uppersonal transformation to peacebuilding


Physical: Stress rele

Peace: a 7 Dimension

Emotion: Healing, Em

Mental: Trauma relie

Attitude: Tolerance,

Identity: Access to s

Behaviour: Harm red

Existence: Life affirm

Figure 1: IAHVmodel of intrapersonal transfor

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impact. IAHV’s methods to release acute,episodic and chronic stresses have bene¢tedmillions of people in 150 countries overthe last 30 years, and have been success-fully integrated in trauma relief, disasterresponses, education, health, prisoner reha-bilitation and other sectors.

IAHVmethodology of integratedpeacebuildingIAHV programmes use a comprehensive setof processes and tools facilitating physical,mental, emotional and existential changes,as such positively transforming wellbeing,attitudes, behaviours and relationships.Recognising that no peace can become self-sustainable as long as it is not internalisedand socially supported by the peopleinvolved, IAHV focuses on strengthening afertile psychosocial foundation in individu-als and communities for sustainable peace.IAHV uses a holistic approach to personaltransformation that addresses the physicalto deeply existential layers, transcendingthe strictly cognitive (Figure1). On the phys-ical level, it provides deep stress release andrelaxation, increases energy levels and


ase, Relaxation, Energy

new existences of the individual

powerment, Well being

f, Discernment, Positivity

Empathy, Compassion

hared and broadened identities

uction, Responsible, Proactive

ing, Constructive, New meaning

mation

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improves overall physical health andwellbe-ing. On the emotional level, it releases strongnegative emotions, fosters more positiveand life supporting emotions and increasesemotional resilience. On the mental level, itcalms tension and worries in the mind,improves clarity of mind and concentra-tion, reduces the impact of negative ortraumatic memories, and fosters a morepositive mindset.Core techniques used for this are fromSudarshan Kriya & Practices (SK&P),2

which includes gentle stretches (yoga pos-tures), speci¢c breathing exercises, cognitivecoping and stressor evaluation strategies.The central component of SK&P is SK,which is understood to use speci¢c rhythmsof breath to eliminate stress, support thevarious organs and systems within thebody, transform overpowering emotions,and restore peace of mind, thus supportingthe whole mind/body system. Independentresearch suggests SK&P results in rapidand sustainable reduction rates of posttrau-matic stress (PTS) (65%), clinical depres-sion 68^73% (mild, moderate and severe),anxiety 73% and stress, whilst increasingoptimism, calmness, concentration andrecovery from stressful stimuli3 (Brown &Gerbarg, 2005; Carter et al., 2013; Desciloet al., 2009; Katzman et al., 2012). Bene¢tsfor physical and mental health, validatedby international peer reviewed papersinclude: reduction of the stress hormone cor-tisol, reduction of lactate levels (stress indi-cator), and increase of the wellbeinghormone prolactin, suggesting ‘SK&P is an

e¡ective method to release stress and enhance resil-

ience against stress’ (Sharma, Sen, Singh,Bhardwaj, Kochupillai, & Singh, 2003);and ‘SK&P was statistically as e¡ective as the

conventional treatments for depression studied

and may be more e¡ective for preventing relapse’(Janakiramaiah, & Gangadhar, 1998). An8 hour IAHV workshop for displaced per-sons resulted in a 60% drop in scores onthe PTSD checklist (PCL-17) and a 90%drop in scores on the Beck Depression


Inventory (BDI), (Descilo et al., 2009).SK&P practitioners have also demonstratedsigni¢cantly greater EEGBetawave activityin the left frontal, occipital and midlineregions of the brain than in controls, whichis indicative of heightened alertness/mentalfocus (Bhatia et al., 2003).When individuals are able to release stressand negative emotions, calm their worriesand tensions in their minds and are thuspositively established in themselves, this isre£ected in their behaviour, relationshipsand outlook towards the world. Buildingon the restored mental and emotionalwellbeing, our programmes apply a set ofpedagogical methods and strategies (pro-cesses, knowledge, discussions, games, prac-tical tools) to strengthen self-con¢dence,explore abroadenedand shared self-identity,inculcate human values, improve nonviolentcon£ict resolution, address issues of trust,fear, suspicion and hatred, reduce resent-ment, build connectedness and reinforcehealthyattitudes and skills for peaceful coex-istence. On abehavioural level, this can sub-sequently lead to a diminished need fornegative coping strategies, improved com-munication and life skills to handle challeng-ing situations, reduced inclination towardsharmful behaviour towards themselves orothers (this can manifest in reduced fre-quency and severity of violent incidents;criminal activity; substance abuse; recruit-ment; aggression) and increased inclinationto take responsibility. Similarly, individualscan feelmore resilient against peer pressures,overwhelming emotions, discriminatorybehaviours, intimidation or recruitment byarmed groups. Restoring peace at everylevel well beyond the cognitive, IAHV pro-grammes are deeply empowering, lifea⁄rming and truly holistic.As social beings, we ¢nd ourselves, throughall seven dimensions of our existence in con-stant and mutual interaction with di¡erentaspects of society (Figure 2).Negative societal impacts, such as injustice,discrimination, violence, poverty or lack of


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Social Cultural

Security

Justice

EducationHealth

Economy

Political

Figure 2: IAHV model of mutual interaction between the individual and di¡erent aspects

of society




health care, can cause or exacerbate innerturmoil, stress, tension, illness or frustration.A supportive environment, on the otherhand, that provides security, justice, ful¢l-ment of basic needs, health care, educationanda sense of dignity, can strengthen health,inner wellbeing and positivity. Di¡erentIAHV initiatives foster the developmentof human, e¡ective and just systems in allsectors of society, such as inclusive leader-ship, transparent governance, ethical busi-ness, humane prison rehabilitation andholistic education.When our inner world is disturbed, ourimpact on society is more likely to be neutralor negative in terms of disengagement,frustration, anger, disappointment, radicali-sation, disrespect, violence, depression orresistance. Individuals who are well estab-lished in themselves, healedandempowered,are more likely to bring a positive contrib-ution to di¡erent aspects of society and toplay a peace enhancing role within theircommunities and institutions. The develop-ment of peaceful, healthy and prosperoussocieties would be proportionate to thenumber of individuals who are thus inter-nally empowered, and the extent to whichthey are empowered. Focusing on the indi-vidual as the basis for social and politicaltransformation is how we aim to turn


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personal transformation into peacebuildingimpact.IAHV works on the transformation of boththe inner and outer world. It emphasisesinner transformation as a cornerstone forsocial and peacebuilding, as it depends onhowone is able to align the seven dimensionsof one’s existence, one can still be centred,connected and contribute positively whenthe outer world is in chaos, or one can stillfeel disturbed, stressed and angry inside,even when the outside world is peaceful.As social beings, we also ¢nd ourselves,through all seven dimensions of our exis-tence, in constant and mutual interactionwith other people and our environment.How one feels inside has a direct impact onthe level and extent to which one feels con-nected to the people around them, familymembers, neighbours, communities and thenation, but also to the world at large, theenvironment and this universe. When indi-viduals are stressed and tense, they canfeel more isolated and disconnected fromthemselves, others and their environment.When individuals feel connected withinthemselves, they are more likely to developinterpersonally and within communities,creating inclusive relationships and greatercommunity resilience to con£ict or restoringthe social fabric after con£ict. Underpinning


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Figure 3: IAHVmodel of interrelationships and social cohesion

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this work, IAHVpromotes universal humanvalues such as nonviolence, dignity, equity,justice and wellbeing, to strengthen a psy-chosocial foundation that positively impactsthe way individuals, relationships and com-munities interact at every level of society.As such, the IAHV psychosocial program-ming brings about changes in the individual,the communities and the context itself,restoring peace within and between individ-uals, communities and society. As muchas it works for prevention, it is equallyapplied to intervention, transformation andrehabilitation at all stages of peacebuilding.It enacts individual transformation andstructural change at every level of society,from grassroots to global leadership.Through our organisation of Transforma-tional Leadership in Excellence Pro-grammes on the political and corporateleadership levels, and global awareness


raising and networking symposia on acutesocial topics such as ethics in business, arti¢-cial intelligence, the girl child, interreligiousunderstanding and climate issues, IAHV inpartnership with other organisations pro-motes longer-term structural change.While the above outlines the IAHVmodel oftransformation in general, in practice pro-gramme duration and components areadapted to needs, context and target groups.They range, for example, from one hourstress relief workshops for general publica¡ected by stress or disaster, to six hour(spread over three days) stress relief andresilience workshops for war a¡ected chil-dren, nine hour (spread over three days)stress management and professional excel-lence trainings for ¢eld sta¡,12 hour (spreadover four days) trauma relief trainings forrefugees, ¢ve day youth empowerment train-ings, to 10 day youth leadership trainings.


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Core techniques and modules are combinedand tailored for each target group, resultingin a wide variety of programmes, includingfollow-up sessionswhere practically possible,advanced programmes, training of trainersand joint project implementation.Like some other PB and MHPSSapproaches, the core of the approach is toempower individuals and communities tobecome self-reliant and to create the changethey want to see themselves. IAHVempow-ers individuals and communities withknowledge, skills and tools to improve theirown physical, mental and emotional wellbe-ing, and to develop and implement theirown projects that address the needs theythemselves have identi¢ed. Empoweringthemselves to overcome responses to traumaand build local resilience, individuals andcommunities create self-sustaining changeand reduces dependency on externalsupport. This inherently self-sustainableapproach strengthens local resources whilealso focusing on existing capacity, insteadof de¢cits.

Strengths and challengesThe IAHV Healing, Resilience andEmpowerment programmes are evidencebased, accessible, inclusive, scalable and coste¡ective.The simple, yet powerful practicesare free from unwanted side-e¡ects, non-invasive, do not make people dependenton external support and can cut healthcare/assistance costs. The results are pro-found and e¡ective, while the techniquesthemselves are easy to learn and to integrateinto life, they are applicable across cultures,free from risk of stigmatisation and withoutrequiring the involvement of psychologistsand psychiatrists, often scarce within com-plex emergencies.Complementary to traditional MHPSSapproaches and to helpful local practices,our programmes can be delivered to largegroups while still having a deeply personaltransformational e¡ect. In the face of


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chronic emergency and societal breakdown,humanitarian organisations often lack theresources to o¡er appropriate psychosocialprogrammes on the scale required. Standardpsycho-pharmacological, psychotherapeuticand one-on-one interventions are costly,and, in some cases, ine¡ective and culturallyinappropriate. Therefore, it is all the moreimportant to employ innovative, scalableand cost e¡ective methods to address acutepsychological and psychosomatic needs,and prevent and reduce long-term negativeconsequences.Like other organisations, IAHV has facedchallenges in convincing partner organisa-tions, donors and policy makers to considersupporting and integrating nontraditionalapproaches, which have been consideredmostly as an addendum to traditionalMHPSS and PB e¡orts for a long time.

Mental health and psychosocialsupport and peacebuildingcongruenciesIn what follows, some of the congruencies ofthe PB andMHPSS ¢elds and, in particular,the aim of both ¢elds, the connectionbetween intrapersonal and social peace,and di¡erent operational congruencies willbe discussed. It is written from the perspec-tive of a holistic peacebuilding approachand illustrated with concrete, practice basedexamples and testimonies of the IAHVexperience around the world to illustratethe diversity of contexts, target groups andoutcomes.

Aims of mental health andpsychosocial support andpeacebuilding ¢elds: optimum healthand positive peaceThe ultimate aims of both MHPSS and PB¢elds seemto converge in a sharedaspirationto optimise the overall wellbeing of individu-als and their functioning within a society,which, in turn, further promotes that wellbe-ing. The broader, more inclusive de¢nitions


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of both positive peace and mental healthrefer to these same aspects. The WorldHealthOrganization (WHO) de¢nes healthas ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and socialwellbeing’and mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her

own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of

life, canwork productively and fruitfully, and is able

to make a contribution to her or his community.’(WHO, 2014, n.d.) Positive peace is de¢nedas a state that promotes wellbeing and posi-tive relationships in a society characterisedby well functioning and fair systems, whichtogether facilitate the resolution of con£ictswithout violence. (Galtung, 1964; Galtung,1967; Hertog, 2010) Therefore, it could besaid that an optimum state of health, in itsbroader understanding, correlates with astate of positive peace.From our perspective, this state refers tothe full manifestation of human valuesboth within the individual and in society.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, co-founder ofIAHV, has formulated his vision in thisregard: ‘a violence-free society, disease-free body,

stress-free mind, inhibition-free intellect, trauma-

free memory, and a sorrow-free soul is the birthright

of every individual.’ (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,2015).

Peace of mind and social peace areconnectedThere is a close interlinkage between one’sinner state of mind, its external expressionand the impact on society. One personunable to handle his/her own negative emo-tions or experiences, can create misery fordozens or thousands of people. Inner peacein individuals is not only a sign of mentalhealth but also essential for inclusive peace-building. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says:‘unlessevery member of our global family is peaceful, our

peace is incomplete’ (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,2016). A human centred approach to peace-building fully incorporates the intrapersonaldimension as an essential foundation forsocial peace.


Operational congruenciesIn order to illustrate the intrinsic interlink-age of MHPSS and PB, the following ¢velevels of overlap are outlined below.

Level 1: Healing Postulate: individuals and

communities who have processed their negatively

impacting experiences, wounds and responses to

traumas are less likely to commit harm to themselves

or others.

This refers to a fundamental premise incriminology, victimology, trauma work andpeacebuilding that perpetrators of violenceare often victims/survivors of some sortof violence themselves. Trauma, stress andcon£ict related experiences, when notaddressed or healed, can lead to harmfulbehaviour towards oneself (depression, sui-cidal tendencies, substance abuse) or others(aggression, hatred, abuse, crime). By facili-tating healing, stress and trauma relief,IAHV aims to take away a major drivingforce of future violence, crime and destruc-tive behaviour. Therefore, we work withboth perpetrators of violence as well asthose a¡ected by violence, to break thecycles of violence and prevent future vio-lence. By healing individuals through evi-dence based techniques, IAHValso aims tocontribute to the lessening of collective andtransgenerational trauma.People a¡ected by armed con£ict as survi-vors, witnesses, or perpetrators, often su¡erfrom a variety of psychosocial symptomsand syndromes, such as depression, mental/physical/emotional stress and illness,responses to trauma/ PTS, anxiety, rage,frustration, aggression and sense of discon-nect. They may face a wide range of emo-tional, cognitive, physical, behavioural andsocial problems, including negative copingstrategies. IAHV has provided stress andtrauma relief to around 150,000 individualsin con£ict andwar zones, suchas Iraq, Israel,Palestine, Kashmir, India, USA, Balkans,Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Northern Caucasus,Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Afghanistan.For example, one Yazidi survivor, who was


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trapped by IS on Sinjar mountain and wit-nessed the brutal IS attacks on her people,losing all faith and hope in humanity, saidafter going through a trauma relief work-shop:‘nowwe can trust [humans] again’ (IAHV,Improving Trauma Relief and Resilience)From a similar programme, a young manin Iraq expressed: ‘it feels like breathing out allthe stress of war and breathing in a new life. I felt

really relaxed.’Similarly, IAHV has provided healingthrough its Prison SMART programme thathas bene¢ted more than 400,000 prisonersin 60þ countries around the world.4 Forexample, one imprisoned mercenary, whohad fought six wars over the last three dec-ades and had been addicted to metal clean-ing liquid and other substances, and nolonger able to sleep because of continuousnightmares and £ashbacks, su¡ered fromPTSD to such an extent that he could nolonger control his emotions nor be in a roomwith someone as he might uncontrollablyattack them with a knife. After doing thePrison SMART programme, he said hecould sleep ‘for the ¢rst time since childhood’andwas again ‘fully in control of his emotions’,thereby no longer constituting a dangerto himself or others.5 A former Al Qaedamember imprisoned in India realised: ‘Ithought I would go to heaven by killing. Now I know

that heaven is right here on Earth by loving.’(IAHV, Beyond Violent Extremism andArmed Con£ict) Not only harm to others,but also self-harm is reduced, as illustratedby the 85% reduction rate of suicide inKosovo prisons during 2004^2006. (PrisonSMART, http://www.iahv.org/program/prison-smart/) The potential for violenceprevention is illustrated by the feedbackfrom many prisoners saying they would nothave ended up in prison had they learnedas a teenager what they had learnedabout themselves in the Prison SMARTprogramme.In 2012, IAHVo¡ered a onemonth rehabili-tationand reintegrationtraining to 240mili-tants in Assam, many of whom had

ht © War Trauma Foundation. Unautho286

belonged to di¡erent extremist groups sincean early age. In addition to our core pro-gramme, participants engaged in vocationaltraining and training in organic farming toearn their living in a nonviolent way. All ofthe participants felt their lives had changedfor the positive, with many renouncing vio-lence, taking up agriculture and becomingwilling to contribute to sustainable andpeaceful development of their communities:‘I found a lot of enthusiasm and determination to

lead a new life. I had a lot of physical and mental

strain but just after two days of doing the Sudarshan

Kriya and other practices, I can sit on the ground,

and sleep soundly at night. I have a new zest to live

life.’ ‘Coming here, I feel a lot of belongingness andrespect for others. It is because I was given the same

respect and welcomed with belongingness. I now rec-

ognise the struggle I was going through mentally.

It seems I have found a tool to solve my problems. I

can now see a way ahead. I have some land back

home. I would like to take up organic farming’

(IAHV, Beyond Violent Extremism andArmed Con£ict).Also, USA war veterans who had served inIraq and Afghanistan and struggled withsevere substance abuse, domestic violence,depression and suicidal tendencies aftertheir return back home, experiencedsigni¢cant and sustained improvements inPTSD symptoms after participating ina specially tailored programme (Sepp�l�et al., 2014).Our organisation has also reached out toa¡ected families of suicide bombers, terror-ists and Syrian ¢ghters to increase healingand coping capacity. A mother of a foreign¢ghter in Belgium testi¢ed after doing ourprogramme: ‘I learned to accept the situation, tolive with it. I am able to forgive myself and to forgive

my son now’ (IAHV, BeyondViolent Extrem-ism and Armed Con£ict).

Level 2: Resilience Postulate: Resilient indi-

viduals and communities are not just healed from

negative impacts, but can withstand and recover

more quickly from such negative impacts and better

resist violent and divisive tendencies.


http://www.iahv.org/program/prison-smart/

http://www.iahv.org/program/prison-smart/

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Strengthening resilience, as the capacity ofindividuals and communities to be able todeal with challenging situations, to with-stand negative impacts, or to recover fromthem fully and in a relatively short time-frame, is asmuch aMHPSSas a PB concern.From a PB perspective, strengthenedmentaland emotional resilience reduces the risk ofnegative or violent coping strategies, ofharming oneself or others, or of giving in topeer pressures or negative in£uences. Asone hard core recidivist said after doing thePrison SMART programme: ‘it is as if I feelan anchor inside me now’6 [that prevents mefrom slipping down the same destructivepath].AUniversity of California and Los Angeles(UCLA) study (Ghahremani, Oh, Dean,Mouzakis, Wilson & London, 2013, p.139)concluded that ‘the [IAHV]programme can pro-

mote mental health, potentially protecting from

harmful coping behaviours and risk behaviour’,as it was shown to reduce the impulsivebehaviour of adolescent participants.When, in 2012, ethnic clashesbroke out in thenorth eastern Indian state of Assam, whichdisplaced 400,000 people and claimed 77lives, three villages where the IAHV sisterorganisation Art of Living had been con-ducting community development pro-grammes, remained violence free. Whenthe surrounding villages succumbed to theviolence unleashed by escalating ethnic ten-sions between the indigenous Bodo commu-nity and migrant Muslims, the villagersfrom Borlao and Borpara (Golpara) stoodup as a group to those spreading violenceand guarded their villages themselves, notallowing any rioters to enter. The riotsengulfed 400 villages, but these three vil-lages in the centre of Bodo land saw no inci-dence of violence. Considering that thevillage inhabitants were a mix of Bodos,Muslims, Asamese, Christians, tribals andBengalis and were located in the worst riota¡ected district of Udalguri, this was anexceptional display of resilience, solidarityand unity against forces of division.7


Level 3: Empowerment Postulate: Nonvio-lently empowered individuals and communities are

not just resilient to negative impacts, but can also

be agents for positive change in society to transform

those negative impacts and improve both MHPSS

and PB objectives.

Empowerment of individuals and commu-nities builds up the social capital in termsof individual capacities, community capaci-ties and their interactions. From a mentalhealth perspective, empowerment as therealisation of one’s full potential and contri-bution to society re£ects the WHO mentalhealth de¢nition above. From a PB perspec-tive, only empowered individuals proac-tively transform driving factors of con£ictand violence, reach out to opponents andtransform relationships, build bridgesbetween fractured communities, challengeinjustice and human rights violations,develop more peace enhancing economicand political systems, train others in peace-buildingandcon£ict resolution skills or raisetheir voice for the wellbeing of their fellowhuman beings. From a PB perspective, itis important that this empowerment is non-violent in its concept and implementation.Anger and frustration are powerful empow-ering driving factors, but they need to bechannelled internally and externally inorder to have positive outcomes. When notchannelled, they often lead to destructiveoutcomes and vicious cycles of reactionsand revenge.One Yazidi youth, ¢lled with fury andhatred for the brutalities IS had in£icted onhis family and people, including the kid-napping and rape of his sister, and for thecrimes against humanity which he hadbeen documenting as a human rightsactivist, was ready to take revenge andjoin the militias ¢ghting against IS. How-ever, since his friends invited him to apeacebuilding workshop and later anIAHV Youth Leadership Peacebuildingtraining, he now gives Stress Release andResilience workshops in a camp in Dohukfor hundreds of displaced people and


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inspires them to join the Citizens PeaceMovement of Iraq.8

In Denmark, former gang members, crim-inals, drugaddicts andprisoners are trainingand supporting thousands of others in andoutside prison, following the rehabilitationjourney they themselves underwent viaBreathe/Prison SMART programmes.Grateful for their ‘new lives’, they are commit-ted to preventing others from going down adestructive path and to support them to turntheir backs on a life of crime, violence, stressand disillusion.9 As one prisoner in the UKremarked: ‘I spent my whole life to destroying

society.Afterdoing thePrison SMARTprogramme,

I now want to spend the rest of my life contributing

to society.’10

Also in the ghettos of PanamaCity, theArtofLiving Foundation was approached in 2008to conduct a 20 month rehabilitation andempowerment programme for11gang mem-bers.They had joined a gang to help provideincome for their families and security fromrival gangs. Caught up in the vicious cycleof violence and crime as a way of life andwithout education, parental support or otheroptions, they underwent a profound trans-formation during the programme. Beforelong, the former gang members becameknown as the ‘Youth for Change’ for their ser-vice in orphanages and their mentorship toyounger children.One ex-gangmember poi-gnantly remarked: ‘we used to behave even worsethan them.Nowwe’ve changed and we come to teach

them that there can be a change. All of them deserve

a chance just as we had too. One of us could have

died with all these problems, we could have gone to

jail, I don’t know, but if we can change and take

advantage of that, I think everybody can do the

same.We have to stretch out our hand to help other

people who also deserve a chance.We can teach them

to change as a person, and to shift their mind, to

become a good person and not to ¢x things only with

bullets, but to see there are di¡erent ways’ (IAHV,Beyond Violent Extremism and ArmedCon£ict).Around the world, 2,000þ ¢ghters haverenounced violence after going through


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IAHV programmes, including Kashmirimilitants, Naxalite terrorists, FARC rebels,Kosovo Liberation Army veterans, theLTTE in Sri Lanka, militants in Assamand Maoists in Nepal. As one former mili-tant from Assam testi¢ed: ‘my ¢ght was for thepeople. So, maybe I have no regrets. But I realised

that violence is not the path. I am now determined

to build a strong harmonious community. I want to

go back and resolve con£icts in my region, now that

I am at peace with myself ’ (IAHV, BeyondViolent Extremism).

Level 4: Optimal professional perform-ance Postulate: Optimal professional perform-

ance is one level up empowerment and can be

enhanced through a combination of personal wellbe-

ing and the development of peacebuilding personal-

ities and qualities, which can be achieved through

the mutual enrichment of the MHPSS and PB

¢eld forsta¡ in both¢elds.

As a psychologist from Syria who partici-pated in our Professional Performance train-ing noted: ‘this programme helped me in ¢nding

one of the most important keys to achieve my psycho-

logical, mental and physical health.Asa psychother-

apist, I will be more e¡ective and concentrated in

my sessions with patients, and as a trainer for teen-

agers and adults I will be more focused and calm

in conveying to them my belief in the importance of

peace’. Or, as the coordinator of a Syrian ref-ugee camp in Lebanon realised: ‘we are o¡er-ing psychosocial support programmes, but we have

never done an analysis like this to understand what

are actually the psychosocial factors we need to

work with. Now I know why I see that look of unsa-

tisfaction [sic] in the eyes of the refugees I work

with,myprogrammeand approach lack theirwellbe-

ing! Thank you for teaching us a new perspective

of peacebuilding’ (IAHV, Towards IntegratedPeacebuilding).Working on or in con£ict poses great chal-lenges for our inner lives and can beextremely demanding for our mental, emo-tional and physical wellbeing, possiblyleading to stress, tension and reduced pro-ductivity, but also to burnout, depression orsubstance abuse. It is important for MHPSS


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and PB practitioners to be trained or edu-cated in practical stress and self-manage-ment tools to e¡ectively handle this aspectof their work, and to integrate psychosocialhealth and wellbeing, as well as personalresilience and stress management into e¡ec-tive peace and MHPSS work.Work perfor-mance is enhanced by better clarity ofmind, improved concentration andincreased ability to manage challengingsituations (IAHV, Towards IntegratedPeacebuilding).In addition, the quality and impact of ourwork on the ground is, to a great extent,de¢ned by who we are as ‘peacebuilders’and how we engage with communitiesand the people with whom we work andinteract. As aptly captured by Kai Brand-Jacobsen, Director of the Department ofPeace Operations (DPO): ‘our words and

how we behave as peaceworkers are the equivalent

in our ¢eld to a surgeon’s hand when doing

surgery. Just as the slightest shake or mistake in

surgery can cause harm, we also need to be

intimately aware of how our words and behaviour

are understood and perceived, and to ourselves

model and manifest the values and practice we

are promoting’ (IAHV, Towards IntegratedPeacebuilding). Therefore, it is importantto not just be empowered or trained intechnical skills, but also to nurture andstrengthen on a deeper level those coreaspects within ourselves that support thedevelopment of peacebuilding qualitiesand skills essential for transformative ande¡ective practice, including: active listen-ing, compassion and empathy, holdingmultiple realities, patience and endurance,balancing simplicity andcomplexity, facili-tation, tranquillity, creativity,discernment,integrity, intuition and a deeper sense ofconnectedness.Whether as PB or MHPSSpractitioners, we need to be able to hold aspace for the largely irrational traumaresponses, emotions, experiences andmem-ories present in the people with whom weinteract and support.Therefore, more thanempowerment, it is important to develop


one’s full potential, both as a human beingand a professional.

Level 5: A strong psychosocial founda-tion for peacebuilding Postulate: Healed,

resilient, empowered and trained individuals and

communities togetherconstitute a strong psychosocial

foundation for any society to prevent or overcome

the e¡ects of con£ict and violence.

Restoring a strong and healthy psycho-social foundation is the necessary prerequi-site for stable and cohesive families, andfor peacebuilding objectives such as socialcohesion, reconciliation, reintegration ofcombatants, prevention and transform-ation of violence/extremism and educationin con£ict zones. Or, as a social worker inBeirut concluded after a programme: ‘Ithink this will address the roots of con£ict, the

psychological dimension that nobody deals with or

comes close to.This is an e¡ective group approach

for psychosocial issues. We need to introduce new

e¡ective techniques to dissolve tension between

many people’ (IAHV, Towards IntegratedPeacebuilding). Laying a strong psychoso-cial foundation for peace can be supportedby strengthening human values in all sectorsof society, peace education from a youngage onwards, strengthening cultures ofpeace instead of violence, teaching life skills,promoting nonviolent con£ict resolution,strengthening the overall wellbeing of com-munities and societies and many othercomplementary approaches.

Conclusion on operational congruen-cies The levels of congruency presentedabove are di¡erent levels of aspiration, withfull respect for the reality that di¡erent indi-viduals and communities will live di¡erentlevels. For example, some individuals mayexperience healing, but not necessarily feelempowered to change their circumstances.Others may feel empowered, but not neces-sarily embodyand internalise peacebuildingskills and qualities.These levels of congruencies are relevantfrom the individual to the global level: just


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like healed individuals are less likely to com-mit harm, so are healed communities andnations, etc.These levels of congruencies are distinct, butinseparable and can be focused on separ-ately, or as a whole. How the di¡erent levelscan be combined in a mutually reinforcingway can be illustrated with the ‘Healing,Resilience andPreventingExtremism’project thatIAHV is currently implementing for wara¡ected children in Lebanon and Jordan.The aim of this project is to:

1) P

ht

290

rovide trauma relief, healing andempowerment, and restore the over-all physical, mental and emotionalwellbeing of the children in order toaddress the range of psychosocial con-sequences of armedcon£ict andviolence(level 1).

2) S
trengthen humanvalues, resilience andnonviolent empowerment to contributetothepreventionof recruitment, extrem-ism and violent behaviour of a¡ectedchildren (levels 2 and 3).
3) S
trengthen a culture and practice ofhuman rights and dignity that providesfor the speci¢cneedsandrisksofchildrenimpactedbyarmedcon£ict andviolenceby building the capacity of local actorsand raising awareness among decisionmakers (levels 4 and 5).
ConclusionThe sustainability of peacebuilding in itsbroadest meaning cannot happen withoutpsychosocial peacebuilding. Psychosocialpeacebuilding refers to an approach thatintegrates the full range of psychosocial fac-tors into peacebuilding, transforming indi-viduals, communities and context, andstrengthening a strong psychosocial founda-tion for peace. It is a fundamental, humancentred approach that includes, but is notlimited to, the integration of MH and PSSinto peacebuilding and highlights the intrin-sic interlinkage of both ¢elds.

© War Trauma Foundation. Unautho

Leaving aside the far end of clinical mentalhealth cases,MHPSSandpeacebuilding cri-teria and operations are stretched over aspectrum. The boundaries between mentalhealth and illness, between culturallyacceptable and unacceptable forms of vio-lence, or between technical and holisticapproaches to peacebuilding, are not ¢xedand vary according to context, culture andprofessional approach. While an optimumstate of health and positive peace may bethe aspirations of both ¢elds, it is notclear when the line is crossed where healthturns into illness and peace into violence,since these are phenomena located on anextended spectrum subjective to judgment.Harming oneself is certainly a concernfor the traditional MHPSS ¢eld and so isharming others for the traditional peace-building ¢eld. However, not everyone inthese ¢elds would consider the followingcases concerns to be addressed in their¢elds: the belief that it is OK to kill peoplewho are di¡erent from you; the inner needto join a group to experience self-esteem;personal greed that destroys people’s liveson a massive scale; or irritation on a dailybasis due to unprocessed past experiences.However, from a more holistic perspectiveof psychosocial peacebuilding, we need towork on all of this and more, strengtheningwellbeing, mindsets, attitudes, behaviour,relationships, peace enhancing systems andprofessional excellence. As an integrated¢eld, we can move forward to the fulland joint aspiration of both MHPSS andPB towards optimal health and positivepeace.

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1 For more information on IAHV, see www.iah-v.org and www.peaceunit-iahv.org.2 See www.aolresearch.org.


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http://peaceunit-iahv.org/services/trauma-relief-resilience-and-empowerment/

http://peaceunit-iahv.org/services/trauma-relief-resilience-and-empowerment/

http://peaceunit-iahv.org/services/preventing-and-transforming-violent-extremism-mobilising-youth-for-peace/



http://peaceunit-iahv.org/services/professional-training-towards-integrated-peacebuilding-psychosocial-skills-and-professional-care-for-peacebuilders-in-the-field/




http://www.prisonsmart.eu/


http://srisriravishankar.org/entry/the-yoga-way/

http://srisriravishankar.org/entry/the-yoga-way/

https://www.artofliving.org/international-peace-day-message-sri-sri-ravi-shankar



http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/

http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/

http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/

http://www.iahv.org/

http://www.iahv.org/

http://www.peaceunit-iahv.org/

http://www.aolresearch.org/

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3 Research on the e¡ects of the UK basedIAHV Manage Your Mind programme forvulnerable communities using internationallyvalidated questionnaires GAD-7 (generalisedanxiety disorder, panic and PTSD) and PHQ-9 (depression) show reduction in levels ofdepression by 71.5% and anxiety by 67.7% in4 weeks.4 www.prisonsmart.eu and www.prisonsmart.org.5 Oral feedback following Prison SMART train-ing delivered by the author.6 From recorded, but unpublished, testimonialsfollowing the Breathe SMART training inDenmark.


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7 http://arto£ivingsblog.com/two-villages-shim-

mer-in-the-gloom-of-assam-riots/.8 Unpublished testimonies from oral feedback.9 www.prisonsmart.eu, www.breathesmart.dk.10 www.prisonsmart.eu.

Katrien Hertog, PhD, studied peace studies at

the Centre for Peace Research, Catholic Univer-

sityofLeuven,Belgium,andatBradfordUniver-

sity, UK. She is the Director of Peacebuilding

programmes at IAHV.

email: [email protected]

DOI:10.1097/WTF.0000000000000167



http://www.prisonsmart.org/

http://www.prisonsmart.org/

http://artoflivingsblog.com/two-villages-shimmer-in-the-gloom-of-assam-riots/

http://artoflivingsblog.com/two-villages-shimmer-in-the-gloom-of-assam-riots/


http://www.breathesmart.dk/


mailto:[email protected]

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