Practical Strategies for Coping with Child to Parent Violence - the NVR Programme in Practice

Child to parent violence is an emerging and increasing problem that is coming more frequently to the attention of practitioners in a wide variety of settings. This paper describes the ways in which the Probation Service and Le Chéile in the Limerick Young Persons Probation region implemented the Non Violent Resistance (NVR) programme as a response to child to parent violence.  The goal of the programme was to address the parents expressed needs to reduce the violent and controlling behaviour of their children in the home. In particular, the parents needed a programme that gave them practical strategies for coping with child to parent violence.  We describe how the practitioners in Limerick came to find the NVR programme and the ways in which they adapted the programme based on the parents feedback from both a previous parenting programme and during the NVR programme. We also reflect on whether the goal of practical strategies for coping with child to parent violence was reached by the programmes end and suggest how this approach could be useful in future practice. Throughout the article we will share quotes from parents who attended the NVR programme in Limerick.