Page 16 - Preventing Youth Violence

data collection, holistic interventions, and monitoring and evaluation of interventions that

informed best practices in the field of behavioural sciences.

The development of gender-responsive psychotherapeutic and psychosocial support

for the risk-assessed beneficiaries of the programme were among the tasks of the PSU.
The objective of this initiative was to reduce the distresses of the at-risk beneficiaries. The

interventions and strategies were designed to improve the mental and emotional health

of these persons, and assist them to make positive changes in their lives, as they sought to
improve their educational and technical skills.

The Unit ensured that effective systems were in place to provide the clinical and professional
support that beneficiaries needed to address emotional, psychological, and behavioural

issues, such as depression, and substance abuse. The Unit was staffed with psychologists,

social workers, and a criminologist, who delivered psychotherapeutic and psychosocial
services. Such services included (i) Parenting Education, (ii) Substance Abuse Treatment,

(iii) Individual and Group Counseling sessions, and, (iv) Referrals to Medical Doctors,
Psychologists and Psychiatrists.

It was noted that the psychosocial dysfunctions of beneficiaries were a major factor
contributing to their anti-social, violent and criminal behaviours. Therefore, by using a

holistic approach, psychosocial interventions were designed to assist clients with managing
their psychological, cognitive and behavioural health challenges, and making positive

choices that lead to affirmative changes to their lives (Simpson, Barnes, Spence, Stewart,

and Thomas-Morrison, 2020).

In today’s society with our many and varied cultural beliefs, the parenting role has become

a critical process that affects many developmental out comes, especially for children
living in poverty. It was out of such understanding of the destructive and far reaching

effects of coercive practices in the home that a fundamental goal of the CSJP III Parenting

Programme was to reduce high levels of coercive parenting practice in the society as a
means of reducing the risk of violent behaviours. The objective therefore was to design

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