Violence Prevention

The Bloodiest Shows: Why We Watch Violent Television and How it Affects Us

We might be living in the heyday of television. The streaming options have generated higher quality more complex, and less formulaic programing than existed in the eras of scheduled network platforms.  However, many of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows in recent years are extremely violent. Think about the frequency and graphic intensity of… Read more »

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The Origin of Polarization, Prejudice, and Warfare

One of the most significant contributions of my theoretical approach, Separation Theory, is that it offers an understanding of the core dynamics underlying human aggression. It explains how people’s defensive nature and dependency on fantasy bonds polarize them against others with different customs and beliefs. In a similar vein, Schneider’s (2013) concept of “psychological polarization” describes the elevation of one… Read more »

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Insight into the Violent Mind

Both glamorizing and demonizing violence help us avoid having to understand the violent mind. We should enter the violent person’s subjective world, not just in order to be able to offer treatment, but also to anticipate the nature of the risks they embody both to themselves and to society. ~ Peter Fonagy, “Towards a Developmental… Read more »

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Preventing Interpersonal Violence in Relationships

As a therapist, I want to help survivors of dating violence, domestic violence, and abusive relationships recover their sense of safety and self-fulfillment in life. And I want to do more. I want more people to know how grave the damage is to survivors of abuse and sexual assault. I want to see more action… Read more »

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The Making of a Murderer

Years ago, when I was in the process of creating a violence assessment scale, I visited a series of high-security prisons to interview men found guilty of murder and other violent crimes. As I sat down with each inmate, the first question I always asked was, “How did you come to be a violent person?”… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Discusses Various Causes of Aggression in Boys and Girls

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino discusses the correlation in violence between the sexes. I published a book, Lost Boys, in 1999.  The subtitle is,  “Why our Sons are Growing More Violent – What we can do about it.”  And almost immediately, people kept saying, “Well, what… Read more »

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A Horrific Event – What Can We Learn From the Sandy Hook Shooting

Scary, disturbing, disgusting and virtually incomprehensible. These are the immediate feelings that overwhelm me while I watch the news unfold about the Newtown massacre.  As the details come to light, reports of the shooter’s history of “Aspersers”, social isolation and engagement in violent video games can be very alarming.  I know that there are many… Read more »

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7 Ways to Stop Your Child from Becoming Violent

Seeing an image of a violent adult, it’s hard to imagine the innocent baby he or she once was. Is there such thing as being born violent? Are there really “bad seeds” when it comes to human life? Like so many qualities, violence involves a real interaction between genetics and environment. We may not be… Read more »

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Offering Psychological First Aid After a Tragedy

The tragedy in Aurora, Colorado was an extreme act of senseless violence that truly shook our nation. When traumatic events like these take place, a ripple of grief, shock and fear spreads to individuals who are both directly and indirectly impacted. For those of us who live far from Aurora, reactions range from a deep… Read more »

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