20 ICSA TODAY
Correspondents
,
Reports
Hjälpkällan Sweden is starting another
new project in 2016, of targeting family
members and relatives of people who
are drawn into totalitarian groups or
closed religious movements. These
relatives are a target group with specific
needs. They often express a sense of
hopelessness because it is very difficult
to reach a person with strong, new
convictions. Discussions between group
members and their relatives tend to
result in stirred emotions and end with
the status quo.
In the new project, family members
will be educated in motivational
interviewing (MI) techniques. In
short, this technique supports the
idea that someone who is ambivalent
about change is better approached
with understanding than through
confrontation. Using MI techniques, the
family members will avoid insisting on
a particular solution to the situation.
They will learn ways to encourage the
problem-solving and critical-thinking
skills that the person already has,
skills the individual might have used
successfully in other situations in
the past. By using these techniques,
communication between the individual
and family members can be changed
from hostile to nonjudgmental, which
is an approach more likely to promote
change.
Other positive effects from their
participation in the project could be to
relieve family members’ sense of being
powerless, and to help them build
a network with other families going
through similar things. The hope is that
the project model can be used with
various target groups, including parents
of young people who are radicalized
within Islamism.
Several articles have been published
in the Finnish media about movies
broadcast during Jehovah’s Witnesses
conventions during the summer. One
of the movies, for all ages including
small children, showed a group of
Jehovah’s Witnesses during the prestate
of Armageddon or doomsday. The
individuals are gathered in a home and
attacked by police forces. Another movie
tells the story of a teenage daughter
who is pushed away from her home after
being disfellowshipped, and the mother
doing the “right thing” by not answering
the phone as her daughter tries to reach
out.
Movies broadcast publicly in Finland
need to be examined and age rated
by The National Audiovisual Institute,
something that Jehovah’s Witnesses have
ignored. The institute is now requesting
an explanation from the group. If it
doesn’t find the explanation acceptable,
the case will be reported to the police
and might result in legal action against
the Jehovah’s Witnesses. n
Note
[1] Hjelpekilden and Hjälpkällan (Help
Source) are Swedish and Norwegian
sister organizations that aim to
help former members from closed
religious movements and totalitarian
groups.
Correspondents
,
Reports
Hjälpkällan Sweden is starting another
new project in 2016, of targeting family
members and relatives of people who
are drawn into totalitarian groups or
closed religious movements. These
relatives are a target group with specific
needs. They often express a sense of
hopelessness because it is very difficult
to reach a person with strong, new
convictions. Discussions between group
members and their relatives tend to
result in stirred emotions and end with
the status quo.
In the new project, family members
will be educated in motivational
interviewing (MI) techniques. In
short, this technique supports the
idea that someone who is ambivalent
about change is better approached
with understanding than through
confrontation. Using MI techniques, the
family members will avoid insisting on
a particular solution to the situation.
They will learn ways to encourage the
problem-solving and critical-thinking
skills that the person already has,
skills the individual might have used
successfully in other situations in
the past. By using these techniques,
communication between the individual
and family members can be changed
from hostile to nonjudgmental, which
is an approach more likely to promote
change.
Other positive effects from their
participation in the project could be to
relieve family members’ sense of being
powerless, and to help them build
a network with other families going
through similar things. The hope is that
the project model can be used with
various target groups, including parents
of young people who are radicalized
within Islamism.
Several articles have been published
in the Finnish media about movies
broadcast during Jehovah’s Witnesses
conventions during the summer. One
of the movies, for all ages including
small children, showed a group of
Jehovah’s Witnesses during the prestate
of Armageddon or doomsday. The
individuals are gathered in a home and
attacked by police forces. Another movie
tells the story of a teenage daughter
who is pushed away from her home after
being disfellowshipped, and the mother
doing the “right thing” by not answering
the phone as her daughter tries to reach
out.
Movies broadcast publicly in Finland
need to be examined and age rated
by The National Audiovisual Institute,
something that Jehovah’s Witnesses have
ignored. The institute is now requesting
an explanation from the group. If it
doesn’t find the explanation acceptable,
the case will be reported to the police
and might result in legal action against
the Jehovah’s Witnesses. n
Note
[1] Hjelpekilden and Hjälpkällan (Help
Source) are Swedish and Norwegian
sister organizations that aim to
help former members from closed
religious movements and totalitarian
groups.
