Understanding why children and teenagers become violent and how to help them heal

Many people respond to violent children and teenagers by being frightened of them, despising them, rejecting them giving up on them. There is often major ignorance about causes of violent behaviour and the fact that in every case, each perpetrator was once a victim. There are no exceptions.

In this presentation Margot will also discuss the neuroscience and psychology of violence and how it really is possible for a child to be programmed with an over-active RAGE system in their brain, as a result of what has happened to them She will then discuss how this can be reversed, and healing really is possible so that perpetrators no longer want to hurt and harm but move on to compassion for self and others. She will include inspiring models of healing violence in several parts of the world. She will also discuss TISUK's qualitative research with people who have been sentenced with GBH and/or murder who during of after lengthy prison sentences went through their own healing process. She will discuss what these experts by lived experience, have to say about the help they so desperately needed and yearned for and didn’t get as children.

Please note: This lecture presentation contains some disturbing film footage.

Dr Margot Sunderland

Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health, Director of Innovation and Research Trauma Informed Schools UK, Honorary Visiting Fellow at London Metropolitan University and Child Psychotherapist with over thirty years’ experience of working with children and families.

Trained initially in Child psychotherapy with John Hood Williams (former Principal - Institute of Child Psychology - Lowenfeld training). Worked for years as a child and adolescent psychotherapist in children’s homes and adolescent units.

Author of over twenty books in the field of child mental health, which collectively have been translated into eighteen languages and published in twenty-four countries. Internationally acclaimed book, “The Science of Parenting” (Dorling Kindersley), won First Prize in the British Medical Association Medical Book awards 2007 Popular Medicine section. Dr Sunderland has two doctorates, one in child psychotherapy, thesis entitled “The Application of Art and Science to the Psychological Treatment of Children.”