Tackling behavioural problems

On the work of Frederique van den Berg, volunteer and psychologist

On December 12th 2006 the psychologist Frederique van den Berg arrived in Léon. She would support our team for six months in her capacity of psychologist. For MPP, but especially for the team, she turned out to be a gift from heaven. Before leaving for Nicaragua, Frederique was not exactly sure how she could contribute to our work. But she moved mountains and, most important of all, made a huge difference in the quality of our social psychological aid.

Integrated approach

Frederique started out by making an inventory and evaluation of our work methods and intervention techniques and the quality of our mentors and of the director. In the first week of January she started a psychology course for the team and introduced the so-called integrated approach to ensure all the disciplines involved with the children via MPowering People work in the same way. This approach, for example, avoids situations where a child will be called to account for his behaviour by his mentor only to be subsequently sent out of the classroom by his drama teacher. The mentors and teachers involved were divided into teams per neighbourhood and met once a week to discuss the behaviour and treatment of each individual pupil. It was very time consuming, but provided the children with clarity, structure and peace and quiet. The results were immediately noticeable, too, with the children showing an increased level of confidence in us but also themselves.

New techniques

During Frederique’s training, our mentors and teachers learnt a number of new intervention techniques. Before, the children with the biggest behavioural problems were reprimanded on a daily basis. That is no longer necessary. And if they do make a mistake, they decide themselves how to remedy the situation. Sure, we still work in a disadvantaged area and a lot of things go wrong; but the difference is noticeable to everyone. Our ADHD-kids are a lot more relaxed, the shy kids come out of their shells more and their trust in each other grows every day - as it does within the team itself. This is a huge accomplishment as distrust is abundant in a Nicaraguan society traumatised by civil war and extreme poverty.