FROM CHAOS to CONNECTION

Using NVR and Relational Presence for Complex Behaviours in Families, Schools and Communities

The 14-year-old who punches walls when told 'no.' The anxious child who hasn't attended school in six months. The young person whose screen addiction is destroying family life. The foster placement on the brink of breakdown.

You've worked with these families. You know that rewards don't work. Consequences make things worse. The harder adults push, the more the young person resists, and everyone escalates together. But how do we change the cycle?

An Innovative Systemic Intervention

Relational Presence (also known as Non-Violent Resistance or NVR) offers a fundamentally different approach. Instead of trying to control the young person's behaviour, it focuses on changing the adult's response; increasing presence, reducing escalation, and rebuilding connection even when the young person is rejecting help. Developed as a systemic intervention, NVR focuses on relational patterns, circular processes, and de-escalation, making it highly compatible with family therapy and systemic practice.

The evidence is substantial: studies across Europe and the UK show significant reductions in challenging behaviours, parental helplessness, and family escalation. For ADHD specifically, gains maintained at 4-month follow-up with dropout rates under 5% (compared to 50%+ dropout typical in standard parent training programs). In one school with 800 students, violence decreased across all categories after implementing NVR school-wide. Outcomes consistently show reduced challenging behaviours, decreased escalation, improved parental self-control, and better parent-child relationships across presentations including violence, suicidal threats, ADHD, eating disorders, OCD, school refusal, and failure to launch.

The format is highly interactive. You'll work through realistic case studies drawn from families, schools, and residential settings. You'll leave with practical strategies you can use immediately, not just theoretical knowledge.

In this three-day workshop you'll learn:

• How to maintain relational presence with young people who reject both, without escalating or giving up
• Practical de-escalation strategies that actually work when a young person is in crisis mode
• How to respond to serious incidents without punishment or submission
• Building support networks around families so you're not carrying the entire case alone
• Reconciliation gestures: How to maintain connection beyond the conflict
• Applying NVR across complex presentations including neurodiversity, anxious avoidance, controlling and at-risk behaviours
• Working through case studies that mirror your professional experience, ensuring practical understanding you can apply immediately

Designed for psychologists, social workers, allied health practitioners, residential support workers, teachers, and school counsellors working with complex behaviours in children and families. Whether you're supporting families in crisis, managing challenging classroom dynamics, or working in residential care, this training provides a practical, evidence-based framework for maintaining presence and authority when traditional behaviour management fails.

Presenter: Tamar Sloan is a registered psychologist and one of Australia’s most highly qualified Relational Presence (Non-Violent Resistance) practitioners, bringing extensive experience in both education and community settings. She’s both a private practitioner and supports families in government services. By combining evidence-based principles with real-world application, she focuses on empowering families, educators, and fellow professionals to confidently address challenging behaviours. Tamar’s compassionate, interactive, and engaging style ensures participants gain practical skills that foster meaningful, lasting change for families in their care.

Audience: for mental health, education and other professionals that apply behavioural/developmental/neuro-science and systemic thinking to their practice.

Mental Health Professionals: All mental health professionals including, but not limited to Clinical Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Psychiatrists, Social Workers, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Hospice and Palliative Care Workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Addiction Specialists, Marital & Family Therapists, Child Protection and Disability Workers, Guidance Officers, Speech and Language Therapists, Residential Care Workers and Foster Support Workers, Youth Justice, and all other mental health professionals looking to enhance their therapeutic skills.  

Education Professionals: Professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Principles, Teachers, School Counsellors, School Paraprofessionals and all other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs.