Although providing for basic needs helps break the cycle of poverty, consider those who have already been affected by unstable conditions. How do we help them? What effect do they have on future generations? How do we break the cycle of crime and violence? These questions plague Liberia. However, one answer comes from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) eliminating violence in Liberia.

What Is CBT?

According to the American Psychological Association, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychological treatment that aims to change behavioral and thinking patterns. CBT understands that complications in our psychological makeup result from learned behavior and thought processes.

People treated using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy work on improving their self-confidence, adopting effective coping mechanisms and altering harmful patterns of thinking. Clients also exercise modifications in habits, such as confronting rather than avoiding difficult situations. Additionally, they practice self-control and prepare for real-life scenarios that they may find challenging.

One of the distinguishing factors of CBT is its focus on the current and future aspects of the client’s life. Although this method takes a person’s past into account, it aims to create effective techniques that deal with the client’s present issues.

The Situation in Liberia

The Overseas Security Advisory Council’s (OSAC) Liberia 2020 Crime and Safety Report states that violent robberies and home invasions have increased. The Council also reports that “[s]exual assault and rape are the most commonly reported violent crimes.” Simultaneously, Liberia also faces a rise in social upheaval due to escalating difficulties in the economy, healthcare and employment.

As urban poverty surges in Liberian cities, so has homelessness, pollution and deteriorating infrastructure. Impoverished citizens face a lack of opportunity and inequality. Discrimination, poor education and epidemics such as Ebola all have the hardest impacts on the poor. Overall, these unstable environments catalyze the high rates of crime and violence, especially among young Liberian men.

CBT Eliminating Violence in Liberia

A study in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, revealed the benefits of CBT eliminating violence in Liberia. More than 1,000 men participated in this experiment, all of whom were at risk for crime and violence. The men were placed in one of four different groups. These included receiving only therapy, only cash,  both therapy and cash and nothing at all. The cash provided enough to start a small business. As such, it was an incentive for participation.

Therapy alone improved behaviors significantly, and much of participants’ objectionable behavior decreased. However, the men who received both therapy and cash saw the longest lasting results. These men could practice what they learned in therapy while feeling like a “normal” member of society. Providing them with means, motive and opportunity helped improve their lives and their place in their communities.

CBT eliminating violence in Liberia is not the only approach necessary to ending poverty. However, it does contribute to progressive change. It also highlights the importance of the long-lasting and widespread measures that can help communities plagued by violence.

– Amy Schlagel
Photo: Flickr