Although to date law enforcement has been the primary lead on efforts to address violent extremism, shortfalls in successfully engaging communities and providing pre-criminal prevention and intervention initiatives have seriously challenged this approach.
The overall purpose of this research was to identify assets from the mental health and education fields that could contribute to best practices for preventing and intervening with violent extremism. Specifically we aimed to address the following questions: 1) what prior knowledge, programs, or interventions within the mental health and education fields could contribute to best practices and other strategies that could inform stopping violent extremism? and 2) how can professionals from the mental health and education fields best become involved in stopping violent extremism?
Publication Information
Weine, S. M., Ellis, B. H., Haddad, R., Miller, A. B., Lowenhaupt, R., & Polutnik, C. “Lessons Learned from Mental Health and Education: Identifying Best Practices for Addressing Violent Extremism,” Final Report to the Office of University Programs, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. College Park, MD: START, 2015. http://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_LessonsLearnedfromMentalHealthAndEducation_FullReport_Oct2015.pdf