Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “The Probation system needs to advance to 2.0”
President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, participated in the 20th-year regional meeting of Probation Services. Prof. Tarhan, who joined the meeting held in İzmir online, pointed out that they are in direct contact with probation cases. Emphasizing the need for efforts to enable individuals to become part of social life, Tarhan stated that probation needs to advance to version 2.0. Suggesting that a probation academy could be established, Tarhan also noted that we must start fixing the world by first starting with ourselves.
“We are in direct contact with probation cases”
Highlighting the importance of addressing the probation system, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan began his words by saying: “Probation is in its 20th year, and a great deal of experience has been accumulated here. It continues as a system that renews and improves itself. It is very important to thoroughly examine the probation system, considering its positive and negative aspects, and make improvements. As I am also involved in addiction psychiatry, we are in direct contact with probation cases. That is, as I see the cases, I often think, ‘It’s fortunate that probation exists.’”
“The probation system needs to advance to ‘Probation 2.0’”
Discussing the three types of prevention in medicine, Tarhan said: “The probation system needs to advance to ‘Probation 2.0’. We have been working extensively on this with the Istanbul Anatolian Side Probation Directorate for 5-6 months. Currently, individuals come for education under probation and sign in. They attend training where certain things are repeated. However, we conducted a study on how these trainings are insufficient, especially in addiction cases, and what could be done. There are three types of prevention in medicine. The first is primary prevention, which involves lifestyle education for healthy individuals to prevent them from getting sick. The second relates to identifying risk groups and implementing early diagnosis and intervention to prevent them from becoming ill. The third is the system predominantly involving probation, which we call tertiary prevention. This is a rehabilitation-focused prevention system. After a person serves a certain sentence for their crime, we need to think about how we can contribute to their reintegration into society, their ability to regain employment, and their inclusion in social life.”
“When the probation system doesn't function well, a perception of impunity forms in society”
Stating that Mindfulness practices also exist in Anatolian culture, Tarhan noted: “When the probation system doesn't function well, a perception of impunity forms in society, and deterrence weakens. There need to be strong reasons for people not to get involved in crime and violence. If there are no reasons, we cannot correct it with external threats and external control. Internal control is necessary. We need to enter their inner worlds and conduct work related to this. Globally, positive psychology applications are emphasized in prevention. Mindfulness practices are part of it. In fact, a Slovenian philosopher speaks of seeking new solutions against Mindfulness and similar approaches. Essentially, Mindfulness is about a person becoming aware of themselves and adding new meaning to their life based on that awareness. These practices exist in our Anatolian culture. There are the teachings of Mevlana and Yunus Emre. These teachings have been taken, systematized, and their methodology developed elsewhere.”
“We must focus on how to win people over”
Suggesting that a probation academy could be established, Tarhan said: “In the UK, Bristol University introduced a course against the suicide epidemic in 2019. We saw that this course was very effective. We give the course to students. We receive learning outcomes. There are many cases where students say, ‘My relationship with my friend improved, my relationship with my father improved, I was using substances and I stopped.’ We thought about how we could systematize this and adapt it to probation. We created 20 modules. The Anatolian Probation team has a very good infrastructure. Our state has made a very good investment. It genuinely prevents many crimes and incidents. We must focus on how to win these people over (reintegrate them positively). For this, there are many psychologist positions, social worker positions, child development specialist positions. We did something similar for families. The Gaziantep Municipality established a Family Academy and implemented it this way. In other words, work can be done in the form of a probation academy by making this system permanent.”
“Start fixing the world with yourself!”
Addressing addiction through positive psychology, Tarhan stated: “Instead of just describing the negative and saying it's bad, we need to reinforce the positive. The starting point here is like the law of entropy. Engineers know it as the second law of thermodynamics. Meaning, darkness does not exist, only the absence of light. Cold does not exist, only the absence of heat. Similarly, evil does not exist, only the absence of good. We teach these individuals to succeed (‘win’) by doing good. There is a gratitude module. Efforts are made to enable the person to derive pleasure from these. Then, in terms of self-awareness, we say, ‘Start fixing the world with yourself.’ Another step is recognizing others' emotions, meaning empathy is taught. Another step involves the relationship between attachment, addiction, and secure behavior. The human need for attachment is hormonal. The attachment hormone is oxytocin. It is secreted in the highest amounts in breastfeeding mothers. This need for attachment exists. Because they cannot fulfill it properly, they become attached to substances…”
“Anger should be approached with a firefighter model”
Explaining how anger management should be handled, Tarhan said: “We are all human, and situations that make us angry can arise. Here, anger should be approached with a firefighter model. The firefighter first extinguishes the fire, then investigates the cause. An angry person makes decisions driven by anger, asking ‘Why was I treated unjustly, why was this done to me?’ and crimes are committed. Methods like cooling down anger in that moment are taught. There is also an impulse control module. Impulse control along with anger control – the tendency to immediately act on the first thought that comes to mind. Many also have attention deficit hyperactivity issues. There is also an empathy and emotion management module. Here, it’s necessary not only to have emotional literacy but also to manage those emotions. Motivation and time management is another module. We want to teach conciliation and conflict resolution, and forgiveness. Because holding onto unforgiveness is like carrying a sack on one's back for a person. They are crushed under it. Instead, if it's forgivable, they should forgive; if not, they should use positive reinforcement methods. They will resolve their trauma that way.”
“There needs to be a mental sanctuary”
Describing many different modules, Tarhan concluded: “Social media usage is another important module. Spiritual values education is also among the important modules. Within all of us, there is a core called conscience. We have genetic algorithms related to this core. For example, the anxiety Yalom calls the Four Givens of Existence. Our search for meaning, our need to overcome loneliness, our need to deal with freedom, our fear of death. Through spiritual values education, regardless of one's worldview, if one feels they belong to a meaning, there needs to be a mental sanctuary. Teaching this to individuals as an internal control system, an inner guard, a conscientious jury is a very important step. In skills for setting boundaries and saying no, these individuals need to be taught where to stop. For instance, fostering happiness and well-being skills. We explain all these in modules.”
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)