This is, by far, one of the big questions, not only at the level of terrorism but at the human level. Can someone change? The immediate answer is obvious. Human beings change throughout their lives, even can do so substantially overnight if extreme events occur. After all, this is what psychological therapies aim to do, to change thoughts, emotions, behaviors and even changing the subject’s brain itself in the direction that improves their mental health.
To see how the brain is modified with psychotherapy, we recommend reading this article
But all these patterns of the individual can be seen metaphorically as a drug; The difficult thing is not to leave it, but to avoid relapsing.
Now coming to the topic that concerns us, we are going to try to give a terrorist back his human side and separate him from the whole world in which he has immersed himself, but this is really difficult; because relapses also exist for them.
Before starting to detail the process, We must know two essential points already covered in chapters I and II on terrorism:
In the past, widespread methods were used to attract supporters to the cause. Today, with the use of new technologies, the situation is very different, but yesIt still has a general scheme made up of four phases. Their function is to progressively immerse the victim in a new world based on violence and dehumanization, until they become terrorists.
Nowadays, terrorists in charge of recruiting new followers focus their efforts on getting to know the victims in a personalized way, to “hook” them more easily. Thus, it seems reasonable to think that if the new follower became a terrorist because he was persuaded in a “personalized” way, The therapy you receive must also be personalized.
In fact, in a previous post by Psychology and Mind We already talked about a real case of a Western boy, apparently in his right mind, who decided to join the terrorist group Islamic State. Their reasons and motivations are surprising.
Phases for rehumanization
The process, always adapted to the idiosyncrasies of each individual, is made up of the following three phases. Something very important must be kept in mind throughout the entire process: We cannot achieve change using rational means. Subjects in these circumstances will always combat the reasoning of others with their beliefs, as if it were propaganda broadcast by a loudspeaker. But not only this; Throughout the process, which usually lasts a long time until a nuclear change is achieved in the person, at no time can you try to change the mind using reason since, every time this is done, it represents a setback for the change.
So what is there to do? Choose the emotional route.
1st phase: Emotional reactivation
This stage serves as a base and focuses on rebuilding the emotional ties between the victim (who had become a supporter of the terrorist group) and his family. The key lies in reactivating memories and emotional ties. The difficulty is that these memories have been buried. Another point that makes the process even more difficult is the fact that families, who ask for help in these cases, when they do, the victim is already in a very advanced phase.
Even though most of these people (especially young people) no longer see their parents as such, the human brain always leaves small traces of the past. These traces lead to memories, which despite being deep inside, can be revived at any moment.
For this, It is necessary for family members to do their part and try to bring these happy emotional memories back to life. in your child. Furthermore, as we have already mentioned, at no time should you try to persuade through rational means.
For now, family members must go through this process on their own, since intervention by third parties is usually counterproductive by increasing the victim’s defenses. A very simple exercise with surprising results is, for example, putting a large image of when you were little on the refrigerator.
When this point is reached, the victim slightly resensitizedusually agrees, although reluctantly, to participate in support groups. This step must be immediate so as not to lose the opportunity that has cost months of work.
The author of these studies tells us the following case:
“A young man in the process of radicalization had focused his rejection speech on alcohol. His personal jihad consisted of eliminating the slightest trace of that substance from the home. Deodorants, perfumes and food products had to be eliminated. His parents had spent several months trying to elicit an emotional reaction from his son. Until Mother’s Day arrived. The boy gave him a bottle of perfume. The woman called us in tears immediately. “In about two hours we’ll be there,” she replied.
2nd phase: Confrontation with reality
This second phase uses supportive therapies to improve the victim’s situation. Their components will be other former jihad recruits who have already been rehabilitated. They must explain why they left that dark world; transmitting the contradictions they found in him and the lies they had been told since nothing was as they had promised them.
They will also explain the stages they went through to be indoctrinated. But the central element that is worked on is to make him see that he will never find what he needs being one of them. It is now that the person who aspired to become a terrorist starts thinking for herself again. But there is still a long way to go; about six more months.
It is common at this stage for the person to suffer ambivalence, a result of the conflict they are experiencing. A real case of a young man who suffered this situation relates it as follows:
“One day I told myself that my recruiters were terrorists, bloodthirsty executioners, capable of playing football with freshly severed heads. I wondered how they could talk about religion. However, an hour later I was convinced that those who wanted my apostasy were in the pay of the Zionists, so they had to be massacred.”
3rd and final phase: Saving uncertainty
In the final phase Sessions are held with former recruits. The central objective now is to achieve a sustained state of doubt to avoid a relapse into radicalization.
At the beginning of this phase, it is difficult for the subjects to pay full attention to the doubts that assail them, but, little by little, and combining them with emotional support from family and former recruits, these doubts accumulate.
According to researcher Bouzar, most of the people she has worked with have achieved this. But she, she at the same time she warns:
“Every week we receive a call from five families to report a radicalization process (…) this figure only represents a portion of the iceberg that has emerged.”
