Peter
Jakob

With a background in social work, Peter has worked as Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist in both CAMHS and Adult Mental Health for over 35 years, specialising in children and families involved with child protection. He has in-depth knowledge of treating trauma as the after-effect of childhood maltreatment, as well as extensive experience in providing therapy for parents’ mental health problems.

Peter has introduced Nonviolent Resistance therapy (NVR) to the UK. He has adapted the approach for heavily traumatised, multi-stressed families, and his work with looked-after children has inspired him to develop a child focus in NVR. He has integrated NVR with solution-focused practices and narrative therapy for building the cornerstones of his work: generating hope where there are ‘complex difficulties’, promoting social re-connection, focus on issues of social justice, embodiment and imagination. Peter is a prolific national and international presenter. He is the author of “Dem Trauma Widerstand leisten” (German: Resisting Trauma) which is currently being translated for English language publication, and main editor of “Narrative Praxis” (German).

Aiming to develop collaborative working relationships in which dialogue can flourish and service users’ experience and perspectives are centred in conversation, Peter considers social awareness as a cornerstone of engaged therapeutic practice. He has a strong interest in narration of ‘self’ as a vehicle for change in people with histories of abuse, enabling them to take back definitional power.