Research & Background

Principals of Non-Violent Communication

Compassionate Communication & Non-Violent Living

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), also called Compassionate Communication, is an approach to nonviolent living developed by Marshall Rosenberg beginning in the 1960s.

It is based on the idea that all human beings have the capacity for compassion and only resort to violence or behavior that harms themselves and others when they do not recognize more effective strategies for meeting needs.

Nonviolent Communication holds that most conflicts between individuals or groups arise from miscommunication about their human needs, due to coercive or manipulative language that aims to induce fear, guilt, shame, etc. These “violent” modes of communication, when used during a conflict, divert the attention of the participants away from clarifying their needs, their feelings, their perceptions, and their requests, thus perpetuating the conflict.

NVC supports change on three interconnected levels: 1. with self, 2. with others, and 3. with groups and social systems. As such it is particularly present in the areas of personal development, relationships, and social change.

NVC is designed to improve compassionate connection to others. However, due to its far-reaching impact it has also been interpreted as a spiritual practice, a set of values, a parenting technique, a method of social change, a mediation tool, an educational orientation, and a worldview. To find out more about this program, contact us. 

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Research and Publications about Nonviolent Communication

We have gathered a large amount of information, including published journal articles, magazine articles, email, reports, and other communications related to research done to investigate the effects of NVC on violence, learning and other possible outcomes in various settings, including schools, parent-child settings, prisons and juvenile detention residences, etc. This allows others with interest in NVC research to easily search, identify, and obtain this information. This is especially important considering the fact that most of the work done to investigate the significance of NVC has not been formally published but exists in reports and dissertations that are not easy to identify or obtain.

Please feel free to browse the growing body of research reports, academic communications and publications on Nonviolent Communication below. 

Does being emphatic take a physiological toll on parents?

The results may surprise you.

Key Findings Identified

Parental empathy is associated with a host of beneficial psychosocial outcomes for children. For parents, being empathic was associated with greater self-esteem and purpose in life, but also with higher systemic inflammation.
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Nonviolent Communication and Mindfulness Training in Prison

What impact does such training have?

Key Improvements Identified

Findings show improvements in self-reported anger, self-compassion, and certain forms of mindfulness among the trained group, along with increased social skills in the group trained by Freedom Project than in the matched controls.
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Nonviolent Communication & Empathy in Male Parolees

Findings from Nonviolent Communication Training and Empathy in Male Parolees

Key Improvements Identified

NVC training may (a) be a useful addition to substance abuse treatment programs, (b) be effective in addressing problematic coping and communication styles resulting from incarceration and criminal behavior, and (c) assist paroled individuals in building and sustaining positive social support networks.
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Can Nonviolent Communication Enhance E-Mentoring Relationships?

This paper explores the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a way of developing the openness needed for successful communication in e-mentoring relationships.

Key Improvements Identified

The study would indicate that the use of NVC, with its focus on feelings and needs,encourages trusting personal relationships characterised by openness. The NVC process appeared to obviate many of the communication issues, that have seen to be restrictive in the development of online relationships.
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