The Psychology of Restorative Justice

This collection takes the next step in the advancement of an autonomous, inter-disciplinary restorative justice field of study and articulates for the first time a psychological concept of restorative justice. The book studies the power structures of the restorative justice movement, and the psychology of the practitioners, theoreticians and researchers who implement it, as well as the psychology of the policy makers and politicians who fund it. Furthermore, it examines the strengths and weakness of our own societies and the communities that are called to participate as parties in restorative justice.

Theo Gavrielides is an international expert in restorative justice, human rights and criminal justice and an advisor and project manager for EU and international programmes. He is the Founder and Director of The IARS International Institute and the Founder and co-Director of the Restorative Justice for All Institute (RJ4All). He is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Criminology (Centre for Restorative Justice) of Simon Fraser University as well as a Visiting Professor at Buckinghamshire New University. Professor Gavrielides is the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, as well as of the Youth Voice Journal and the Internet Journal of Restorative Justice. He has published extensively in the areas of restorative justice, human rights, youth justice, equality and criminal justice. Previously, he was the Chief Executive of Race on the Agenda, as well as the Human Rights Advisor of the UK Ministry of Justice.

Foreword, Shadd Maruna; Introduction, Theo Gavrielides. Part I Developing Theory: Social Sciences Meet Psychology and Neuroscience: A micro-social psychology of restorative justice: the contribution of positioning theory, Giuseppe Maglione; The group and cultural context of restorative justice: a social psychological perspective, Julie Van de Vyver, Giovanni A. Travaglino, Milica Vasiljevic and Dominic Abrams; Towards a neuroscience of morality, Daniel Reisel; Restorative practices, affect script psychology and the social and emotional aspects of learning, Nicola Preston; Restorative justice and psychology: positivism in criminology again? A few theoretical reflections, Vasso Artinopoulou. Part II Critical Issues: The psychology of restorative practice in forensic mental health recovery, Gerard Drennan, Andy Cook and Henry Kiernan; The concept of humiliation as a critical issue in restorative justice: an exploration, Rina Kashyap; Re-entry circles for the innocent: the psychological benefits of restorative justice and taking responsibility in response to injustice, Lorenn Walker; Trauma-informed rehabilitation and restorative justice, Judah Oudshoorn; Challenging power dynamics in restorative justice, Mikhail Lyubansky and Elaine Shpungin. Part III New Research: The psychology of restorative justice: creating the inner and outer space for change - an observation of restorative justice meetings, Piers Worth, Theo Gavrielides, Matthew Smith, Andriana Ntziadima and Ioanna Gouseti; Positive psychology as a contribution to rehabilitation in restorative justice systems: analysis of two cases of penal mediation in Chile, Isabel González Ramírez, María Soledad Fuentealba Martínez and Samuel Malamud Herrera. Part IV Concluding Thoughts: The sceptic and the believer: the psychology of restorative justice, Theo Gavrielides. Index.