Being a meaningful presence in the world: applying successful agentic practices among youth in distress

Criminalization of Asylum Seekers in Israel: Toward an Agentic Research Perspective that Opposes Othering and Estrangement

“…Agency is concerned with understanding the constraints and possibilities surrounding one’s “ability to achieve, aspire and perform, and enjoy ‘well-being’ in various […] spheres” (Ringrose, 2013 ; p. 58). Practices of agency applied by researchers and professionals aim to reduce powerlessness, increase awareness of existing power structures, and refine personal and social ways of coping with and changing prevailing power relations (Amitay & Rahav, 2021 ; Baines, 2011 ; Yanay-Ventura & Amitay, 2019 ).…”

“…One practice is to raise awareness of social barriers and opportunities and enhance the ability to self-advocate—an ability that evolves through judgment-free discourse. These practices emphasize the young person’s autonomy and rationality and attempt to find alternative ways out of marginalization (Amitay & Rahav, 2021 ; Yanay-Ventura & Amitay, 2019 ). Using the agentic perspective, persons can experience themselves as autonomous subjects able to cope within their overwhelming environment.…”

The Practice of Spiritual Criminology: A Non-Doing Companionship for Crime Desistance

“…Their voices need to be heard not only to provide them with recognition but also because they may hold essential knowledge regarding the optimal approach to working with them (Krumer-Nevo, 2000). Taking into consideration the voices of the people whom we work with may also generate in them a sense of self-efficacy and agency (Amitay & Rahav, 2021). Maruna (2001) as well as Ward and Marshall (2007) relate agency and having a powerful autonomous self-image to renarration and desistance, as well as to wellbeing.…”

“…Corresponding effects of renouncement of control were found in nonspiritual interventions as well. For example, there are programs for prisoners and for youth at-risk whose proclaimed aim is purely educational, but whose outcomes reach far beyond the educational aims, including the development of self-efficacy in various dimensions (Amitay & Rahav, 2021; Clarke & Dugdale, 2008; Timor & Oppenheimer, 2007).…”

“…When working with youth in distress, it was found that a judgment-suspending dialog facilitated the questioning of practices in ways uncommon in other rehabilitative settings. The nonjudgmental inquiry of needs, desires, and rationalizations was found to be a uniquely powerful way of delving into a self-inquiry (Amitay & Rahav, 2021). The nonjudgmental stance of the accompanying person can help the companion reexamine their needs and desires with regard to their actions and their appropriateness in a secure and self-accepting moral atmosphere.…”