Excerpted from a piece originally presented at the
American Psychological Association Convention
in Washington DC.
August 2000

By Steven Handwerker Ph.D D.Div


Peace begins inside.This has been a point that has been made by many psychologists and peace builders over the last fifty years.

Building on the notion that all human beings have basic needs that motivate behavior toward survival, there are also needs that relate to fulfillment. Therefore, the movement toward inner peace requires the constructive fulfillment of basic needs as well as transcendent needs. Needs such as safety, connection through intimacy, trust, identity, esteem, control, comprehension of reality or world view, and/or autonomy, express the issues that must be addressed in the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimension of peacework.

From an aligned perspective, H.H. Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa, two Nobel Peace prize laureates, have shared with us the view that all feelings, thoughts and actions (generated from needs) have an energy and a quality which effects the very nature of our inner, as well as, outer worlds. Exploring peace or contentment in this way, i.e. what energy we are generating, involves first an introspective and witnessing component. This component is vital in overcoming a major impediment in peacework, i.e., the biases or limitations of the peace practitioner. Once these impediments are dealt with interpersonal peace can be facilitated.

The issues of building interpersonal peace is likened tobuilding bridges or creating connections between individuals or groups of individuals. In addressing violence or promoting conditions of peace, the creation of conditions of personal and community integration is vital. A psychology of building understanding focuses on liberation through truth which is constructed or created from the foundational levels of society. Psychologists need to place themselves within the participant-observer process and generate empathy for all those they seek to understand in order to help them to build peace for themselves.

The methods of observation, motivation and the nature of how work is done with observations must be carefully scrutinized . In addition, the histories and belief systems and/or perspectives of the parties involved in conflict must be observed and considered as well.

There is little chance of lasting peace in any conflict without the infusion of some level of understanding of mutual needs. These above perspectives are oriented toward that end.

As a chairperson of this international peace organization, I have practiced a process of dialoguing which involves the building of understanding. For example: I look at the needs and values of the parties involved from the most fundamental common denominators, as well as empathically and objectively. I do this with the intention of looking for unfulfilled needs, both basic and transcendent.These unfulfilled needs are what lie at the foundation of the conflict.


Therefore, in intrapersonal as well as in interpersonal perspectives on the psychology of peace, there is a witnessing process going on. First is Self-observation of our own feelings. Then a ground level up witnessing of the needs (especially unresloved) with the other parties. The nature of building understanding, rests on the foundatin of this process of learning and creating transformative actions in response to whatever is witnessed, both inside as well as in the parties worked with.

The nature of building understanding rests on the foundation of this process of witnessing; learning about needs and creating transformative actions in response to what is witnessed and learned from both parties.