ADAPT is designed for the treatment of adolescents with drug-related behaviour problems. Teenagers between the ages of 12 to 18 years who are at a low to medium risk of developing addiction disorders. This programme is not suitable for treating serious dependency and addiction. 

Goals: Develop behaviour that will promote abstinence from using harmful substances, as well as a positive law abiding lifestyle.

Objectives: Empower clients through building resilience as a protective factor in order to:

• Delay the onset of drug use
• Delay and interrupt the development of addiction
• Stop drug use behaviours; and
• Constructively manage and deal with life stressors. 

The Adult Lifeskills Programme is designed for general NICRO clients aged 18 and above. The programme is suited to people with educational and literacy constraints.

The ALP covers the following topics:

• Personal Growth: self-awareness 
• Thinking Skills: critical thinking skills, decision-making and problem-solving
• Social Skills: communication and anger management
• Civic literacy: how society and the world works, and our roles as responsible people.

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

The outcome of NICRO’s Aftercare Service (AS) is to render services that will decrease the risk of the client reoffending during the aftercare period. Clients who have completed their interventions receive aftercare support for 12 months.  They receive contact from their case manager at 3, 6 and 12 months, and have a supervised aftercare plan. 

The Anger Management Programme (AMP) is a ten session programme for adults as well as adolescents aged 15 – 18 years. The AMP focuses on addressing anger-related behavioural issues and empowering individuals to improve their anger management skills. The programme has both theoretical and practical components on the following topics:

• Introduction to AMP
• Self awareness: becoming the person I want to be
• Communication skills: the basics
• Communication skills: difficult situations
• Tolerance and respect: the basics
• Problem-solving and decision-making
• Goal setting and motivation
• Anger: An Introduction
• Thoughts and anger
• Anger triggers
• Anger busting strategies – reflection and action plan

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

Beyond Boundaries is a lifeskills programme for adolescents. It covers the following topics:

• Rights and responsibilities
• Communication and assertiveness
• Perspective on behaviour
• Self-Awareness
• Anger management
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• Bullying
• Leadership and peer resistance skills
• Gang Prevention
• Norms and The Laws

The above programme is used with diverted children in conflict with the law. 

NICRO has a version called Brighten My World, which is used in schools with learners.

Beyond Boundaries is also available on NICRO Online.

This programme focuses on drugs and alcohol abuse. This programme is based on the World Health Organisation’s AUDIT and ASSIST brief interventions and is used with their permission. The target group for this programme are adult offenders aged 18 and above, who experiment with, use, or abuse substances. The programme is suited to both low and moderate risk clients.

This programme is not intended to address addiction. The programme covers the following topics:

• The different levels of substance use
• The effects of substance abuse as follows
• Impact of alcohol and substance abuse
• Low risk drinking
• How substances are portrayed in the media
• Why do some people use and abuse drugs and alcohol
• Exploring behaviour and motivation.

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

This responsible driving initiative is an awareness and road safety education programme that aims to prevent road offences and promote road safety. License holding drivers of vehicles and individuals with a learner driver’s license. It is especially relevant to those who are employed as drivers or working in the transportation field.

The programme challenges negative attitudes and unsafe driving behaviour, with a particular focus on driving under the influence (DUI) and develops effective strategies to support sober, good driving habits and promote road safety.

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

This programme offers diverted or sentenced offenders the opportunity of serving the community they have wronged by performing a set number of hours of community service rather than appearing in court or, if convicted, serving a prison sentence. The aim is to provide a platform through which people can give back to society while learning new skills.

CSL targets adolescents aged 15 to 17 years and adult offenders with a low to medium risk offending profile.

A NICRO social worker, in consultation with the public prosecutor, determines the requisite number of hours. Depending on the offence, circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender’s current situation between 20 and 300 hours can be allocated for community service. Community service learning can be directed towards the community as a whole or a specific group within the community, such as the aged, at-risk youth or the handicapped.

The Economic Opportunities Programme provides socio-economically marginalised people with low education and skills with the necessary knowledge, competencies and tools to access the economy through informal or alternative income streams.

EOP targets adults, with a specific focus on women and those living in socio-economically marginalised communities.

This intervention comprises four programme modules that focus on the basics of small business and entrepreneurship and innovative thinking around developing new business opportunities. It equips participants with basic financial and digital literacy skills.

The Fatherhood Programme (FP) is a behaviour-change programme aimed at adult male caregivers.  The goal of the programme is to increase the positive role of the father in the lives of the children he is responsible for.  Positive parenting in the home is one of the main protective factors against crime and violence. The topics are:

• Fatherhood
• Positive Masculinities
• The role of the caregiver
• Co-parenting
• Positive Parenting
• Communication skills
• Anger Management

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

NICRO has a series of free self-study workbooks on lifeskills related topics. These are free for anyone to download and use for non-commercial purposes.

Click here to access the PDFs.

(to be released later in 2025)

The Lionheart programme is a psychosocial programme for adult men who wish to explore the challenges of being a man in today’s world, and develop themselves to be the best man they can be.

It covers topics such as:

• Advantages and disadvantages of being a man
• Gender stereotypes
• Consent and boundaries
• Toxic relationships
• Developing self-awareness
• Respect
• Cultural issues
• Emotional regulation
• Conflict resolution.

The outcome of the programme is to instill a healthy and positive sense of masculinity, supported by values such as perseverance, respect, self-discipline and empowerment.

This programme is only available on NICRO Online.

The National School Safety Framework (NSSF) is the government's school safety protocol. All state schools are required to implement the NSSF.  The NSSF was developed by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP) for the Department of Basic Education. It is used by NICRO with the permission of CJCP.

NICRO has a SACE accredited training on the NSSF on NICRO Online.

There is a free non-accredited NSSF training programme on Zibuza (registration free). 

Positive Masculinities (PM) is a social functioning development programme designed by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP). CJCP granted NICRO permission to adjust and use this programme under the Creative Commons License. The PM programme is designed to address the impact of negative conceptions of malehood and masculinities amongst males.

The programme seeks to achieve the following

• Develop and foster a positive conception of maleness and masculinity amongst male programme beneficiaries
• Empower men to define positive social roles for themselves
• Develop and foster positive prosocial behaviours amongst men
• Counteract the negative influence of patriarchal socialisation on men
• Empower men to see themselves as agents for positive change in the personal lives, homes and communities.

See Lionheart: Strength Through Honour for an online programme offering on the same general topic. 

This therapeutic treatment programme for perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence holds perpetrators systematically accountable for their violence and abuse, while simultaneously optimising support for and ensuring the safety of their victims.

This programme targets adult male perpetrators of intimate partner violence usually referred to NICRO by the courts, and victims.

This 20-week group-based programme incorporates elements of psycho-educational and cognitive-behavioural therapy for perpetrators to educate, provide social and personal skills training and change ‘faulty’ thinking patterns, attitudes and behaviour.

Group sessions for perpetrator participants are conducted weekly. Structured counselling and support groups for victims/partners of programme participants involve a minimum of eight sessions. Individual counselling (separate sessions for perpetrators and their partners/victims), couples counselling and family work are also undertaken.

The purpose of the Parenting Programme is to equip adult clients with the skills and knowledge they need to be effective caregivers. The programme covers the following topics: 

• Role of the caregiver
• Co-parenting
• Developmental stages and behaviour
• Nutrition
• Online safety
• Positive parenting
• Taking care of yourself

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

(to be released later in 2025)

This programme is designed to support people transitioning from prison into the community. The programme covers the following themes:

• Relationships
• Mental wellbeing
• Income generation
• Expungement of criminal records.

The programme also provides extensive supplementary material to be downloaded and used for private study.

This programme will take approximately 15 - 20 hours to complete, including assignments.

This programme is only available on NICRO Online.

This programme is a pilot where we are testing out providing basic trauma support services in the form of a programme. Our goal is to make some form of basic trauma support available to people who cannot access counseling or therapy.

The Rapid Intervention for Trauma consists of psychoeducational video presented by a registered Psychological Counsellor. The psychoeducational video consists of the following:

• What is trauma?
• The different types of trauma
• What trauma can look like
• Re-telling your story
• Processing traumatic events
• Guided imagery
• Changing unwanted trauma-related behaviours (practical tools and methods)
• The transactional model of change
• The decisional balance
• Behavioural activation
• Avoidance behaviour management

Thereafter, you will have the opportunity to submit the psychoeducational assignments that form part of the programme. These assignments are designed to provide you with some form of basic trauma support. The assignments are reviewed by psychological counsellors.

This programme is only available on NICRO Online.

Being emotionally and psychologically resilient means having the ability to adapt and bounce back from difficult or challenging situations. It involves effectively coping with adversity, stress, trauma, or other emotional disturbances, and maintaining mental well-being. This programme covers the basic knowledge and skills you need to become more resilient. The programme covers the following topics:

• About resilience
• Emotional regulation
• Mental flexibility
• Cognitive reframing
• Adaptive thinking
• Self care

 This programme is available on NICRO Online.

This is a victim-centred conflict resolution process which takes place outside of the formal judicial system. The focus is on rebuilding disruptive relationships and putting things right rather than punishment. Restorative Group Conferencing includes restorative panels, victim/offender conferencing, family group conferences and victim impact panels.

This service is suited for offenders, victims, family members and friends of both parties as well as community members, if relevant.

This intervention is not advisable for serious offences like sexual offences, murder, rape, offences against children and violent offences. In exceptional circumstances it will be considered if the victim or family of the victim requests it, after thorough consultation and recommendation from the professional team at NICRO.

This responsible driving programme focuses on changing the individual’s attitude towards alcohol use and driving under the influence, reckless driving and road safety generally.

Shifting Gears targets adult offenders arrested and diverted or convicted for driving under the influence (DUI), reckless and negligent driving, and culpable homicide resulting in a road death.

This is a court mandated six-session group-based programme for ten to 15 participants, with each session lasting two or two-and-a-half hours.

Shifting Gears allows suitable offenders to participate in this behaviour modification treatment programme and carry out their sentences in the community. Although the consequences of the driving offence will not involve going to prison, convicted offenders will have a criminal record. Diverted offenders, however, will not have a criminal record.

This programme is also available on NICRO Online.

This year-long crime prevention programme seeks to address and reduce anti-social behaviour in schools and the surrounding community by empowering and developing change agents or “Safety Ambassadors” to interact with and positively influence their peers in the fight against crime, violence and anti-social behaviour.

Safety Ambassadors are recruited and screened from the school.  They undergo lifeskills and leadership skills development, and then are coached to implement school violence prevention activities in their school and community. 

This programme is school specific and targets high school learners.

SparkStarter is a simplified online version of the Economic Opportunities Programme.  SparkStarter has the following outcomes

• Improved ability to identify potential income streams in their community
• Improved ability to map out and implement a basic income generating activity

SparkStarter consists of the following topics:

• Overview of SparkStarter
• Business basics
• Entrepreneurial skills
• What is design thinking?
• The five action steps of design thinking
• Design thinking and customer empathy
• Defining
• Ideation
• Developing a business idea prototype
• Developing a business plan for the prototype

This programme is available on NICRO Online.