Those radicalised are 'normal' people misled, duped into believing ideologies: ISD psychologist

They work behind closed doors, their identities a secret because their job includes working with Internal Security Act (ISA) terror detainees to turn them around from being a threat to society.Dave (not his real name) has been an intelligence psychologist with the Internal Security Department (ISD) for five years.When a radicalised person is detained, Dave and others in the team are among those called in to rehabilitate the individual.He said intelligence psychologists conduct psychological assessments and interventions for individuals detained or issued with restriction orders under the ISA for terrorism-related activities. Dave, who is in his 30s, added: “Our aim is to better understand each person’s rehabilitation needs, psychological vulnerabilities to radicalisation, motivations and strengths, and tailor our rehabilitation approach accordingly.“We also run psychological rehabilitation programmes that strengthen areas such as critical thinking, emotional regulation, identity development and adaptive coping.”