Bullying Counselling in London | Treatment & Therapy
What is Bullying?
Bullying is defined as unwanted and aggressive behaviour among children that involves a power imbalance, perceived or real. The behaviour is repetitious or has the potential to be repeated over time. The imbalance of power between two adolescents may be physical, access to harmful or embarrassing information, or social power in the form of popularity. Bullying may be carried out in the form of making threats, spreading false information or rumors, attacking someone (physically or verbally) or isolating peers through means of exclusion.
It is estimated that approximately 28% of U.S. students in grades 6-12 experience bullying and 20% of U.S. students grades 9-12 experience bullying. Approximately 70.6 of young people reported witnessing bullying in their schools and 70.4% of school reported witnessing bullying in the schools. The Anti-Bullying Alliance in the UK found that 1 in 4 children reported they were bullied and disabled children and those with special education needs were nearly twice as likely to be bullied. Approximately 40% of young people reported being bullied in the last 12 months and nearly 25% of students with special education needs experienced violent threats or actual violence.
Types of Bullying
Today, there are 4 types of bullying:
- Physical Bullying consists of harming someone or something with physical force such as hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, pushing, or damaging property.
- Verbal Bullying occurs through means of name-calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, making inappropriate remarks regarding gender, sexuality, or nationality or verbal abuse.
- Social and Emotional Bullying focuses on harming a person’s reputation or humiliating them through slander, spreading rumors, mimicking them, or encouraging social exclusion.
- Cyber Bullying is utilising the internet, online forums, or social media sites to target specific people, and humiliate peers online. Bullying may also be done through messaging or texting. Cyber bullying is the newest and most versatile type of bullying. It has the capacity for rapid growth and change as new technology and applications are developed. Cyber bullying has expanded the opportunity for kids to be bullied as this can occur anytime and anywhere they have access to the internet.
Effects of Bullying
Bullying can impact an individual’s health physically and mentally and create problems at school. Individuals who are bullied are more susceptible to experiencing depression and anxiety, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and have feelings of sadness or loneliness. Additionally, there could be a decline in their academic performance and they may be more likely to become truant or drop out of school.
Bullying Treatment in London
Therapy for bullying will be decided on a case by case basis. Therapy can be useful in helping the individual identify and process emotions of anxiety, fear, anger, shame, and isolation. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is useful in addressing bullying as it teaches individuals how to identify and understand the relationship between their thoughts and feelings and how their actions are influenced by thoughts and feelings.
For more information about talking bullying therapy and treatment programmes available at our Clinics in London please visit our Treatment page.
Getting Bullying Counselling in London
We offer Psychological Bullying therapy to Children and Teenagers at our clinics in Central London.
All our Therapists offer Psychological Therapies for Bullying treatment to Children and Teenagers. Click here to meet the Team.
Sessions with our Psychologists are by prepaid appointments only. You can find out more about our fees on our Fees Page.
Further Reading about Bullying Therapy
Counselling Corner has created a list of 50 blogs about bullying. The blogs entail experiences and stories shared from those who have experienced and witnessed bullying in several settings. Please click here to view the comprehensive list of blogs. The George Lucas Educational Foundation has created a list of resources to help parents, educators, and victims of bullying. Please click here to view the website and resources.
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