Bullying isn’t just for kids anymore. In the past 10 to 15 years, recognition has grown that bullying goes beyond taunts in the schoolyard. Adults can encounter it at work, “traditional” bullying is now enhanced and magnified by online or cyberbullying, and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) can experience it at any age just for being who they are.

“Bullying and interpersonal violence are tragic experiences that far too many people undergo every day,” says American Counseling Association President Thelma Duffey, who has shined a spotlight on anti-bullying/interpersonal violence efforts as one of her main presidential initiatives. “People can be hurt in such devastating ways when they are bullied, and counselors are in prime positions to help.”

But to be effective, counselors need to increase their understanding of bullying in all of its forms.

Trouble in the schoolyard

The first place many people experience bullying is, of course, at school, and school bullying remains a complex problem. Researchers say putting an end to bullying and ultimately preventing it requires the involvement of everyone in the system, including not just teachers, counselors and students, but also staff such as janitors and bus drivers. Even without a comprehensive anti-bullying program in place, however, there are many steps school counselors can take to help those who are being bullied.

Although any student can face bullying, those perceived to be somehow “different” and, critically, viewed as easy targets most often find themselves in the crosshairs, says JoLynn Carney, an associate professor of counselor education at Penn State whose research focuses on bullying.

“Abusers of all ages seem to have an uncanny sense of who can defend themselves and who may be unable to self-defend,” she explains. “Youth who are isolated — meaning few to no friends — are often targeted. They may have poor social skills … or other qualities not valued in the peer social network such as disability, different sexual orientation, different religion/culture or socioeconomic background. Even just being the new kid can be the characteristic that has the person being targeted. Kids who are highly anxious by nature or depressed also often seem to be the students who are bullied.”

Regardless of the reason behind the bullying, being a target is very isolating. A first step for counselors to take is to listen to and to act as advocates for students who are being bullied to reduce their sense of isolation, says Carney, a member of ACA. But she cautions that counselors must not give the impression that students are passive participants in solving the bullying problem. “The worst thing I’ve seen done over the years is to inadvertently teach kids that the adults in the situation have to handle this, which yields a sense of helplessness in the targets,” Carney explains.

Instead, counselors should work with students who are being bullied to help them understand the situation they are facing and what actions they might take to change it, she says. “Actions for targets are meant to change the dynamics of the situation by changing the target’s conceptualization of the situation and the target’s actions before, during or after the situation,” she says.

Carney says counselors should focus on problem-solving, helping bullied students to:

• Increase connections to others who can provide immediate or follow-up support. Counselors can help bullied students make connections in multiple ways.

“Whether elementary, middle or high school, the counselors know their students; they know the students they can count on who have the social skills and the empathy to be peer mentors [to the student being bullied],” Carney explains. “They also know about the groups of students — like what club could the target student join to form bonds, and so forth. The bridging the school counselor can do often makes a huge difference. Honestly, I’ve had students or parents tell me in clinical settings that having that one friend saved their child’s life.”

The more friends and support from others the student has, the less vulnerable the bullied student will be.

• Change some aspect of their behavior so that they are less “predictable” for their abusers, thereby reducing the abusers’ confidence that bullying will produce the desired effect. Taking away the desired result can help shift the power imbalance that is inherent in all bullying situations. For example, students who are being bullied can work on reacting in a different manner or even simply changing their body language. Those who are bullied often display a classic posture — slumped shoulders, head down, perhaps crying. Shifting that submissive posture to a posture in which the body is held more upright sends a different message to all concerned — the abuser, the target and any bystanders.

• Learn appropriate physical, verbal and social assertiveness. Having a sense of assertiveness allows bullying targets to understand their own power and influence in the situation.

Carney says it is also crucial for counselors to show students who are being bullied how, where and when to seek support when necessary. “Working clinically with targets and their families, I’ve helped with the smallest of shifts that [would] seem inconsequential but have yielded good results, such as helping the person being bullied [not to] see themselves as the ‘victim,’ [which is] a disempowering … view of the self,” she explains. “Instead, helping them see themselves as simply the current ‘target’ of an abuser brings a sense of empowerment because anyone can be a target, and it’s not an internalized sense of negative self-worth. Helping the student see themselves differently can make a big difference in the ability to make the changes to end the abuse.”

Those who are being bullied don’t always ask for help or talk in great detail about what they are experiencing, so Carney has identified several red flags that might indicate that a student has become a target. These include:

• Changes in behavior such as not wanting to go to school or avoiding other social situations such as birthday parties or school trips.
• Changes in eating habits such as consistently saying they’re not hungry or skipping meals at school (which might be the result of not wanting to face bullying behavior in the cafeteria) or even engaging in binge eating as a source of comfort.
• Self-destructive behaviors such as running away and serious talk about (or even an attempt at) suicide.
• Changes in physical symptoms such as frequent headaches or stomachaches, frequently feeling ill, trouble sleeping or an increase in nightmares.
• Changes in academic performance such as slipping grades or a lack of interest in classes that the student used to enjoy.
• Changes in emotional state such as feeling helpless, hopeless, depressed, highly anxious or worthless.

Students who are being physically bullied may also have injuries that can’t be explained or damaged personal objects such as clothes and electronic devices.

Carney believes that if bullying is to be fully addressed, a school culture must be developed that doesn’t tolerate bullying behavior. She and her colleague and fellow researcher Richard Hazler, a professor of counselor education at Penn State, are currently part of the research and implementation team for a major anti-bullying initiative called Project TEAM, which former school counselor Lindsey Covert created based on a framework she developed as a graduate student at Penn State. Covert had success implementing the program and then collaborated with another school counselor, Lisa Dibernardo, to expand the program in the Stafford Township School District in New Jersey.

Covert is the director of the program, which is now part of the College of Education at Penn State. Carney says the curriculum, which she and Hazler are currently implementing in several grade schools, teaches students to focus on the importance of teamwork and leadership in their daily lives. It emphasizes helping others, the concept of positive change, problem-solving and conflict resolution, resilience and leadership.

Individual school counselors can help prevent bullying by conducting professional development trainings that educate teachers, school staff and administrators about the behavioral indicators of bullying and victimization, says Rebecca Newgent, a professor of counselor education at Western Illinois University–Quad Cities. “Bullying can take on several forms, such as physical, verbal and relational bullying,” explains Newgent, an ACA member who researches school bullying and children who are at risk. “Signs that school personnel might notice in regard to physical bullying are hitting, pushing and kicking. Signs for verbal bullying typically include calling the other student names, threatening other students or teasing other students. Relational bullying is somewhat harder to recognize, but some typical behaviors include leaving other students out of activities, not talking to other students and telling rumors about other students.”

School counselors should also emphasize the importance of all school personnel teaching children to demonstrate empathy for the bullied classmate by imagining what the student might be feeling, says Newgent, a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, a division of ACA. Children should also be encouraged to report bullying and helped to understand that this differs from “tattling,” she continues. “Consistent support and encouragement from teachers and school counselors can reinforce this [reporting] behavior,” she says.

Newgent also urges counselors to reach out to parents via newsletters and parent workshops to engage them in anti-bullying efforts. “Counselors can help parents to work with their children on increasing social skills and assertiveness,” she says. “Parents can help ensure that the family environment is one where the child feels safe and understood.”

Workplace bullying

Bullying isn’t confined to childhood or adolescence. Adults can experience bullying too, particularly in the workplace. Bullying in the workplace involves less obvious behavior than does school bullying and can be almost intangible, says Jessi Eden Brown, a licensed professional counselor and licensed mental health counselor with a private practice in Seattle.

“Bullying in the workplace is a form of psychological violence,” says Brown, who also coaches targets of workplace bullying through the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), an organization that studies and attempts to prevent abusive conduct at work. “Although popular media theatrically portray the workplace bully as a volatile, verbally abusive jerk, in actuality, the behaviors tend to be more subtle, insidious and persistent.”

Instead of shoving and name-calling, Brown says, workplace bullying includes behavior such as:

• Stealing credit for others’ work
• Assigning undue blame
• Using public and humiliating criticism
• Threatening job loss or punishment
• Denying access to critical resources
• Applying unrealistic workloads or deadlines
• Engaging in destructive rumors and gossip
• Endeavoring to turn others against a person
• Making deliberate attempts to sabotage someone’s work or professional reputation

“It’s the fact that these behaviors are repeated again and again that makes them so damaging for the target,” she explains. “The cumulative effects and prolonged exposure to stress exact a staggering toll on the overall health of the bullied individual.”

What’s more, those bullied in the workplace often stand alone, Brown notes. “While the motivating factors may be similar between workplace bullying and childhood bullying, the consequences for the bully and the target are unmistakably different,” she says. “In childhood bullying, the institution — the school — stands firmly and publicly against the abuse. Teachers, staff, students and administrators are thoroughly trained on how to recognize and address the behavior. Students are given safe avenues for reporting bullying. Identified bullies are confronted by figures of authority and influence — teachers, administrators, groups of peers, parents. When the system works as intended, there are consequences for the bully, as well as resources and support for the target.”

Brown continues, “In the workplace, bullying receives far less attention and focus. Management may fail to appropriately label the bully’s behavior as being abusive, especially if it doesn’t violate the law. Some employers recognize the problem and still choose to turn a blind eye. And even worse, there are some companies that actively encourage ‘weeding out the weak,’ whereby successful bullies are rewarded with promotions, bonuses, extravagant gifts and other incentives. After counseling and coaching more than 3,000 targets of workplace bullying over the years, believe me, I’ve heard it all.”

The consequences can be devastating. “There is a significant body of research linking workplace bullying to physical, mental, social and economic health harm for the bullied target,” Brown notes. “Hundreds of empirical studies have linked repeated exposure to stress, including stress originating from emotional and psychological sources, to severe physical ailments, such as cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems, immunological impairment, diabetes, adverse neurological changes, disorders of the skin, higher levels of cortisol leading to organ damage, musculoskeletal pain and disorders, and more.”

Workplace bullying has also been linked to panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder, Brown continues.

Brown began specializing in counseling clients who have experienced workplace bullying after going through the experience herself in two different positions. “Both times were painful and deeply confusing,” she says. “I seriously considered leaving the counseling profession after the second experience.”

However, a friend who was doing web design for WBI introduced her to psychologists Gary and Ruth Namie, the founders and directors of the institute. The Namies were looking for a professional coach and offered Brown the job. As she worked with those who had been bullied, she began to integrate her experiences into her private counseling practice.

“The vast majority of my clients present as capable, accomplished professionals with a documented history of success in the workplace,” she says. “At some point in their careers, they encounter the bully and everything changes. Under constant attack, belittled and sabotaged, the once-competent, assured worker may begin to question her abilities and role at work. She tries everything she can think of to remedy the problem but finds few working solutions. Mounting stress starts to take its toll and spills over into other areas of life. Throughout this process, many targets fall victim to self-blame. Deep confusion, shame, anger and exhaustion are common at this stage. … This seems to be when most clients discover my services.”

Brown says the first step toward helping clients who are being bullied is to identify what they are experiencing — workplace bullying and psychological violence. Naming the behavior helps clients frame and externalize their experiences by realizing that they are not creating or imagining the problem, she explains.

“Encouraging the client to prioritize [his or her] health comes next,” Brown says. “Working closely with other health care providers is essential in situations where the individual’s health has been severely compromised.”

“It is imperative that the counselor promote the client’s self-care and turn attention toward enhancing [his or her] social support network,” she continues. “This may mean helping the client figure out a way to take time off from work, teaching new coping skills and encouraging time spent with loved ones — time that is deliberately not focused on recounting the situation at work.”

“Targeted workers may choose to file formal or informal complaints to unions, the EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], the bully’s boss, ethics hotlines or professional boards,” Brown says. “Although there is no legal protection against bullying in the United States, some workers find grounds for harassment, discrimination, constructive discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination or other legal claims.”

According to Brown, WBI research indicates that once targeted by workplace bullying, there is a 77.7 percent likelihood that the individual will lose his or her job due to resignation (voluntary or forced) or termination. A 2014 study conducted by WBI found that 60 percent of bullied workers were women and that men were more than twice as likely as women to act as bullies (69 percent versus 31 percent). However, when women exhibited bullying behavior, they were also more likely to bully other women — 68 percent of female bullies’ targets were also female.

Counselors can help clients who experience workplace bullying to consider their options, starting with whether to stay in their current job or leave. “Many targeted workers choose to transfer or quit just to escape the abuse,” Brown says. “The decision to leave on one’s own terms can be empowering and frequently results in better emotional health than being fired or laid off due to the bullying.”

Brown believes that counselors are in a unique position to help those who are bullied at work. “First, and most importantly, we can believe them when they tell us about the mistreatment at work,” she says. The stress and exhaustion that targets of workplace bullying endure are often isolating and paralyzing, Brown points out, adding that it is generally the bully’s goal to disempower the target.

“Even when they do speak up, targets of workplace bullying tell me that their employers, family and friends often do not believe them or understand their level of distress,” she says. “As counselors, we can listen to their story, convey a sense of belief and offer a distinctly different response than the target has received thus far. … Do not blame the client for the abuse [he or she is] experiencing.”

In most cases, Brown says, the target has done nothing to deserve the mistreatment; the bully chooses the target, timing and tactics, and the targeted individual may have very little control or influence over these factors. The responsibility to stop the abusive behavior ultimately rests with the employer. In these instances, just teaching clients to be more assertive or to stand up to the bully is not the answer, Brown emphasizes.

Cyberbullying: Virtual environment, real bullies

Bullying is presumably as old as the human race, but one thing about the dynamics of bullying has changed dramatically during the past 10 to 15 years. Online, anyone can bully anybody anywhere, from next door to halfway across the world. Cyberbullying is often used to enhance the “traditional” bullying tactics that are taking place in a school or workplace, but it can also serve as a standalone method of harassment.

“Cyberbullying can take place via email, text, instant messaging, social media or any other digital form of communication or information dissemination,” Brown explains. “It may manifest as harassment, impersonation, defamation, stalking, manipulation, denigration or other types of abuse.”

Unfortunately, even people who might never consider participating in traditional bullying behaviors are often tempted by the anonymity of cyberbullying. “When people get on [an electronic] device, normal roles of civil interaction somehow become less relevant,” says Sheri Bauman, author of the book Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to Know, which is published by ACA.

People who previously were afraid of getting caught for bullying or didn’t want to accept responsibility for their actions now feel free to indulge their baser instincts online, she says. “[They think], ‘I can be as nasty as I want to be; no one knows who I am.’ They don’t have to censor themselves and don’t have to follow social rules,” explains Bauman, a professor and director of the counseling degree program at the University of Arizona.

Researchers don’t know exactly why anonymity has this effect, but Bauman, an ACA member, speculates that it may in part be because online interaction doesn’t quite feel real.

Janet Froeschle Hicks, a licensed professional counselor and certified school counselor in Texas, posits a similar explanation. “Not being face to face with a person makes it easier to dissociate and reduce empathy,” she says. “Technology also gives the false impression that the person on the other end is an ‘object’ rather than a person.”

Young people appear particularly adept at cyberbullying, Hicks says. “Youth participate in cyberbullying several ways. They impersonate one another by stealing passwords, create fake social media pages and send cruel messages anonymously. Often they create pages for another person without that person’s knowledge. This is very damaging because several others can be harmed with one posting.”

“For example, Student A creates a page for Student B without Student B’s knowledge. Student A then uses Student B’s fake page to bully Student C. When this happens, Student C is now upset with Student B, and Student B has no idea what has happened. Rumors about others, gossip, humiliating pictures and rude comments can be posted by Student A on this fake page,” explains Hicks, a professor of counselor education at Texas Tech University whose research focuses on cyberbullying, social aggression and school, child and family counseling.

Many students also participate in a practice known as “sub-tweeting” on Twitter. “Anonymous tweeters comment on others’ tweets without identifying themselves,” Hicks says. “This means rude anonymous messages appear in the midst of a conversation.”

Cyberbullies can use a wide array of methods — from texting to social media to digital pictures — to torment their targets online. As a result, Hicks says, those who have been bullied may develop a fear of technology. “Since we live in an age where students need technology to complete homework, apply for college admission and succeed at a future job, it is important to teach that technology can be safe,” she emphasizes. “I teach parents and youth to use privacy controls, not to share confidential information and to avoid negative conversations [online].”

Although adolescents are typically assumed to be both the culprits behind and the targets of cyberbullying, experts say this isn’t always the case. Adults may be targeted as part of a workplace bullying campaign, a neighborhood grudge or simply at random.

Brown urges her clients to think about ways they can minimize the potential of being bullied. “I encourage my clients to be intentional about their online presence and reputation by actively reflecting upon the image they want to portray,” she explains. “What skills, attributes and experiences are important to highlight? Where do you want your information to appear? Who is likely to find and use your information based on how and what you choose to share? What are you most concerned about regarding your online persona? By exploring questions like these, [clients form] a picture and a plan of how they want to manage their online information.”

Brown also advises clients to thoroughly search their own names on the Internet to find out what information — or misinformation — is already out there about them. “I recommend they set up a Google Alert for their own name and any related identifying key terms. Using myself as an example, I’d set an alert for ‘Jessi Eden Brown,’ ‘workplace bullying counselor,’ ‘professional coach workplace bullying,’ etc. This way, I increase my chances of catching any references made to my name or professional identity. The more I know, the better able I will be to respond to online attacks.”

After clients have identified the details of their online presence, Brown talks with them about how to respond to damaging content and minimize future problems. For example, she advises clients to periodically review the privacy settings on their social media and web-based accounts. “For those being actively cyberbullied, it is wise to lock down all privacy settings or, in some cases, to delete or suspend accounts altogether to give the bully fewer points of access to the target,” she says.

Bauman, who is also a member of the American School Counselor Association, a division of ACA, says that given the prevalence of cyberbullying, counselors need to educate themselves about all social media and related online platforms so they can knowledgeably discuss the issue if a client brings it up.

No walking away

It’s certainly not an ideal option, but if all else fails, those who are bullied at school or work might be able to switch schools or change jobs. At the very least, those who are cyberbullied can choose to reduce their online presence or temporarily go offline. Simply being able to leave a bullying situation can provide precious relief.

But for those who are being bullied because of their sexual or gender identification, there is no walking away. “LGBTQ individuals are bullied in all facets of their lives,” says Tonya Hammer, an assistant professor of counseling at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa whose research interests include both bullying and the intersection of gender and sexual orientation. “We are socialized as a society to bully or reject that which is perceived as different. Unfortunately, it permeates so much of our daily lives.”

LGBTQ individuals usually start facing bullying behavior at a young age, regardless of whether the individual is already “out,” says Hammer, who adds that most bullying prevention efforts don’t start until middle or high school. By that time, according to the National School Climate Survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a majority of LGBTQ students are routinely hearing anti-LGBTQ language and experiencing victimization and discrimination at school.

The 2013 survey — the latest year for which statistics are available — found that of the 7,898 students between the ages of 13–21 who participated in the study, 55.5 percent felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, while 37.8 percent felt unsafe because of their gender identity. In addition, 71.4 percent of LGBTQ students heard the word “gay” used in a negative way frequently or often at school; 64.5 percent heard homophobic remarks frequently or often; and 56.4 reported hearing negative remarks about gender expression (for example, not acting “masculine” enough) frequently or often.

Distressingly, 51.4 percent of the survey respondents reported hearing homophobic remarks from their teachers or other school staff, and 55.5 percent reported hearing negative remarks about gender expression from teachers or other school staff.

The effects of this widespread bullying are significant, says Hammer, who presented a session on LGBTQ bullying across the life span at the 2016 American Counseling Association Conference & Expo in Montréal. “Bullying results in feelings of shame and humiliation, which can lead to isolation, lack of emotional regulation [and] violence against self or others,” she notes. Hammer adds that it also increases dropout rates and negatively affects academic performance.

Although counselors cannot completely stop school bullying single-handedly, they can provide a refuge for LGBTQ students to feel supported and accepted, says Hammer, president-elect of the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling, a division of ACA. “Counselors can create a safe space by a variety of means. It can be as simple as displaying an HRC [Human Rights Campaign] equal sign [the organization’s logo] in their office or a small rainbow flag somewhere. I know that sounds minor,” she says, “but small symbols can signify something to students.”

Hammer says counselors can also reach out to students who may be subject to bullying, but she emphasizes that counselors should not address sexual/affectional or gender identity unless the student brings it up. Instead, counselors could start by letting the student know that they have noticed a change in the student’s behavior that they think might be connected to bullying.

“You can also [just] ask them if everything is OK and if they need someone to talk with,” says Hammer, who during her time as a board member of the Houston GLSEN chapter trained school personnel in Texas using GLSEN’s anti-bullying program. “Sometimes it is also simply providing a space for them. When working with counselors or librarians, we often suggest creating an actual physical space in their office where students can come and just hang out. Make the space feel inclusive in the way you decorate it and in the material that you provide for them to read or occupy their time with.”

“Also understand that the students may still be questioning their sexual/affectional orientation or gender identity or expression and need people who they can confide in while doing this. Furthermore, their parents may not be that safe space,” Hammer says. “Give them time to feel comfortable and to trust you so that they will open up about what is going on with regard to the bullying and also about their sexual/affectional orientation or gender identity and expression.”

Hammer also cautions counselors not to assume that a student is gay simply because he or she is perceived as being gay. “The most important thing is the relationship,” she emphasizes. “Listen to them with respect and treat them with dignity, not as if they are abnormal. Let them know that they matter to you, to their family and to the world.”

Because eliminating bullying requires altering a school’s culture, counselors can also help students by offering schoolwide education on LGBTQ issues or sponsoring formation of gay–straight alliance groups, Hammer says. Additionally there are awareness activities counselors can help organize such as No Name-Calling Week, Ally Week and Day of Silence, in which silence is used to protest the silencing of LGBTQ people due to harassment, bias and abuse.

Workplace bullying based on sexual/affectional orientation or gender identification is also still very common, Hammer says. In fact, according to HRC, of the LGBTQ Americans who have experienced discrimination, 47 percent reported experiencing it in the workplace. To add insult to injury, HRC reports that only 19 states and the District of Columbia explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A 2009 HRC study found that 51 percent of LGBTQ workers hid their identities from most or all of their co-workers. Strikingly, the report found that younger workers were even more likely to hide: Only 5 percent of LGBTQ employees ages 18–24 said they were completely open at work, compared with 20 percent of older workers.

Unfortunately, leaving a hostile working environment and finding another job isn’t always possible — regardless of sexual or gender identity. And given the extent of bullying that LGBTQ workers face, leaving one job for another is far from being a surefire solution to the problem.

“Sometimes it is a matter of helping people to develop support systems outside of work that can help them to address the hardships of their daily life at work,” Hammer says. “If possible, it is our responsibility as counselors to help advocate for our clients. If legal resources are available, we help connect our clients to those resources. Organizations like HRC, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] can help in some situations, but not all. We can also connect them with career counselors or agencies that can help them see if there are options for them to change jobs or careers.”

Hammer also believes counselors have a responsibility to help lobby to change laws that make it legal for people to be fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“LGBTQQI clients, like all clients, want to know that they matter and that they are important,” Hammer says. “The therapeutic relationship may be the first and only relationship in which they experience that, and it may be the only place where they can truly be all of who they are. Providing that space and time for them to do that may empower them to be able to do it with other relationships in their life as well. You can help them to understand that they are worth [having] healthy growth-fostering relationships and provide them with the skills and resources to develop those relationships.”

 

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To contact the people interviewed for this article, email:

• Sheri Bauman at sherib@email.arizona.edu
• Jessi Eden Brown at jessi@eden-therapy.com
• JoLynn Carney at jvc15@psu.edu
• Janet Froeschle Hicks at janet.froeschle@ttu.edu
• Rebecca Newgent at RA-Newgent@wiu.edu

 

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Additional resources

For those who would like to learn more about the topics addressed in this article, the American Counseling Association offers the following resources:

Books (counseling.org/bookstore)

• School Counselors Share Their Favorite Classroom Guidance Activities: A Guide to Choosing, Planning, Conducting, and Processing edited by Janice DeLucia-Waack, Meghan Mercurio, Faith Colvin, Sarah Korta, Katherine Maertin, Eric Martin, and Lily Zawadski
• Youth at Risk: A Prevention Resource for Counselors Teachers and Parents, sixth edition, edited by David Capuzzi and Douglas R. Gross
• Casebook for Counseling Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons and Their Families edited by Sari H. Dworkin and Mark Pope
• Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to Know by Sheri Bauman

DVDs

• Working With Perpetrators and Targets of Cyberbullying presented by Sheri Bauman
• Bullying in Schools: Six Methods of Intervention presented by Ken Rigby

Webinars (counseling.org/continuing-education/webinars)

• “Children and Trauma” with Kimberly N. Frazier (part of the ACA Trauma Webinar Series)
• “Counseling School and College Students” with Richard Joseph Behun, Julie A. Cerrito and Eric W. Owens (part of the ACA Trauma Webinar Series)

Podcasts (counseling.org/continuing-education/podcasts)

• “Counseling Queer (LGBT) Youth,” Dr. Anneliese Singh
• “Solution-Focused Counseling in Schools,” Dr. John J. Murphy

VISTAS Online articles (counseling.org/knowledge-center/vistas)

• “Anger Management for Adolescents: A Creative Group Counseling Approach,” Carolyn O’Lenic and John F. Arman
• “BEST Buddiez: A Programmatic Innovation in Early Child Mental Health Treatment for Physically Aggressive Preschool Children,” Rita J. Terrago
• “Brief Solution-Focused Counseling With Young People and School Problems,” John Murphy
• “Domestic Violence and Children,” Laurie Vargas, Jason Cataldo, and Shannon Disckson
• “Making the Change From Elementary to Middle School,” Laura M. Hill and Jerry A. Mobley
• “Solution-Focused Counseling in Schools,” John J. Murphy
• “The School Counselor’s Role in Easing Students’ Transition From Elementary to Middle School,” Matthew Mayberry
• “Empowering LGBT Teens: A School-Based Advocacy Program,” Matthew J. Mims, David D. Hof, Julie A. Dinsmore, and Laura Wielechowski
• “School Climate Perception: Examining Differences Between School Counselors and Victims of Cyberbullying,” Megan M. Day, Lindsay R. Jarvis, Charmaine D. Caldwell, and Teddi J. Cunningham
• “School Counseling for Systemic Change: Bullying and Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ Youth,” Jeffry L. Moe, Elsa Sota Leggett and Dilani Perera-Diltz
• “School Shootings and Student Mental Health: Role of the School Counselor in Mitigating Violence,” Allison Paolini
• “Sexually Active and Sexually Questioning Students: The Role of School Counselors,” Vaughn Millner and Amy W. Upton
• “The Bullying Project,” Le’Ann L. Solmonson
• “The Impact of Attendance at a LGBTQIA Conference on School Counselors’ and Other Educators’ Beliefs and Behaviors,” Aaron Iffland and Trish Hatch
• “Using the Reflecting As If Intervention to Reduce Bullying Behaviors,” Gerald A. Juhnke, Brenna A. Juhnke, Richard E. Watts, Kenneth M. Coll, and Noreal F. Armstrong

 

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Laurie Meyers is the senior writer for Counseling Today. Contact her at lmeyers@counseling.org.

Letters to the editor: ct@counseling.org