Support Group Approach Essay

Issue: If you or your child have ever been a victim of bullying then you know how horrible one can feel. There are many emotions and fears associated with bullying, and no one should have to be subjected to it. Bullying can have a lasting effect not only in one’s present life but their future as well. Bullying is very prominent in schools today, and there has been an increase in school shootings, which is the extreme reaction to being bullied. Children need to consider each other’s feelings before they decide to bully or pick on each other.

Compulsive gamblers groups were of high interest to me, because my father was an obsessive gambler. The group was spearheaded by a lady who is a LPC. In Gam-Anon the member will experience relief from anxiety by accepting the fact of powerlessness over the problem in the family. The heavy load of responsibility for the gambling problem is lifted and the agonizing guilt in regard to failures is gradually alleviated. The energy wasted in attempts to stop loved ones from gambling can be channeled into more useful methods of problem solving. The group meets every Thursday. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling. There are no dues or fees for Gamblers Anonymous membership; we are self-supporting through our own

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) impacts millions of families worldwide (Watts & Zimmerman, 2002). In fact, in the United States alone on average nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men (National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010). In light of this troubling information, the clinical social worker may find him or herself called upon to serve this most vulnerable population.

These skills and behaviors can be introduced to students in lessons and classroom discussions. Some of the intensive interventions consist of support to both victims and bullies through group therapy and individual counseling. Obtaining parent support for these children is a important component of intervention initiatives. The goals of these programs are to empower adults and children to take the appropriate steps to stop bulling when and where it occurs and to teach children positive behaviors and interpersonal skills. “Effective prevention efforts mobilize a school’s most vital resource- the students- to be a school’s most powerful force in fostering a caring culture in which all students can grow and learn”( Feinberg,2003).

Over the past couple of decades, schools all across the nation have noticed a significant rise in the amount of bullying taking place among their students. “Two decades ago, bullying was often seen as a rare occurrence, where small groups of parents sought protection for their children with the school district”, stated by Vikki Healy Ortiz, writer of the article “New inclusive approach helps schools fight bullying”. However, the same cannot be said for our society in today’s world. Our modern world has advanced tremendously over the past few decades and there are even more opportunities for children to be susceptible to feeling isolated from others because they are simply unique. In today’s society, children have the potential to bully each other outside of the classroom as well.

Bullying is on the rise across the nation. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 30 percent of students of students were bullied during the 2010-2011 school year. Whether verbal or physical, bullying has a negative effect on the victims. Students who are bullied often experience depression, loneliness, anxiety, and isolation. The common types of bullying in a school setting are physical and verbal. With the rise in the use of social media, cyberbullying has become a big problem among children. Children who bully others are often bullied at home by a parental figure. This is why it is very important to incorporate moral instruction into the curriculum, teaching students about respect and caring for others, instead of bullying them. Schools have started to take extra precautions to eliminate bullying by implementing prevention programs. As educators, it is our responsibilities to prevent bullying from happening in our schools and protect our students. It is important that we model moral and ethical behavior for students to follow. It’s also important that we take precautions and investigate all forms of bullying, instead of only taking action when we witness physical aggression.

I was filled with anxiety at the beginning of the semester when I found out that I would have to go to at least three support group meetings. Filled with thoughts about how they would receive me, knowing that I did not have nor ever had an addiction. I did not want them to believe that I was just there to dissect their lives and that I did not care. The last thing that I desired was to complicate a safe space for people who may have never had that. Nevertheless, once I got to each meeting, I realized that those feelings were my own negative self-talk.

One of the easiest ways in order to eliminate the frequency of bullying would be to implement very strong anti-bullying programs in schools, this is the place where many children spend most of their days aside from home, these programs should be effective on a various amount of cases. Michael Morrow did research on elementary school anti-bullying programs and wrote the article “Consultation in Bullying Prevention: An Elementary School Case Study.” This article looked at the various research that has been done on anti-bullying programs and the papers that have been written about it. “Multiple prevention programs have been developed and utilized around the world to address bullying in schools and many employ a schoolwide or whole-community approach. While these programs share similar features, they also vary in numerous ways, most notably in their specific components” (Morrow, 2015, p. 87). There are programs that are implemented that may

The bullies are asked to sit in with the counselor or teacher one to one. The counselor/teacher discusses the victim and the distress that the bullying has caused them. The bullies are asked how they can help to improve the situation. Once the counselor has met with all of the bullies and have established that they need to be helping the victim and improving the situation, then they are asked to meet together as a group. They discuss their suggestions as a group and develop a plan to resolve the problem. Finally, the group meets again, this time with the victim present. The plan is explained to the victim and ultimately a common goal is agreed upon. The Method of Shared Concern has been judged because it is time consuming; however, it has had a great amount of success. This particular method is widely used in England and Australia. In an Australian study, 15 out of 17 cases were resolved using this particular

Relational bullying prevents a child from being involved or accepted by their peers (Kasier & Raminsky, 2012). This type of bullying occurs among both boys and girls; however it is more common amongst girls. The goal of Whole School Approach or No Blame Approach is to take the focus off the bullying by getting everyone involved and focus more on creating a positive environment (Kasier & Raminsky, 2012). This requires the school to take on the challenge of anti-bullying policy. Setting up clear expectations or rules for children about respecting individual rights these rules should include bystanders and

SRM explores deeper into group dynamics and focuses on dyads and many great and positive outcomes, arrives using this model for instance, Christensen & Feeney (2016) state, “In theory, the SRM could be applied to any form of group therapy. In reality, however, the SRM is often best suited for therapy groups in which members have some basic level of knowledge about other individuals in the group. That is, each group member should have some level of identifiability to each other group member” (p. 197).

The Method of Shared Concern is a non-punitive method of dealing with bully/victim incidents aimed at empowering students who have contributed to the bullying or become aware of the bullying to act so as to resolve the problem. It involves a multistage process, beginning with individual interviews leading on to group meetings. It is assumed that the bullying is strongly influenced by the relationships the students have with each other. According to Pikas, the originator of the Method, this intervention process can cause a shift in the group dynamics, and provide an environment in which the parties may engage in a negotiation process to bring about a peaceful and sustainable outcome.

This is one of the pictures that images that really speak to me. There are people in this photo who remind me of people i know, and some i've lost. The use of a group shows how the one in 100s stand together to help themselves and others. The messages show a maturity to accept responsibilities, humility in knowing they were lost, and strength in doing something positive about all that. This conveys a few points, such as unity and finding strength among others. You can see that the majority of their signs say we, this shows a degree of comradery and all being together shows support for one another. We can also take a perspective from the differing looks in their eyes and the differing expressions on their faces. You can see happy and sad,

Support groups bring together people facing similar issues, whether that's illness, relationship problems or major life changes. Members of support groups often share experiences and advice. It can be helpful just getting to talk with other people who are in the same boat. While not everyone wants or needs support beyond that offered by family and friends, you may find it helpful to turn to others outside your immediate circle. A support group can help you cope better and feel less isolated as you make connections with others facing similar challenges. A support group shouldn't replace your standard medical care, but it can be a valuable resource to help you cope (Staff, 2013).

School bullying and bullying as a whole has become a growing concern. The need for more intervention is more recognized, as incidents of bullying and inappropriate acts towards others occur in places outside of the classroom. This literature takes a closer look at bullying in schools. Olwesus (2013) states “the field of bullying research is to some extent plagued by problems, disagreements, and unresolved issues” (p.752). Whether if anyone will agree on the root of bullying, the fact remains that bullying has to be examined at its very core to remedy the matter before it becomes a bigger concern. There is a dire need for intervention based programs to be set in place to address the fact the act of bullying has lasting effects on the bully and the victim. When intervention programs are put into place to address bullying, the act of bullying decreases due to the gained understanding of the effects.