Therapy is a form of healing that should be gained from a constant guidance and counselling procedure to meet several challenges in all members of the society. This paper will have an up-close and candid analysis of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a remedy or a guidance and counselling tool on victims of bullying in secondary schools. The main emphasis will be on its effectiveness. Guidance is a system and continuous process of determining and providing for the development of members of the society. This paper will be able to ascertain that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a very effective therapy that does not only change an individual character and personality but also deface the ugly trend of bullying in schools and eventual make students to have a self esteem that will gear them to attain positive grades in their academic voyage.
Guidance is a process that helps the society to understand itself, accept and use the abilities, aptitudes and interests in order to meet desirable aspirations. Helps the society members to give plausible answers to the question, ‘who am I?’ Therefore, guidance involves as much as what counselling requires (Tan, 2004). That is, counselling is the overall fabric of guidance. Because it is a process in which the society members sit down with a counsellor and iron out things. That is, the counselled can be able to solve demanding problems when a reasonable understanding is established. Hence, counselling gives the chance to answer the question ‘what shall I do?’ The counsellor in this case has given the counselee a warm atmosphere where there is necessary analysis of things at hand.
Students in schools often experience problems of adjusting to school demands or following school regulations, and striving for academic excellence. Sometimes, students constantly express emotions that reveal anger, depressions, frustrations, or despair. Whereas, students sometimes experience problems related to growth changes and in their peers they indulge in sexual misconducts. In addition, other students may have health related problems, or physical abnormalities that make them have conflicts. One of the major causes is bullying. Conflict among secondary school students is characterized by bullying. It can also be refereed to as peer victimization that is repetitive in nature and meant to harm the victim in all areas. Slapping, kicking, striking, rumour spreading, calling abusive names and barring, are examples of bullying techniques. Bullying is a social delinquency behaviour or anti-social behaviour that has repetitive physical, verbal and psychological abuse on a victim. This paper is going to give an in-depth analysis of how therapy as a method of guidance and counselling can be able to effectively change the bullying vice in secondary students.
Therapy is a one on one charter of guidance and counselling that aims at developing students intellectual abilities. This is where a student is given the opportunity to acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes that are relevant to tackle bullies. Secondly, after the whole therapy session, there will be a balanced personality of the student. And nonetheless, this will help the student to develop personal abilities that will enhance individual solution to problems in and out of school.
Bullying is a social delinquency that needs therapeutic correction in a cognitive way. Simply, cognitive method will allow mental operations and thinking. A psychiatrist or the counsellor should be able to make the counselee to have reliable knowledge, be able to comprehend, apply, analyses, synthesis, and evaluate various aspects of bullying and change his or her personality from within (Schmidt, 2005). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an acceptable psychoanalysis that has a psychotherapeutic approach. This is where the counsellor and counselee are able to talk and solve issues. A number of problems that this therapy solves include dysfunctional emotions, anxiety, stress and other behavioural Disorders. Most Medical practitioners use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to treat the above named complications. As said earlier, this paper will critic if this type of therapy will be effective to guide and counsel students with bullying ‘disorders’. This method was made from two kinds of psychotherapies. Cognitive was an earlier designed therapy that was meant to alter or change people’s thoughts, opinion, views, traditions, attitudes, hopes, and innate ideas. And this was a mile stone in psychotherapy. Behavioural therapy on the other hand was meant to guide and make provisions for how people acted; an interpretation of how we think. Therefore, when the two are linked, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is born. Therefore, this is a therapy that makes a person to change the thought and perform the action from the mind. Such a schedule for guidance and counselling will give a healing or therapeutic gusto to how the counselee will feel and think towards bullying.
Student’s social lives overwhelming show itself in academic performance. A drop in academic performance is a tell tale sign of social delinquency. These behaviours make the child to change personality and while in secondary level performance dwindle. Students who are in secondary level nonetheless are able to discern several changes in their lives. This is a fundamental challenge to them. The students may change their behaviours because of extreme poverty, broken families, or rejections by the loved ones. This may make the students to choose bullying. Apart from the above named reasons, the students may decide to bully others because some of the students have acquired the habit from others; especially from their fellow comrades or peers. At this age the students are fully grown into puberty and this may make them to show strength particularly if they have considerately matured than fellow classmates. Another reason for bullying can be an expression of jealousy of qualities that another child has; that is, prowess in baseball or wit in mathematics. Amazingly, doctors found out that some of the students derive inordinate pleasures in bullying others students. And lastly, students bully each other as defence mechanism; they bully to make up for their personal failures and misfortunes in life. The above named reasons together with other reasons will help the psychiatrist to handle the victim appropriately. The therapy will give a chance for a one on one talk that will evoke the reasons behind the bullying and make a plausible way of changing the student’s behaviour in act and thought (Kottler, 2007)
A psychiatrist handling the students using this method is able to study the developmental needs, interests, abilities and problems of the counselee. This is because social life of the student will have a considerate effect on the academic performance of the student. Here the psychiatrist should be able to understand the social environment of the student. Apart from deterioration in academic performance, there is still long-term effect on general achievement in life (Corey, 2005).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapist should have questioning skills that are apt to make the victim elicit desired answers that will make sure that the session is successful. Corey (2003) puts it clearly that the questions should be able to arouse desired interest that will give a soul searching adventure to the victim. Such questions should be able to elicit from the victims prior knowledge of past events of bullying. Reinforcement should be positive to make the victim stick to the questioning session. Questions that may invite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers should be minimal because they will hinder participation and expression. At the end the learner will be able to feel loved and accepted. As Corey (2003) says that the helper or the guiding and counseling personnel should emphasize on alternative ways of satisfying needs which are more socially acceptable instead of bullying.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy gives the therapist a chance of a life time to change the behavioural pattern of the student. As stated earlier this therapy will deal with two aspects concurrently. That is, the thinking of the victim will be worked upon. If the underlying cause for the bullying was depression or anxiety, the therapist will allow the victim to change this thought. Violence related aspects will be reduced because the mind will not have any negative thoughts on harming a fellow student. The victim will be able to reverse negative patterns of behaviour from a mental perspective. Victims of abuse, for example, will be able to address the issue in the talk session with the therapist and be able to erase the disorder in his of her mind. Certain innate features like stress and feeling low will be faced out from the mind.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapist will be able to meet his or her target by having a very friendly schedule with the counselee. This is because; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy gives a chance for mental development, That is, during the sessions with the victim, the therapist will be able to capture the victims mind by discussing matters to see how the victims’ perceptions affects them. The session will have a lot of outdoor workshops that will allow the victim to feel at ease. Relaxation will be the aura for the sessions! This atmosphere nonetheless will give the counselee a chance to become part and parcel of the therapy procedure. In fact, the sessions will be helping the therapists make the victim discuss issues at a desired pace. In the first stage of preparation, the therapist will make it clear not drive fear to the client. From exploration, questioning to clarification and eventually ending the sessions on mental therapy, the client and the therapist will have made a smooth transition of identifying the issue at hand, shared and erased from the mind the mind. This will give maximum comfort and ease to the client or counselee.
The therapist in these sessions will assist the victim to discern all unprecedented information on bullying. Remember occasions of bullying, talk freely about them. The brain will be at ease and past events will be brought to light. Baker (2004) says that the therapist will be able to delve beyond the normal mind and meet the alter ego. Knowledge gained from the conscious mind of the victim will be essential for him or her to make the victim connect with the deep within and associate reason with guilt and hence change. There will be an overwhelming experience from such a session, because the victim is now able to discern between the wrong and right. Furthermore, self esteem evoked from the serene and peaceful environment makes the victim to change thought of bullying. Burying the old self of frustration and guilt, hence making a new brain that is ignited to better the life is ahead and one that can be able to meet earlier challenges subtly. This will make the victim to think positively. Anxiety and stress is erased. The mind of the victim is now able to find that life is meaningful, there is no need to harm others by bullying; thus they can be able to use the mind to move on achieving first things first.
The cognitive behavioural therapist has succeeded in changing the victims thought; more time will be spent on testing the workability of the new attained personality (Thompson, 2007). This is the overwhelming part that makes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy effective in handling victims of bullying in secondary schools. First, using several techniques like Five Area Model, the thoughts and memories of behaviour of bullying are broken down made simpler. There is logical approach to problems or day to day life. Personal problems are ironed out and the heart and mind is free to perform good deeds. This is where the behavioural therapy is essential in clarifying the initial stage. If the victim does not respond positively, the initial stage of changing the mind will be revisited. Yuen (2006) says that this therapy is essential because the therapist will have made a new and holistic individual.
While practicing the change virtues, the victim of bullying will have a new goal and perspective with an insight of having plausible resolutions instead of bullying. That is, to say that the therapy will have a detailed but simple schedule of making the victim to understand the situation of bullying as wrong. This will be the fundamental fabric to make the victim have a good rapport with the therapist and be able to open his or her mind to related thoughts of memories and bullying situations. Aesthetic emotions will be evoked and this makes the victim to change the alter ego within his or her mind and transform completely. Eventually this will make the victim have a strong self esteem that will be essential in physical or behavioural reaction towards building character and behaviour that is acceptable in the society.
From the above detailed explanation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an effective therapy on victims of bullying in secondary schools simply because a negative behaviour like bullying will be erased from the thought! Also, it is a friendly way of dealing with victims, there is real exposure with activities and workshops that will bring easiness and esteem build up. There are also specific goals that are attained at each level and evaluation is clear. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a two way type of learning and healing that will be fundamental in changing the character and personality of an individual. This type of therapy as discussed above is a relatively permanent change in behaviour which comes as a result of practice in positively gained thoughts. Thus, it can be simply said, that the learned behaviour is ‘having that salient experience that has changed and can be remembered in practice’. For example, bullying if left without correction, can be outgrown and deter the personality of a secondary student, therefore, permanent change is only attained through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy because the sessions aim at permanent change. As stated earlier, the therapist in this healing process is aimed at a clear objective that is precise and hence helps the victim to attend to the right stimulus without delay. In addition, the question posed during the sessions gives a careful motivation that elicits desired feedback to the therapy. Hence, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an effective method of concentrating the victim throughout the healing process and ensures active involvement of the victim in learned thoughts and practice. Ideally, this Cognitive Behavioural Therapy encases: mental operations that take place in the mind and aim at imparting new knowledge; apt comprehension; useful application through recall; clever analysis of problem at a hand; synthesis; and evaluation that will make the victim move to psychomotor learning. This is where now the victim will be able to observe, imitate, practice, and adapt the good or new character from within. Hence, it becomes an effective form of healing because the victims’ feelings, attitudes, values are changed. This in turn influences the victims’ personality. In conclusion, CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a very effective therapy that does not only change an individual character and personality but also deface the ugly trend of bullying in schools and eventual make students to have a self esteem that will gear them to attain positive grades in their academic voyage.
References
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Corey, M. S., & Corey, G. (2003). Becoming A Helper. California, CA: Pacific Grove.
Kottler, J.A., & Kottler, E. (2007). Counseling Skills For Teachers. California, CA: Corwin Press.
Schmidt, J. J. (2007). Counseling In schools: Comprehensive Programs of Responsive Services For All Students. Massachusetts, MA: Allyn Bacon.
Tan, E. (2004). Counselling in Schools: Theories, Processes, and Techniques. Singapore: McGraw Hill.
Thompson, C. L., & Rudolph, L. B. (2007). Counseling Children. California, CA: Pacific Grove.
Yuen, M. T. (2006). School Counseling in Hong Kong: History, Policy, Current Implementation Status, and Future directions. Singapore: McGraw Hill.