Home > Specializations > Bullying and Cyberbullying

Bullying and Cyberbullying

What is Bullying?

Bullying is when one person uses power, influence, or force to perform aggressive or threatening acts towards someone else. It involves repeated occurrences, or the potential for repetition.

Verbal bullying:

Racial slurs, mean comments, making fun of someone, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, threats.

Physical bullying:

Physically harming someone such as hitting, tripping, pushing, spitting, taking someone’s items, breaking things.

Social bullying:

Spreading rumours, ruining someone’s reputation, habitually
excluding someone, preventing others from being friends with someone.

What is Cyber Bullying?

Cyberbullying or online bullying involves using the internet or social media to embarrass, threaten, intimidate or harm someone. For example, posting inappropriate photos, making rude, humiliating, or threatening comments, posting rumors or sexual comments.

What is the impact of Bullying?

Children or teens who are bullied can become shy, withdrawn, irritable, anxious, or depressed. They may start to self-harm, or report symptoms of stress such as headaches, stomach aches, and school refusal. Bullying can have lasting and devastating consequences. Many schools have a zero tolerance to bullying policy, so reporting it is important.

In some cases, the police may need to be notified, depending on the severity. Your child or teen may be reluctant for you to intervene, as they may fear that the bullying will get worse.

However, it is important to protect the victims / survivors or bullying, and to ensure that bullies receive proper consequences and treatment interventions.

Children who witness bullying may fear being bullied themselves, which can make them reluctant to report or stand up against bullying.

Children who bully others may themselves be victims of abuse or violence, or acting out for some other reason. Without proper consequences and/or treatment, children who bully others may escalate their behaviour over time.

How can therapy help my child or teen overcome bullying?

Your child or teen may be scared to let you know exactly what is going on because they may be worried that you will blame them, overreact, or take matters into your own hands. Simply put – they may fear that telling parents or teachers will somehow make a bad situation even worse. Involving a professional can help children and teens to understand that bullying is wrong, and that they do not need to keep suffering alone with this.

Therapy can help them to rebuild their confidence and self-esteem, and to navigate the system so that parents and teachers can help support the victim/survivor and put an end to the bullying.

Learn about other Specialty Services

Addictions ADHD Adjustment Disorder Agoraphobia Alexithymia Anger Management Anger Management - Court Ordered Anorexia Nervosa Anticipatory Grief Anxiety Disorders Asexuality and Aromanticism Assertiveness Attachment Disorders Attachment in Adults Atypical Sexuality Autism Spectrum Disorder Bipolar Disorder Body Dysmorphic Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder Bulimia Nervosa Bullying and Cyberbullying Burnout Christian Counselling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Chronic Pain Management Communication Skills Compulsive Lying Conduct Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder Depression Dermatophagia Dissociative Fugue Dyspareunia Eating Disorders Emotion Dysregulation Emotionally-based Sexual Difficulties Enuresis or Bedwetting Erectile Dysfunction Excoriation Disorder Fertility Issues Gambling Gender Identity Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Grief & Loss Health Anxiety Healthy Boundaries Hoarding Illness in Adults Illness in Children and Teens Impostor Syndrome Insomnia and Parasomnia Intellectual Disabilities Interpersonal Relationships Leadership Learning Disorders LGBTQ+ Support Life Transitions Managerial Courage Mood Disorders Moral Injury Motivation Narcissistic Abuse Survivors Narcissistic Personality Disorder Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder OCD Oppositional Defiant Disorder Panic Attacks Parenting Skills Perfectionism Performance Anxiety Personal Growth Personality Disorders Phobias Postpartum Anxiety Postpartum Depression Pre-Marital Counselling Pregnancy and Motherhood Premature and Delayed Ejaculation Problem-Solving Skills Procrastination Psychosis Psychosocial Oncology PTSD Racism and Discrimination Re-Kindle Love Refugee and Immigration Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Selective Mutism Self-Esteem Self-Sabotage Separation or Divorce Sexual Addiction Sexual Concerns Sleep Disorders Social Anxiety Stress Management Surviving Abuse Time Management and Organization Tinnitus Tourette Syndrome Transgender Vaginismus Video Game Addiction Work Concerns