The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression
What Can Social Workers and School Counselors Do?
Enlisting the help of school counselors and social workers in the school setting (or social workers who work with children in a community-based setting) can make a big difference in preventing and curbing bullying. The science of social work uses an ecological framework toward prevention and intervention that views clients as intricate parts of larger systems.
According to this framework, bullying represents the culmination of an array of variables associated with home, school, community, and even the media and entertainment.ref
The social work perspective encourages the cooperation of many systems in the child's universe, including his or her family and the larger school community. Specifically, school social workers can:ref
- Assist children who are targets of bullying to seek support from teachers, parents, and other family members.
- Assist parents and other family members in providing support to the child.
- Assist students in recognizing and identifying qualities and behaviors that may be related to the bullying incident and help them make changes when appropriate.
- Assist children (bullies and victims) in identifying their strengths and help them channel their strength toward decreasing the bullying.
- Be familiar with the school's and state's (and/or county's or district's) policies on bullying behavior.
- Help develop and enforce a school-wide policy statement if one does not exist.
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Last Updated: 5/19/04
SAMHSA is an Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
