I am excited about an opportunity to speak to a group of school psychologists at a conference in Grand Forks, ND, in early October. The conference is for the North Dakota Association of School Psychologists (NDASP). I will be speaking about long term psychological impact of bullying, which is a very appropriate topic for school psychologists. They have a key role in the social and emotional development of children while they are in school. Also this will be my first visit to the state of North Dakota.
The main goal of this presentation is to raise the awareness among school psychologists that bullying can have severe long-lasting mental health impact. School administration and staff often believe that once a student (who was a victim of bullying while in school) graduates, there is no impact any more. The purpose of this workshop is to emphasize the fact that for millions of victims of school bullying, that is not the case – in fact, many of them suffer for years because of mental health issues triggered by bullying. It is very likely that if these students had received appropriate guidance and assistance during school years the mental health impact would not have been as severe.
Specifically, the learning objectives are as follows:
- Recognize severe anxiety disorders triggered by PTSD from bullying
- Develop a thorough understanding of the way PTSD from bullying can dictate the development and progression of a mental disorder
- Apply the knowledge gained from this workshop to intervene and assist students who might need help in overcoming developing mental health disorders