I am honored to have had the opportunity to speak at 3 conferences this week about impact of bullying on mental health. On Tuesday I spoke at the Annual conference of Iowa School Counselors Association in Altoona, IA, followed by my presentation in Louisville, KY, at the Kentucky Counseling Association conference, and then in Monroeville, PA, for a presentation at the conference of the National Association of Social Workers (PA region). It is rewarding to speak to groups of professionals who are truly dedicated to do something about preventing bullying.
It is interesting to note that I frequently hear from school psychologists, counselors and social workers that they often get frustrated because of lack of support from school administrators. Many of them have expressed to me that “I wish my school administrator was here to listen to your story.” Many of them have tried hard to get me to come to their schools, but never got approval from administration. In some cases, when they succeeded, they have expressed that it had taken them weeks and months of diligent effort to get approval from administration. It is clear that school administrators need to take more interest in this issue of bullying prevention.