Find a Bullying Counselor

Bullying is repeated, intentional behavior meant to harm, intimidate, or control another person. It often involves a real or perceived power imbalance and can take many forms:

• Physical bullying: Hitting, pushing, or damaging property
• Verbal bullying: Name-calling, threats, insults, or taunts
• Social bullying: Spreading rumors, exclusion, or humiliation
• Cyberbullying: Harassment through text, social media, or other digital platforms

Many people wonder, “Is it really bullying?” If someone is consistently targeting, shaming, or intimidating you (or your child), it’s serious. Even if it’s not physical, the emotional impact can be just as harmful. Therapy for bullying victims can help identify patterns, set boundaries, and begin the healing process.

Bullying doesn’t just hurt in the moment—it can lead to long-term psychological distress. Survivors of bullying often experience:

• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Depression and persistent sadness
• Low self-esteem or self-worth
• Social withdrawal or fear of others
• Academic decline in children
• Sleep problems, nightmares, or insomnia
• Self-harm or suicidal thoughts in severe cases

These effects aren’t signs of weakness—they’re normal responses to being hurt, excluded, or threatened. Cognitive behavioral therapy for bullying can help individuals recognize how bullying has shaped their thoughts and behaviors and learn healthier ways to cope and heal.

Yes. Therapy provides a safe space to process pain, shame, and fear resulting from bullying. A bullying counselor can help you:

• Understand that what happened wasn’t your fault
• Build self-esteem and self-advocacy skills
• Reduce anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms
• Improve social confidence and boundaries
• Heal from internalized negativity or isolation
• Learn how to manage bullying if it’s ongoing

Whether you were bullied in the past or are dealing with it now, therapy for bullying victims supports both short-term recovery and long-term emotional resilience.

Different therapeutic approaches can be effective depending on the age, situation, and severity of bullying. These include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Helps you identify negative thoughts and beliefs caused by bullying (“I’m worthless,” “I’ll never fit in”) and replace them with more realistic, empowering thoughts.

Trauma-Focused Therapy

For those who experience bullying as a traumatic event, therapy can gently reprocess those memories and reduce symptoms like hypervigilance, nightmares, or emotional numbing.

Narrative Therapy

Encourages survivors to rewrite their personal stories—from a place of empowerment and resilience, not victimhood.

Play Therapy (for children)

Uses games, drawing, or storytelling to help kids express feelings they may not have words for and regain a sense of control.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness—skills that are especially helpful for teens and adults navigating complex social dynamics.

Your bullying counselor will tailor the approach to your needs and help you build a toolkit for both healing and self-advocacy.

In your first few sessions, your therapist will work to understand your experience and how bullying has affected your emotional well-being. You don’t need to know exactly what to say—just sharing your story at your own pace is enough.

You can expect:

• A safe, nonjudgmental space to talk openly
• Help identifying how bullying has shaped your thoughts, behaviors, or relationships
• Coping skills for anxiety, fear, or low self-esteem
• Techniques for managing ongoing bullying if applicable
• A gradual, supported path toward healing

Therapy for bullying victims isn’t about rehashing painful memories endlessly—it’s about processing them safely and learning how to move forward without carrying the weight alone.

Bullying often creates deep feelings of isolation and shame. Victims may withdraw socially, feel “different,” or begin to believe the cruel messages they’ve received. That’s why group therapy and peer support are incredibly powerful tools in bullying recovery—because they help individuals realize they are not alone, and they are not to blame.

In a well-facilitated group, participants can:

• Share experiences in a safe environment, often for the first time
• Normalize their emotions, realizing others have similar thoughts and feelings
• Rebuild trust in social connections through mutual empathy and support
• Practice communication and boundary-setting skills with supportive peers
• Receive encouragement and feedback from people who truly understand the effects of bullying
• Discover healthy coping strategies used by others in the group

For children and teens, group therapy provides a structured way to rebuild self-confidence and develop social resiliencein a peer setting that feels validating rather than judgmental.

For adults recovering from childhood or workplace bullying, hearing other stories can be especially healing—replacing shame with understanding, and loneliness with connection.

While individual therapy allows for deep personal exploration, group settings offer the chance to reconnect socially, practice new skills, and experience belonging, which is often one of the greatest losses inflicted by bullying.

If you're unsure whether group therapy is right for you or your child, a bullying counselor can help assess your comfort level and recommend programs that match your emotional readiness and age group.

Learning that your child is being bullied can be heartbreaking and infuriating. As a parent, your instinct may be to fix it immediately—but your support is most powerful when it's calm, consistent, and empowering. Here’s how you can help effectively:

1. Start by Listening Without Judgment

Create a space where your child feels safe to talk. Avoid interrupting, problem-solving too quickly, or downplaying their experience. Say things like:

• “Thank you for telling me.”
• “That sounds really hurtful.”
• “You don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

Let them share what happened in their own words, at their own pace.

2. Validate Their Feelings

Even if the bullying doesn’t seem severe to you, it may feel devastating to your child. Acknowledge their emotions:

• “It makes sense that you’re upset.”
• “Feeling scared or angry is normal after being treated like that.”

This validation helps rebuild the emotional safety that bullying often damages.

3. Document and Monitor

If the bullying is ongoing:

• Keep a detailed record of incidents (dates, times, what was said or done, witnesses).
• Save messages, emails, or screenshots in cases of cyberbullying.
• Ask your child to tell you immediately when something happens, and review any changes in behavior that may signal more subtle harassment.

4. Engage the School or Authority Figures

• Schedule a meeting with teachers, school counselors, or administrators.
• Ask about anti-bullying policies and request a plan for intervention and monitoring.
• Remain calm but firm. Your role is to advocate for your child’s right to learn in a safe environment.

5. Encourage Healthy Peer Connections

Help your child find clubs, sports, or online communities where they can connect with peers who share their interests and values. One strong friendship can be protective against bullying's psychological effects.

6. Seek Professional Help

Sometimes bullying causes or exacerbates anxiety, depression, or trauma symptoms. A licensed bullying counselor can:

• Help your child process difficult emotions
• Teach social confidence and assertiveness
• Provide support in rebuilding damaged self-esteem
• Coordinate with schools and parents for additional support

If your child is reluctant to attend therapy, frame it as a supportive space to talk about what’s happening—not as something “wrong” with them.

7. Be a Model of Empowerment

Children learn how to cope with stress, conflict, and injustice by watching you. Model assertiveness, kindness, and emotional regulation. Let them know that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

8. Monitor for Lasting Effects

Even after bullying stops, your child may continue to struggle with self-doubt, fear, or avoidance behaviors. Ongoing support from you and a counselor for bullying victims can ensure that the healing continues beyond the event itself.

Yes. Research shows strong links between bullying and mental health struggles—especially if the bullying is ongoing or severe. Victims often internalize the negative messages they receive, leading to:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression or hopelessness
• Social phobia or avoidance
• Panic attacks or chronic worry
• Low self-worth and self-doubt

Even long after the bullying stops, its psychological effects can persist. Working with a bullying therapist helps separate those internalized beliefs from the truth and rebuilds a healthy, compassionate relationship with the self.