Bul­ly­ing and Discrimination

Bul­ly­ing at school

Whe­re­as in the past we were “only” expo­sed to bul­ly­ing at school, the­se days we some­ti­mes don’t even get a break from it at home. The use of social media, such as Face­book, Insta­gram, Snap­chat and co., enables bul­lies to reach their vic­tims at any time of day or night, any­whe­re they are.

Nobody should be afraid to go to school

Addres­sing bul­ly­ing at school is very dif­fi­cult. Con­ver­sa­ti­ons with par­ents and the inter­ven­ti­on of tea­chers can some­ti­mes bring some reli­ef. The sad rea­li­ty, howe­ver, is that the affec­ted stu­dent is con­side­red “mark­ed” in the class and in most cases can no lon­ger reha­bi­li­ta­te hims­elf from this role as a vic­tim of bul­ly­ing. Often the only thing that helps in the end is chan­ging schools to get a new start in a dif­fe­rent envi­ron­ment. But the emo­tio­nal and psy­cho­lo­gi­cal inju­ries suf­fe­r­ed by the stu­dents often remain and may have long-term con­se­quen­ces on the men­tal health and deve­lo­p­ment of tho­se affected.

If you find yours­elf in an acu­te bul­ly­ing situa­ti­on, we should first work (if you wish, tog­e­ther with your legal guar­di­ans) to defu­se the cur­rent stressful situa­ti­on as quick­ly as pos­si­ble and to crea­te a safe envi­ron­ment for you. In a second step, I will help you to pro­cess the (trau­ma­tic) expe­ri­en­ces and to work on your self-esteem, becau­se this usual­ly suf­fers great­ly from the actions of the guil­ty par­ty. You can also learn how to deal with con­flict situa­tions and pro­tect yours­elf from pos­si­ble fur­ther attacks in the future.

Expe­ri­en­cing Discrimination

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, being dis­cri­mi­na­ted against becau­se of your skin color, reli­gi­on, sexu­al ori­en­ta­ti­on, or eth­ni­ci­ty is a glo­bal pro­blem. Even in Ger­ma­ny, this hap­pens every day. Whe­ther loo­king for a job or an apart­ment, at work, at school, going to a club, among fri­ends or acquain­tances, or even in your own (exten­ded) fami­ly: Dis­cri­mi­na­ti­on and exclu­si­on are demea­ning situa­tions that are pain­ful and lea­ve deep wounds. You feel asha­med, angry, or sad.

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, we have no con­trol over how other peo­p­le tre­at us, but we do have con­trol over how we react to it. Tog­e­ther we can work out indi­vi­du­al­ly tail­o­red stra­te­gies on how to react to such dis­cri­mi­na­to­ry situa­tions and how to deal with them in the long term.

Bul­ly­ing and Discrimination

Bul­ly­ing at school

Whe­re­as in the past we were “only” expo­sed to bul­ly­ing at school, the­se days we some­ti­mes don’t even get a break from it at home. The use of social media, such as Face­book, Insta­gram, Snap­chat and co., enables bul­lies to reach their vic­tims at any time of day or night, any­whe­re they are.

Nobody should be afraid to go to school

Addres­sing bul­ly­ing at school is very dif­fi­cult. Con­ver­sa­ti­ons with par­ents and the inter­ven­ti­on of tea­chers can some­ti­mes bring some reli­ef. The sad rea­li­ty, howe­ver, is that the affec­ted stu­dent is con­side­red “mark­ed” in the class and in most cases can no lon­ger reha­bi­li­ta­te hims­elf from this role as a vic­tim of bul­ly­ing. Often the only thing that helps in the end is chan­ging schools to get a new start in a dif­fe­rent envi­ron­ment. But the emo­tio­nal and psy­cho­lo­gi­cal inju­ries suf­fe­r­ed by the stu­dents often remain and may have long-term con­se­quen­ces on the men­tal health and deve­lo­p­ment of tho­se affected.

If you find yours­elf in an acu­te bul­ly­ing situa­ti­on, we should first work (if you wish, tog­e­ther with your legal guar­di­ans) to defu­se the cur­rent stressful situa­ti­on as quick­ly as pos­si­ble and to crea­te a safe envi­ron­ment for you. In a second step, I will help you to pro­cess the (trau­ma­tic) expe­ri­en­ces and to work on your self-esteem, becau­se this usual­ly suf­fers great­ly from the actions of the guil­ty par­ty. You can also learn how to deal with con­flict situa­tions and pro­tect yours­elf from pos­si­ble fur­ther attacks in the future.

Expe­ri­en­cing Discrimination

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, being dis­cri­mi­na­ted against becau­se of your skin color, reli­gi­on, sexu­al ori­en­ta­ti­on, or eth­ni­ci­ty is a glo­bal pro­blem. Even in Ger­ma­ny, this hap­pens every day. Whe­ther loo­king for a job or an apart­ment, at work, at school, going to a club, among fri­ends or acquain­tances, or even in your own (exten­ded) fami­ly: Dis­cri­mi­na­ti­on and exclu­si­on are demea­ning situa­tions that are pain­ful and lea­ve deep wounds. You feel asha­med, angry, or sad.

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, we have no con­trol over how other peo­p­le tre­at us, but we do have con­trol over how we react to it. Tog­e­ther we can work out indi­vi­du­al­ly tail­o­red stra­te­gies on how to react to such dis­cri­mi­na­to­ry situa­tions and how to deal with them in the long term.