Why A Bullied Child Can Benefit From Therapy

Bullying is sadly a growing problem. As reported by the National Bullying Prevention Center, approximately 20 percent of students in U.S. schools are bullied. The statistics are stark when even one bullied child is too many. The good news is that parents can step in to help a bullied child handle the problem. Consider these reasons that a child who has been bullied can greatly benefit from therapy.

Your Child Can Learn Their Worth

One thing that bullying can do is erode a child's sense of self-worth. A child may believe the cruel things that are said to them. Similarly, feelings of worthlessness may surface after physical violence at the hands of a bully.

In therapy, the counselor can help affirm a child's inherent worth and guide them in discovering positive things about themselves. Once that sense of worth is recognized and affirmed repeatedly in therapy, a child may be better able to hang on to it even when the bad memories of being bullied surface.

Your Child Can Learn Effective Coping Skills in Therapy

When a child is bullied, they may feel extreme pain and not know how to handle the strong emotions that surface. A counselor can help your child develop effective internal and external coping skills. Those coping skills can then help a child tolerate the sad situation of bullying without developing self-destructive behaviors that can have long-term negative effects on their life.

Coping skills can be as simple as self-soothing by reading a favorite poem or asking a parent to take them on a short walk. The coping skills may be simple, but they can bring a great deal of comfort to a child. Cultivating coping skills can help a child feel as though they've taken their power back from a bully.

Your Child Can Receive Help Managing Complex Emotions

Bullied kids are at an increased risk for suicide. In fact, children who are bullied may suffer from depression, anxiety, and health complaints. Their grades may even drop. Be proactive to help children avoid these complex emotional problems by offering them the chance to go to therapy as soon as you learn about the bullying incidents. In therapy, children can work through the intense pain of what happened to them.

Finally, in addition to taking your child to therapy at least once per week, have ongoing discussions with them about their emotions. You don't need to remind them of the bullying issues, but it is unlikely that they've let the child's mind. As open-ended questions and practice active listening as a child strives to deal with the pain and heal their emotional wounds.

Get in touch with a service like Carewright Clinical Services for more help.

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