Treating Targets of School Bullying
Do nothing. Walk away. Tell them you want them to stop. It is what the websites say, it is what most teachers and parents say, and every child who has been bullied already knows it does not work. Evelyn Field is blunt that there is no good evidence behind any of it, and that it runs against how survival actually operates.
Her position is simple enough to state and hard to do. A bully reads fear and anger the way an animal does, and a child who cries, flares up or visibly retreats has just rewarded the behaviour. So the work is not about the bully or the school, which is where most programs put their effort. It is about changing what the child does in the three seconds after the words land. She teaches a neutral response, built line by line with the child, rehearsed until it comes out without thinking, and she puts the average at four to six sessions unless something else is going on.
Two hours across the whole picture: what the research now says about the injury, a six-step model covering feelings, understanding, self-esteem, communication, blocking and support network, and then the therapy itself. She works through the first session in detail, the questions that get a child to arrive at the answer themselves, and the point at which she stops working with the school and tells the family to move the child. There is also a section on what to ask of parents, since a good deal of what maintains this sits at home.
You’ll walk away with
- A clear account of why the standard advice fails, and something specific to offer instead when a parent asks what they should be telling their child
- The reaction that rewards the behaviour, and how to explain it to a child without it landing as blame
- A six-step model adapted for children: naming and rating the feeling, understanding why without self-blame, rebuilding self-esteem, communication, blocking, and building a group rather than a best friend
- A first session structure, including what to watch in the waiting room, what the parents’ talking time tells you, and a year-by-year history that shows whether this started recently or has followed the child through several schools
- Comebacks built with the child rather than handed to them, working through the categories of words used, so that what comes out is theirs and actually fits them
- Erickson-style questions that get the child to say it themselves, including the one about what the bully wants them to do, and creating the vision of what changes when they can block
- Role play, video and playback, and the physical exercise that shows a child in about thirty seconds why not reacting works
- Body language, voice and eye contact taught as a skill set, since this is most of what a bully is actually reading
- The judgement call about when to stop working with the school and move the child, and how she has come to think about that differently
- What to ask of parents at home, covering table talks, boundaries, chores, conflict modelling, device supervision and the online world the child is living in
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CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Course Duration: 2 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
School and workplace bullying that devastates lives and careers isn't just a behavioral problem - it's a form of psychological trauma that requires specialised therapeutic expertise. Evelyn Field has spent over 45 years developing revolutionary approaches to empowering targets of bullying, becoming Australia's leading authority on what she terms "social survival skills" and earning the nation's highest honor for her anti-bullying initiatives.
As a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and recipient of the Order of Australia Medal (OAM), Field has transformed how we understand and treat bullying trauma through her pioneering six-step social and emotional resilience model. Her bestselling books Bully Blocking and Bully Busting have been translated into five languages, while her therapeutic approach has been presented internationally across New Zealand, Belgium, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Canada, Norway, Wales, Italy, and Israel. Her unique perspective comes from having been bullied as a student, then returning to work as a psychologist at the same school - giving her unparalleled insight into both sides of the experience.
Field's expertise spans school and workplace bullying intervention, trauma therapy, social and emotional resilience building, and what she calls "Workplace Bullying Trauma" (WBT) - a specialised form of PTSD. As Chair of the Australian Association for Workplace Bullying Professionals and former convenor of the International Association of Workplace Bullying and Harassment Therapist Special Interest Group for seven years, she has established the clinical framework for treating bullying-related trauma that is now used worldwide.
What sets her training apart is lived experience combined with clinical expertise. Field doesn't just teach anti-bullying strategies - she shows practitioners how to help victims develop genuine psychological resilience while addressing the specific trauma patterns that bullying creates. Her media work (over 900 interviews) demonstrates her ability to translate complex therapeutic concepts for both professionals and the public.
For your practice, expect to gain specific assessment tools for bullying trauma, evidence-based intervention strategies for both children and adults, and frameworks for building social survival skills that prevent future victimisation. Her approach particularly benefits clinicians working with clients who have experienced workplace harassment, school bullying, or social isolation.
Quick Win: Field's "bully-blocking formula" teaches clients to immediately recognise bullying patterns and respond with specific verbal and behavioral strategies - in cases stopping harassment within days and building confidence that lasts.
Qualifications
- Postgraduate degrees, Psychology (Educational and Counselling), Melbourne University, RMIT University, La Trobe University
- Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (FAPS)
- Licensed Counselling Psychologist, Australia
- 45+ years clinical experience
- 17 years as school-based psychologist
Authored Books
- Harry the Bully Blocker (2021, available as e-book, hardcopy, audiobook)
- Harry the Bully Blocker goes to school (children's book)
- Strategies for Surviving Bullying at Work (2011, Australian Academic Press)
- Bully Blocking at Work (2010, Australian Academic Press)
- Bully Blocking® (2007, Finch Publishing, bestseller, translated into Korean, Czechoslovakian)
- Bully Busting (1999, Finch Publishing, bestseller, translated into Italian, Croatian, Arabic)
- Social Smarts Handbook: Navigating Friendships and Challenging People (2025, Amba Press)
Awards & Recognition
- Order of Australia Medal (OAM), Australian Government, 2014 (for school and workplace bullying initiatives)
- Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (FAPS)
- Accredited Speaking Member, National Speakers Association of Australia (past)
Teaching & Leadership Roles
- Chair, Australian Association for Workplace Bullying Professionals (AAWBP), current
- Practising Counselling Psychologist, Private Practice, Melbourne, 1982–present
- Media Spokesperson, Australian Psychological Society, current
- Professional Advisory Board Member, National Centre Against Bullying
- Board Member, Mental Health Foundation of Victoria (20 years)
Featured & Recognition
- Media Spokesperson, Australian Psychological Society (over 900 interviews in 45 years)
- Regular appearances on Australian radio, television, and print media
- International media commentary on bullying topics
- Podcast appearances including workplace bullying specialist topics
Speaking & Training
- International presentations: New Zealand, Belgium, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Canada, Norway, Copenhagen, Wales, Italy, Israel
- Workshops: Australian Psychological Society (20+ years), British Psychological Society (2017), Vietnam First Southeast Asia Regional Conference of Psychology (2017), Israel Psychological Association (2018)
- Conference presentations for over 40 years
Ready to help bullying targets develop genuine resilience and recovery? Discover how Evelyn Field's evidence-based social survival skills can transform victims into empowered individuals who attract healthy relationships and block future harassment.
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This course includes:
- Lessons 4
- Topics 0
- Duration 2 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English