APPLYING SYSTEMS COUNSELLING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE WHO BULLY OR ARE VICTIMIZED

Shute & Slee (2026) have described in  detail systems theory and commented on its application to addressing school bullying.  The underpinning assumptions draw on family systems thinking and in particular the authors' clinical experience in working with individuals, couples and families. The approach is adapted to the school setting where the counsellor is generally counselling individuals or perhaps two or three involved students, or working with the family in relation to the issue of bullying (Slee, 2017).

One of the essential tools in systemic counselling  is the technique of ‘’circular questioning’’ . There are limitless numbers of circular questions that could be  asked and they are essentially there to release new information into the system to encourage new ways of looking at the problem. Questions may generally focus on three areas: (i) the belief system of the individual or others, e.g. ‘’I deserve to be bullied”; (ii) the behaviour, e.g. what happens, when where, how often; and (iii) relationships, e.g. who else knows about the bullying, what do they know, what do they do.   For example, instead of asking ‘why’ a student is being victimized the counsellor might ask who else knows about the bullying and what do they do about it. The following are broad guidelines and the interested reader is referred to Shute & Slee (2026) for further detail.

Pre-interview: Hypothesizing is a key aspect of each interview – it helps to organize and shape the interview, and help formulate therapeutic questions and give meaning to data at the counsellor’s disposal. One intent is to prove/disprove/replace the original hypothesis to build a different ‘story’’ around the presenting problem  that the individual or others connected with the matter (e.g. classmates) might have. For example, the counsellor may hypothesize that a student is being victimized because they have fallen out with the peer group. The interview would commence with what has brought the individual to the counsellor, e.g. what is the presenting problem , what is the student’s expectation of the outcome , how will her/his behaviour be different, what would happen if she/he did not come to the next session?

The presenting problem. To  avoid long history-taking, the interview would move to questions including what brings the student to the counsellor ‘right now’’, what is the situation at the moment? Who else knows about the problem, when/where does it occur, when is the problem strongest or most present, when it is not there, what advantages are associated with the problem?

Previous Problem Solving Attempts? How have you previously attempted to solve the problem,  why does someone not step in to help (bystanders)?

The Cycle of Interaction. What makes the problem better or worse, stronger or weaker, what is ‘feeding ‘he problem’, how could the problem be weakened or ‘starved’. What is ‘good’ about the problem?

Reason for the problem. How does the student explain the problem? How do others explain it?

Non-Problematic Areas. What do you/others do when the problem is not present? When was it last not there?

A future without the problem. How would you/others know if the problem disappeared? What would you/ others do if the problem was not there? How would things be different?

Finalizing the Interview. What has been learnt about the problem today? Tasks/homework should be set, such as noting how one thinks/feels when the problem arises again. Noticing the times when the problem is absent. Finish by setting a time for the next session.

A caveat: It is important to note that focussing on the individual risks ‘problematizing’ the individual i.e. the problem and the solution lies within the individual emphasising changing individual problem solving patterns and overlooking relationship patterns and changes the system may have to make.  A simple way to look beyond the individual is for the counsellor to ask her/himself – if this student is being bullied who else in the school or community is being bullied e.g. teachers, the school Principal etc and what systems does the school have in place to address bullying e.g. policy and grievance procedures.

References

Shute, R., & Slee, P.T. (2016). Mental health and wellbeing through Schools: The way forward. Routledge . U.K.

Shute, R, & Slee, P.T., (2026). Child Development. Theories and critical perspectives. Routledge. Psychology Press.

Slee, P.T. (2017). School Bullying. Teachers helping students cope. Routledge. London.

Links www.caper.com.au