Posts Tagged ‘therapy’

An alternative treatment for psychological trauma

Friday, May 30th, 2014

Many bullied targets experience trauma-like symptoms but don’t always have diagnosed PTSD. They suffer intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, avoidance and dissociation. Successful recovery using current treatment techniques is rare. Targets are in search of alternatives. A report in the May 22, 2014 New York Times Magazine by Jeneen Interlandi describes one such alternative.

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. uses an untested technique to deal with complex trauma and PTSD victims that he calls a “structure,” also called psychomotor therapy, developed by a dancer.

(the victim) would recreate the trauma that haunted him most by calling on people in the room to play certain roles. He would confront those people — with his anger, sorrow, remorse and confusion — and they would respond in character, apologizing, forgiving or validating his feelings as needed. By projecting his “inner world” into three-dimensional space, (the victim) would be able to rewrite his troubled history more thoroughly than other forms of role-play therapy might allow. If the experiment succeeded, the bad memories would be supplemented with an alternative narrative — one that provided feelings of acceptance or forgiveness or love.

Van der Volk, a trained psychiatrist, runs the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, Mass.

Van der Volk claims the two most common methods of dealing with trauma — exposure therapy and CBT. Exposure relies on repeated confronting the painful memories until they lose their power. It’s called desensitization. CBT is cognitive behavioral therapy, talk therapy used by most psychotherapists. van der Volk contends that trauma resets the primitive (sub-cortical deeper than cognitive awareness) regions of the brain to “interpret the world as a dangerous place.” Therefore, he argues, cognition cannot affect it.

He believes that traumatic experiences are stored in the body. His new book is The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (released Sept. 2014).

He believes people’s bodies failed them — legs had not run quickly enough, arms had not pushed powerfully enough, voices had not screamed loudly enough — to avoid disaster.

“The single most important issue for traumatized people is to find a sense of safety in their own bodies”

The key is to reconnect the mind to the body’s sensations. To cope, trauma victims engage is self-numbing to avoid the physical discomfort that comes from reliving painful experiences. Over time, victims get stuck in the past and cannot live in the present. Van der Volk credits yoga, tapping (emotional freedom technique), EMDR, or massage.

He believes labeling all trauma as PTSD is a mistake. PTSD is still defined as acute incidents triggered by a single event. He points out that much trauma is from chronic exposure to abuse and neglect. He wants to distinguish that form from PTSD and call it “developmental trauma disorder.” The DSM does not yet recognize this alternative view.

Several psychotherapists reject learning new things. That’s why we produced Workplace Bullying for Mental Health Professionals. For therapists who do want to learn more about the techniques van der Volk and his associates practice, there is training available.

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The following is remarkable comment that I post here for all to read:

I faced this type of trauma months after the daily 1.5 years of mobbing ended. It lasted for years as the more covert mobbing ensued until I quit (terrorized out) 3 years later. I thought I would never heal from the intense anger, upset, hurt, recurrent thoughts/replays and hypervigilence… my brain felt dehydrated and I had difficulty with short-term memory loss. It was when I took a trip to Thailand 5 months after I quit that I was given a farewell hug from a tour guide (after I paid the day before). He was a monk through high school, and the message he imparted to me was of absolute love and acceptance. It shocked me to my core, and brought me back instantly to a sense of healing and happiness. I credit him with saving my psychological life, if not my physical one. I went back immediately to Thailand to volunteer teach among the monks for 3 months, and have taken up massage training to help others with stress/PTSD. I know the depths of trauma this type of abuse creates. No one should have to suffer it, and more need to understand it.

Tags: bullied targets, healing from trauma, psychomotor therapy, PTSD, therapy, trauma, treatment, van der Volk
Posted in Media About Bullying, Print: News, Blogs, Magazines, Tutorials About Bullying, WBI Education | 3 Archived Comments | Post A Comment () »

The second great new workplace bullying book in time for Christmas 2013

Friday, December 6th, 2013

Overcoming Mobbing
A Recovery Guide for
Workplace Aggression
and Bullying

By Maureen Duffy & Len Sperry

A powerful, practical book that accurately reflects the entire bullying experience. These two clinicians, Duffy a clinical psychologist and Sperry a psychiatrist, demonstrate a deep understanding of bullied individuals and what it takes to heal them so life can be lived after bullying.The subtitle says it all — Recovery.

From the Foreword
Practical is the adjective to best describe this book. Though it is rich in citations and relies on science, applicability to real lives, real families and real organizations jumps off the pages. It tackles an admittedly complex subject with an accessible writing style that showcases illustrations and summary lists and tables. Points are driven home artfully with compassion for victims present throughout …

The blunt and truthful authors then describe how organizations create “shadow files” and do whatever it takes for administrators hide behind the myth that it is a “good and fair place to work.” Hypocritically, those employers discard good employees as though they are dispensable resources using the tactics of mobbing fueled by the hurtful power of social exclusion, ostracism …

The authors do not leave the reader submerged in the dark side of the world of work. Ultimately, the book is about hope and inspiration. So, the seventh chapter signals the shift toward a discussion of recovery from mobbing. The valuable advice flows steadily and includes gems such as “don’t make fighting the organization that mobbed you your next career.” Their wisdom extends to selecting psychotherapists who practice “trauma-informed mental health care” by taking into account the organizational, cultural and power dynamics factors that instigated the mobbing experience rather than a focus on the victim’s vulnerability …

The authors’ defiantly critique the “bad apple,” personality-dominated explanation for mobbing. They give the reader an introduction to work environments and their working parts. Personalities of perpetrators comprise only a small part …

Hooray for Duffy and Sperry’s clarity in pronouncing that banishing bullies does not end the systemic problem. As the authors write “it takes an organization” to create it, and that’s what it takes to stop it. ###

There is wisdom for organizational reps for those smart enough to apply the lessons contained inside. However, this book is primarily for bullied targets and the families who love them.

About the authors

Maureen Duffy, PhD, is a practicing family therapist and consultant specializing in workplace and school mobbing and bullying issues and an Affiliate with the Qualitative Research Graduate Program at Nova Southeastern University She provides trauma-informed psychotherapy to targets of mobbing and bullying and their families and consultation and training on workplace abuse to stakeholders including human resource managers and attorneys. She is the coauthor of Mobbing: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.

Len Sperry, MD, PhD, is Professor of Mental Health Counseling at Florida Atlantic University and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has provided psychotherapy to mobbing victims and consulted with corporations on mobbing and bullying. He is the coauthor of Mobbing: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.

Buy this book (along with the Lutgen-Sandvik book and, if they don’t own it yet, our book, The Bully At Work) for those who need it most this Christmas season. They will be forever grateful.

Tags: bullied targets, Len Sperry, Maureen Duffy, Mobbing, organizational factors, self help, strategies, therapy, trauma, workplace bullying
Posted in Books, Bullying-Related Research, Good News, Hear Ye! Hear Ye! 2, Media About Bullying, Social/Mgmt/Epid Sciences, Tutorials About Bullying | 1 Archived Comment | Post A Comment () »

New WBI Training DVD: Teach your psychotherapist

Friday, May 24th, 2013

An Introduction to Workplace Bullying: For Mental Health Practitioners

We designed this brand new DVD with two goals in mind: To help Targets of workplace bullying and to train mental health professionals about this challenging topic. It is the perfect introductory training for mental health practitioners.

It gives Targets the power to teach their counselors about workplace bullying. As a bullied target, you can watch this video alongside your therapist and learn about the phenomenon together, during a single session. Don’t blame your therapist for not understanding workplace bullying. There are not many professionals out there that have experience with the phenomenon. In a 2013 WBI Instant Poll only 29.7% of Mental Health Professionals had a complete understanding of workplace bullying.

Teach Your Psychotherapist How to Help You

Bullied targets are a challenging clinical population, in part due to the recurring trauma and marked isolation they endure. And, while a significant body of research links workplace bullying to physical, mental, social, and economic health harm for the bullied target, there is a paucity of mental health professionals specially trained to work with this phenomenon.

What to do: Use one 50 min. session with your psychotherapist to play this DVD while you are in the room. Stop the disc whenever questions arise, or if you want to make a point to your therapist about your experience. Use the DVD to start a dialogue.


In this video, Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, LPC, NCC an experienced, licensed mental health therapist and the WBI Professional Coach, shows clinicians the pitfalls many therapists fall into when helping Targets of workplace bullying. She offers practical advice about how best to support those hurting. Viewers will learn how to recognize the signs, and address the symptoms, of workplace bullying in their clients. Ms. Brown skillfully imparts the unique treatment considerations associated with counseling bullied targets and offers practitioners an assortment of resources for supporting clients and their families.

Targets and counselors, click here to purchase a DVD for your next session!

Tags: bullied targets, counseling, counselors, DVD, eden therapy, help for bullied targets, Jessi Brown, Jessi Eden Brown, targets, therapy, WBI coaching, workplace bullying
Posted in Products & Services, Tutorials About Bullying | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment () »

Workplace Bullying Support group in Seattle

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Attention Seattle-Area Residents

The next series of support groups for targets of workplace bullying is about to begin!

WBI’s Professional Coach and Licensed Psychotherapist, Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, NCC, invites you to join the next round of support groups in the N. Seattle area.

This is an excellent chance to receive specialized guidance for dealing with your workplace bullying situation, as well as connect with other targets in our region.

Please email Jessi Eden Brown through her private practice to learn more about this opportunity.

Tags: counseling, counselor, eden therapy, Jessi Eden Brown, Seattle, support group, therapist, therapy, workplace bullying
Posted in Fairness & Social Justice Denied | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment () »

Support Groups for Workplace Bullying Targets in Seattle Area

Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

WBI's Professional Coach & Licensed Psychotherapist, Jessi Eden Brown, will be offering support groups starting in February. This resource is designed for current and former targets of workplace bullying. Participants receive support and ideas from fellow group members, as well as expert advice from Jessi on how to address specific bullying situations and cope with the aftermath of being targeted. Groups will be held at Jessi's private practice in North Seattle. If you're interested, please email Jessi Eden Brown to find out more.

Tags: Bully at Work, counseling, Jessi Eden Brown, PTSD, support group, therapist, therapy, workplace bullying
Posted in Products & Services, Target Tale, Tutorials About Bullying | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment () »

Support Group for Targets Forming in Seattle

Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

WBI's Administrator and licensed mental health counselor, Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, LPC, NCC is forming a support group for targets of workplace bullying. Jessi's private practice is located in the North Seattle area. If you're interested, please email Jessi Brown to find out more.

Tags: bullying, eden therapy, Jessi Eden Brown, PTSD, stress, therapy
Posted in Freedom Week, Products & Services, Tutorials About Bullying | 1 Archived Comment | Post A Comment () »

Workplace Bullying Strains Relationships

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

by Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, LPC

A recent online poll conducted on the Workplace Bullying Institute's website supported the common sense argument that workplace bullying strains the target's primary relationship at home.

Tags: coaching, Jessi Eden Brown, relationship advice, self help, stress, therapy, tutorial
Posted in Tutorials About Bullying | 2 Archived Comments | Post A Comment () »