Bully-Proofing Youth

Much like a stray dog, students who bully others continue to target those who feed them. Bully-Proofing Youth will teach students, school staff, and parents exactly what those who bully look for in a victim, and how to specifically respond to “starve” bullying behavior.

Bully-Proofing Youth is a practical and effective bullying prevention program designed for students grades 1-12. It teaches what the students who target look for in those they pick on and how to stop giving those reactions. Through assemblies, workshops, and group trainings, therapist Jim Bisenius instructs students, teachers, and parents in ways to eliminate bullying behavior. Jim's presentations are delivered in an extremely entertaining and interactive manner using humor, drawings, story telling, and role-playing. This program offers unique techniques and tools that will benefit even schools where anti-bullying curriculum is already in place.

In summary, the training techniques taught during the Bully-Proofing Youth assemblies focus on helping victimized students retain their personal power and dignity through simple action steps that alter body language and control reactions to bullying. The Anonymous Peer Rating Tool quantifies both bully and victim behavior and can be used to measure changes in individuals, groups, or the entire student population throughout the school year. The staff workshop increases awareness of the underlying causes of bully and victim behavior, prepares teachers to handle situations without making them worse, teaches methods of restructuring the classrooms and buses, and teaches staff how to effectively interact with parents.