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The  Cyber-­‐‑Bullying  Epidemic LCA 2015 Pre-Conference

September 26, 2015 Kellie Giorgio Camelford, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC

Thrive Counseling Center LLC

Agenda •  Quiz on Cyberbullying •  Knowledge: o Define CyberBullying o Statistics on CyberBullying o Famous Court Cases & Laws in LA

•  Resources: o School Counseling o Individual Therapy

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Knowledge What is Cyberbullying?

Statistics of Cyberbullying Amendments & Court Cases

Laws in Louisiana

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Cyberbullying  Quiz

Defining  Cyberbullying •  “A situation in which someone

intentionally and repeatedly harasses, makes fun of, or mistreats another person on social media sites, through text messages, or in other ways online” o  Intentional o  Harmful o  Repeated o  Online or electronic

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Bullying  vs.  Cyber-­‐‑bullying

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Warning  Signs  of  Cyberbullying

•  Victims: o Anxiety when email, IM, tweet appears o Appears upset after electronic usage o Withdrawn

•  Offenders: o Hides of closes computer screen from others o Displays excessive laughter while using electronic

devices o Does not want to discuss electronic usage

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Risk  Factors  of  Cyberbullying

•  High internet or cell phone use •  Sharing passwords •  Reduced face-to-face interactions •  Bullied at school •  Verbal / physical agression at school

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Effects  of  Cyberbullying •  Use alcohol and drugs •  Skip school •  Experience in-person bullying •  Unwilling to attend school •  Receive poor grades •  Lower self-esteem •  Depression •  Anxiety •  Suicidal thoughts

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Statistics •  Approximately 34% of students report

experiencing cyberbullying in their lifetimes •  Mean or hurtful comments (12.8%) and Rumor

spreading (19.4%) are the most commonly cited forms of cyberbullying.

•  Adolescent girls are significantly more likely to have experienced cyberbullying (40.6% v. 28.2%)

•  72% of participants, ages 12-17, claimed they knew who was doing the cyberbullying

•  17% of students admitted to researchers that they had cyberbullied someone else

Cyberbullying  and  Laws •  Many laws require public schools to

develop policies prohibiting cyberbullying and cyberharassment

•  Some laws authorize discipline ranging from suspension to expulsion

•  Other laws require reporting incidents to law enforcement officials

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Amendments  &  Cyberbullying

•  First Amendment o  Freedom of speech o Doesn’t give the right to threaten, harass, or

intimidate someone

•  Fourth Amendment o  Unreasonable searches and seizures o  Probable cause o  Educators don’t have to follow all the same rules

that police do

Federal  Laws •  Protecting Children in the 21st Century

Act (also known as the Broadband Data Improvement Act)

•  Communications Decency Act •  Interstate Communications Law •  All speech is not protected: lewd and

obscene speech, speech that is profane, libelous speech, and insulting or fighting words

Cyberbullying  in  Louisiana •  Cyberbullying can be charged under

the state cyberbullying law when a bully (the defendant) uses an electronic device (such as a cell phone or a computer) to send a written, spoken, or visual communication to someone younger than 18 years old with the intent to abuse, scare, or intimidate that person. (14 La. Stat. Ann. § 40.7.)

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Cyberbullying  in  Louisiana •  More serious instances of cyberbullying

can be charged as stalking if the defendant’s behavior included two or more harassing actions that would have made a reasonable person feel alarmed or emotionally distressed. And more serious penalties apply to offenses that cause the victim to fear bodily injury or death, or when the victim was younger than 18 years old. (14 La. Stat. Ann. § 40.2.)

Cyberbullying  in  Louisiana •  Cyberbullying may also be prosecuted

under Louisiana’s cyberstalking law. This occurs when the offensive behavior occurred in an electronic format to threaten bodily harm upon the victim (or a victim’s family member), to extort money from the victim, repeatedly communicate for the purposes of harassing the victim, and other similar specified actions. (14 La. Stat. Ann. § 40.3.)

Civil  Lawsuits •  The consequences of cyberbullying depend heavily

on the circumstances of the offense. 

•  Sometimes an incident may be settled under school policy, but more serious cases often land in criminal court.

•  A victim may sometimes bring a civil action against a bully for the emotional, social, or financial harm caused by cyberbullying. In civil court, a judge may award money damages to be paid to the victim, for example to offset the cost of therapy for the emotional trauma that the bully caused the victim, or to pay for property damage caused by the crime.

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GeWing  Teens  to  Rethink  Cyberbullying

•  According to ikeepsafe.org, teens might understand the impact of a nasty text message upon its recipient, the part of their brain that should be warning… “Don’t hit send” isn’t fully operational yet

•  Adolescent brain is like a car with a fully functioning gas pedal (the reward system) but weak brakes (prefrontal cortex).

•  We can’t make adolescents’ brains mature faster, so we need to consider being proactive rather than reactive

Break 15 minutes

Resources School Counseling

Individual Counseling

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Solutions

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•  Decision Making Skills •  Proactive, “THINK BEFORE YOU POST”

•  Educate •  Don’t Stay Silent •  Don’t Respond •  Report Cyberbullying •  Tell an adult •  Unfriend / block

Cyberbullying  Prevention  Tips  for  Schools

•  Assess cyberbullying at your institution •  Create a team •  Educate the community •  Establish policies •  Promote online safety •  Encourage reporting •  Set an example •  Peer mentoring •  Be vigilant

Student  Activities •  Book Club

o  Words Wound

•  Anti-Bullying Week with Anti-Cyberbullying Day •  Poetry/ Art/ Short Story Competitions •  Peer Mentors •  Support Group •  Group Guidance

o  Case studies / Skits o  Videos o  Common Sense Toolkit

•  Friday Night Lights Clips

•  Blended Curriculum o  Cyberbullying: Effects on Teens

Across the Nation (Social Studies and Language Arts)

•  Group Discussion o  See next slides for questions

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Discussion  Questions  for  Students

•  How do you define cyberbullying? •  What are the consequences of cyberbullying? •  Do you know someone who has been targeted? If

so, how did it make that person feel? •  Why do you think adults have an inaccurate

perception of the amount of cyberbullying going on?

•  Who do you turn to when you need help? •  What could the people in your life do to make it

more likely that you would turn to them if you were being cyberbullied?

Discussion  Questions  for  Students

•  What are effective ways to respond to cyberbullying?

•  How would you respond to a friend who confides in you that she is being cyberbullied?

•  What have you done when you’ve seen cyberbullying occur?

•  Why do you think people don’t report cyberbullying?

•  Have you every posted something when you were angry or upset? What happened? What could you have done instead of angry posting?

•  At what point does a comment cross the line into being hurtful?

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Helpful  Apps  /  Software

ReThink: hWp://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/app-­‐‑rethink-­‐‑prevent-­‐‑cyberbullying-­‐‑33329216 www.rethinkwords.com

Intervention  Methods •  Immediately responding when cyberbullying

takes place •  Saving evidence •  Assessing the problem •  Determining consequences •  Reporting to the police harmful online speech,

harassment, stalking, or violent threats •  Informing the perpetrator’s family to establish

consistency in home and school expectations

Intervention  Methods

•  Providing social skills to perpetrators

•  Informing mental health professionals to assist the victims and their families in coping with the incident

•  Meet with families of those involved

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Individual  Counseling  Interventions

•  Journaling •  Report it •  Assess underlying issues •  Self harm and / or suicide assessment

•  General Counseling •  Help the victim cope with the trauma

of cyberbullying •  Rehabilitate the cyberbully

•  Group Counseling

Individual  Counseling  Interventions

•  Solution-focused approach: •  Identify emotions /

problems •  Miracle question •  Synthesize / educate •  Instill coping strategies /

strengths / exceptions •  Offer feedback

•  Psycho-ed / Teach skills: •  Impulse control •  Anger management skills •  Feelings expression •  Assertiveness skills •  Socialization skills •  Improving self-concept •  Stages of grief: denial,

anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance

Counseling  Activities •  Color/Depict Your Emotions •  Home, School, Online •  Use markers/ colors/ collages to describe

how you feel at each location •  Word Play: Power, Revenge, Attention,

Inadequacy •  Have client define these words •  Match earlier activity to these 4 words

•  Crucial C’s: •  Courage •  Count •  Capable •  Connected

Source:  hWps://www.counseling.org/docs/default-­‐‑source/vistas/empowering-­‐‑cyberbullied-­‐‑youth-­‐‑a-­‐‑solution-­‐‑focused-­‐‑adlerian-­‐‑counseling-­‐‑model.pdf?sfvrsn=4

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Parent  Tips •  Save the evidence •  Block offending email addresses and

cell phone numbers •  Change child’s email address or cell

number •  Report to school

and police, if necessary •  Report to email services,

internet providers, websites, social media, etc.

Resources    Handout

Discussion    &    

Q  and  A

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Thank  You •  KELLIE GIORGIO CAMELFORD, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC

THRIVE COUNSELING CENTER LLC 6660 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, SUITE 202 METAIRIE, LA 70003 504-390-9538 KCAMELFORD@THRIVECOUNSELINGCENTERLLC.COM WWW.THRIVECOUNSELINGCENTERLLC.COM