What is the Support Group Method

To understand how the method works, it is probably easier to hear from someone who has had direct experience. The following is a real life case study.

View the seven-step approach

Stockdale Road Primary School
Australia

“Late last year I attended a Professional Development training day on the Support Group Method to Bullying. At the beginning of the day I became quite defensive as George and Barbara purposefully challenged us to think differently about our approach to dealing with bullying. As the day unfolded I began to agree with their premise that bullying (to an extent) is a normal part of human social behaviour. Any approach to dealing with it in schools should aim to stop bullying when it inevitably occurs, rather than to punish it.

Not surprisingly my first chance to use the method came on the following Monday when I got back to school. There was some ongoing victimization of a student in a group of friends.

I followed the method to the letter by first talking to the victim and finding out how she felt and what had happened to her. I asked her to draw or write down the way she felt, which she did very enthusiastically. I explained to her that I was not going to punish anyone, but that I would help to make the bullying stop.

I told her that I was going to talk to the bullies and would she mind if I showed them the drawing she had done. She said she was quite comfortable with me showing them one side of the page, but not the other. I assured her I would do as she requested.

At recess I met with the group responsible for the bullying, as well as two other girls that I had selected from the grade. I knew the latter were astute and had healthy social skills. I told the group that I needed some help to fix a problem for the victim. This is where things strayed from the videos we had seen on the PD day. As soon as I mentioned the victim’s name, the girls in the friendship group folded there arms, began to snarl and put their side of the story.

I had to restrain myself from retaliating on the victim’s behalf. Instead of defending her position, I made notes and said, “I will talk to her about that.” I then continued to emphasise that no one was being blamed. We needed to find ways to help the victim with her problem.

Then I showed the group the victim’s drawings. They touched a raw nerve. Instead of a guilty silence, the drawings drew floods of tears. Not for the victim’s pain, but for their own. Two of the bullies related directly to the feelings represented in the drawings.

I later held individual meetings with the children who were upset. They explained the extreme difficulties that they faced in their family lives. Both were themselves victims in conflict torn homes. I listened intently to their stories and counselled them as best I could. I offered on-going support and talked about ways of managing their feelings.

As things hadn’t gone completely to plan, I wondered how successful the outcomes would be.

To my surprise the victim and the perpetrators came to see me (separately) the following day with looks of relief and happiness on their faces. They expressed gratitude and appreciation for my help. The bullying stopped.”

Brian Strating
Assistant Principal and Welfare Coordinator
Gippsland, Australia

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