Children who bully : a school-based intervention using cognitive-behavioural art therapy

The following theoretical and clinical investigation explores the therapeutic potentialities of a cognitive-behavioural art therapeutic intervention and treatment within an elementary school with a child who shows bullying behaviours towards his peers. Bullying has become a serious problem found within schools and therefore, has led many schools to start implementing intervention programs to address these problems. Ma (2001) noted that there is a strong relationship between bullying in the school and future violence in the community. Consequently, if bullying is a common problem in elementary schools, it should not be overlooked on the belief that children will grow out of it. Therefore, early assessments and interventions into the bullying cycle may help prevent the development of antisocial behaviours in children who bully and potentially reduce the emotional trauma associated with being a victim. The purpose of the present study was to show how using a cognitive-behavioural based art therapy approach can help a young boy who had been identified as a school bully, to understand the nature of his bullying behaviour, identify his maladaptive assumptions and eventually evaluate and modify his thinking strategies. Given that cognitive-behavioural therapy is an approach that involves collaboration between client and therapist, the student was involved in tracking, verbalizing and recording negative thoughts through both mental and visual imagery by allowing the student to input and design creative activities to support and enhance behavioural chang