Helpful aspects of counselling for young people who have experienced bullying: A thematic analysis

CREST Seminar, by Krystal-Jane Versammy, 31st March 2021

Over the last decade, there has been a growing appreciation of clients’ perspectives on counselling. Traditionally, it has been the counsellor’s perspective that has informed our understanding of counselling processes; however, clients’ perspective is seen as valuable and worthy of investigation. Studies have also looked at young people’s experiences of counselling. However, these have tended to focus on young people’s counselling experiences for general issues, and not for more specific challenges such as bullying. Research, within the UK suggests that bullying is one of the most common presenting issues for young people accessing school-and-community based counselling services. However, few studies have explored their experiences.

This study was an initial exploration of what was helpful in therapy for young people who were bullied. The study was completed under the guidance of Professor Mick Cooper at the University of Roehampton. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants. Interviews were analyzed thematically. Themes were organized to reflect clients’ experiences of helpful and unhelpful factors in therapy for bullying. The findings and implications for clinical practice will be discussed and explored.

Krystal-Jane Verasammy is a Trinidadian who studied her Master’s degree in Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Durham in the UK. She gained research experience on the developmental impact of adverse childhood experiences on children and young people. Upon returning to Trinidad and Tobago, she found her vocation while working with high-risk youth at the Probation Services and on a national Anti-Bullying Campaign with the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development. With this experience she went on to study Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton. She chose to do a dissertation on a topic that reflected her newly found passion: clients’ experiences of therapy and process outcome, with specific focus on young people who were bullied. Currently, she is the Founder, Managing Director and Lead Counselling Psychologist of Therapeutic Spaces Counselling and Psychotherapy Ltd in Trinidad and Tobago. She adopts a pluralistic approach, that is, a wide range of therapeutic interventions may be helpful with no, one orientation holding the ‘truth’. Her research interest is clients’ experiences of therapy for mood disorders such as anxiety and depression within the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago.