Aggressive Victim Group Intervention (Secondary School)
Introduction
In this section, the details of the aggressive victim group intervention are presented with real examples and videos. For better understanding, the progress of the group intervention will be divided into six stages over ten sessions: preparation, first meeting, initial stage, early mid-stage, late mid-stage and late stage.
Aggressive victims have experienced and witnessed violent incidents in the past, which have made them emotionally anxious. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a trusting relationship with aggressive victims and make them feel secure in the group.
Identify group members’ emotional and behavioural responses.
Help aggressive victims to recognise how they may easily become emotionally unstable and often respond thoughtlessly to others. Emphasise that these characteristics restrict their ability to respond appropriately to situations
Aggressive victims often struggle with rationalising their thoughts. Workers should use the concepts of ‘neurotic anxiety’, ‘realistic anxiety’ and ‘moral anxiety’ to explore how group members attribute, interpret and respond to events, as this will assist group members’ understanding of their irrational thought-patterns.
Use bullying situations commonly experienced by aggressive victims to facilitate the discussion. Assist group members to observe how they interpret the events, and how their beliefs affect their emotional and behavioural responses, to help them identify their irrational beliefs.
Introduce the concepts of overgeneralising, black-and-white thinking and magnifying (the negatives) and minimising (the positives). Help group members to identify the unreasonableness of their irrational beliefs.
Workers should challenge the irrational beliefs that are often held by aggressive victims, such as ‘I have to have someone I respect to love and praise me’, ‘Bullies and bad people must be severely punished’, and ‘I must show that I am competent, otherwise I will be looked down upon and become worthless’.
Formulate new and effective rational beliefs with a new set of emotional and behavioural responses.
Workers should help group members to construct a new and effective set of rational beliefs with a new set of emotional and behavioural responses through behavioural training and debating their irrational beliefs.
Aggressive victims have poor problem-solving skills. Assertiveness training can improve their interpersonal skills, which will enhance their confidence and ability to deal with adversities.
