In this section, the details of the pure 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.
Because pure victims are often over-protected, they feel anxious and insecure in a new environment. It is therefore crucial to establish a trusting relationship with pure victims to ensure they feel secure in the group setting.
Identify group members’ emotional and behavioural responses.
As pure victims feel inferior, it is important to establish a relaxed atmosphere in which members can express their emotions and behaviours and strengthen their sense of belonging to the group.
Distinguish group members’ patterns of attribution.
Pure victims often attribute the consequences of external events to themselves, thus it is important for group members to recognise such patterns of self-attribution.
Use common bullying situations that pure victims often experience to facilitate discussion and help members to understand the correlation between their beliefs, behavioural responses and emotional responses.
Debate group members’ irrational beliefs by discussing pure victims’ common irrational beliefs, such as, ‘I have to have one signi?cant other to love and praise me’, and ‘It’s always easier to run away from problems and responsibilities than to confront them’.
Because pure victims often avoid personal contact, their social skills are not fully developed. It is important to enhance their social skills, assertiveness and communication skills to enable them to re-establish personal contact with others.
