Running Head: GROUP COUNSELING APPROACH to BULLYING in JAPANESE 1 CULTURE

Running head: GROUP COUNSELING APPROACH TO BULLYING IN JAPANESE 1

CULTURE

Group Counseling Approach to Bullying in Japanese Culture

Rebecca Logue

Lamar University

Department of Counseling and Special Populations

CNDV 5312

Michelle Perepiczka, PhD

August 4, 2012 Bullying in Japanese Culture 2

Group Counseling Approach to Bullying in Japanese Culture

Bullying is an increasing problem worldwide and schools in many countries are making attempts to reduce bullying (Hall, 2006). Bullying has increased to such an extent in Japan that the Education for Rebuilding Council of Japan is urging school administrators to take action against bullying (BBC, 2006). Ijime, the term closest to bullying in Japan, has been linked to an increasing number of suicides in Japan (Kanetsuna, Smith, & Morita, 2006) and it is the second highest cause of death in youths aged 15-24 with the suicide rate higher in males than females

(Hidaka, Operario, Takenaka, Omori, Ichikawa, & Shirasaka, 2008). Identified factors that contributed to suicide ideation were identified as LGBT sexuality, being bullied at school, history of drug use, unwanted sex, and low self-esteem (Hidaka et al., 2008). It is apparent that although these factors are not necessarily related, interrelation is a definite possibility. Since school bullying has been identified with attempted suicide, interventions aimed at the prevention of bullying are indicated (Hidaka et al., 2008). Additional information implies that students who are victims of bullying may turn to aggressive behavior themselves. Many students who have brought weapons to school have indicated that it was because they felt threatened (Bossenmeyer,

2012) while other students may exhibit low self-esteem, depression, and lowered academic achievement (Hall, 2006).

Background

Type of Group

Japanese culture includes traditions that foster respect for elders, emphasizing the importance of family and social relationships (Kanetsuna et al., 2006). The sempai-kohai relationship is one of those traditions. The sempai is the older, more experienced member of the relationship, while the kohai is the novice or trainee (White, 2009). This relationship, at its best, Bullying in Japanese Culture 3 is that of a mentorship where the older member is not only responsible for the training of the kohai, but a deeper and more personal relationship is implied. However, this same relationship, at its worst, can be used to justify abuse and torment to younger students. This proposal is aimed to foster a sempai-kohai relationship where older students are involved in a caring relationship that will enhance their own growth as well as nurture their classmates.

Literature Review

Features of Bullying and Ijime. Many of the features of bullying are the same across cultures. It may take the form of physical abuse, verbal attacks, or taunting. Bullying is also accomplished by social exclusion or rumor spreading with cyber-bullying becoming an increasing trend. Ijime is a more indirect form of aggression characterized by actions that will cause psychological harm more frequently than physical (Kanetsuna et al., 2006). Both ijime and bullying are group phenomenon with specific roles in the event. Along with the main roles of the bully and the victim, there are also supporting roles, such as an assistant to the bully who does not initiate the bullying but may join in, or a reinforcer who encourages the behavior by laughing or making comments that support the bully. On the victim’s side, there may be a defender who tries to help the victim, but there are invariably bystanders who do nothing but watch helplessly (Bauman, 2010).

Victim’s Point of View. Studies indicate that a great deal of victims do not report bullying incidents to their parents or their teachers (Kanetsuna et al., 2006). Reasons cited for not seeking adult help were lack of trust in the adults and a fear of reprisals from the bully.

Furthermore, Japanese students feel that their teachers have little awareness that the ijime is taking place (Kanetsuna et al., 2006). Repeated bullying and the psychological damage that accompanies it is further aggravated by the embarrassment and disgrace that accompany mental Bullying in Japanese Culture 4 health issues in Japan (Hidaka et al., 2008). When the victims do tell their parents, the parents report that they are without recourse to help their children. Reasons cited for parental distress include fear of reprisals against their child, and lack of action on the part of the school (Young,

1998). The lack of trust towards teachers and the lack of support from schools indicate that many schools need to work on their approaches to solving their bullying problem.

Bystander’s Point of View. Most bullying events take place in front of witnesses

(Bauman, 2010; Bullying Prevention, 2012) and surveys indicate that victims and bystanders alike feel that the observers should do something to intervene (Kanetsuna et al, 2006). The reasons they report for not intervening include fear of becoming victims to the bully themselves and the lack of intervention strategies. Japanese students responded in a survey that they felt that bystanders who support the victims can be effective in stopping ijime events (Kanetsuna et al,

2006). Young (1998) lists times when bystanders are more likely to lend support including agreeing to the support in advance of an event, knowing when action needs to be taken, knowing that they have an individual responsibility, and knowing what to do. Other methods for increasing intervention in bullying episodes are teaching students what bullying can look like in its many forms, teaching students how to intervene, and empowering them by creating a nurturing environment for all students (Bullying Prevention, 2012).

Intervention Implications. Interventions that focus on the behavior of the bully, such as zero tolerance policies, group therapy for the offenders, and conflict resolution have not proven to be effective (Bauman, 2010; Bossenmeyer, 2012). In fact, for some students, reprimands are actually rewards for their misbehavior (Young, 1998). “The group nature of bullying suggests that solutions to this problem should have a group focus” (Bauman, 2010). Group counseling is supported by the research to be effective and is now being accepted as an appropriate method Bullying in Japanese Culture 5 worldwide (Stockton, 2010). Kanetsuna et al. (2006) recommends that schools work to change the perception of non-support on the part of the teachers and the schools to one of trust where victims and bystanders know that they will find assistance.

Some components of interventions that work are those that are school wide where everyone believes in the importance of the action, staff and student training, program support is continuous, and the results are assessed through anonymous surveys (Peaceful Playgrounds,

2012). The support group approach to bullying satisfies these components and more in that there are no sanctions against bullying, thus depriving them of a reward for misbehavior, the school will be seen as doing something positive towards supporting victims and bystanders, students and teachers work together to solve the problem, and through its emphasis as a leadership program, the program can be continuous. The support group approach used in conjunction with the sempai-kohai relationship can change destructive relationships to constructive relationships by empowering bystanders and by increasing the self-esteem of the bully in a positive way.

Specialization of Group

This intervention will be a modified support group approach in the form of a psychoeducational group that trains older students in leadership skills and empathy who will in turn lead others with supervision by adults. Adolescents are sometimes put into leadership roles before they are sufficiently mature to fulfill the position properly, but the group context can allow for growth and an adaption of values that are beneficial for the individuals and the group members alike (Gladding, 2012). The intent of this group is to modify existing perceptions of the sempai-kohai relationship from that of ijime to that of a mentorship through education and skills training. Students who find status through ijime or bullying can learn new skills and feel a new status through a benevolent relationship. Although the purpose of this intervention is that of Bullying in Japanese Culture 6 a counseling group, it will be presented as psychoeducational in order to not provide the perpetrators with any reinforcement of their past behaviors.

Six Session Form and Content

Here you will write about the sessions you have created. You may use bullets of subtopic areas or content for each session, but be sure to explain the focus of the sessions. You may plan to have more than six group session, but do not need to explain the subtopic areas of more than six.

Group Logistics

Duration of Group

Groups should meet weekly for the first two to three months for sessions of 60-90 minutes each. Weekly sessions are encouraged at the beginning of the school year to set the tone in a positive manner for the rest of the year. It is encouraged for groups to meet monthly after the initial two months in order to provide continuous program support by continued instruction in leadership skills and the importance of empathy.

Participants

Participants in these groups will be all grade 11 and 12 students. This school is only grade 10-12 with the grade 10 students being the recipients of the ijime. It is desirous that all upperclassmen participate in order to provide education on the differences of leadership and bullying, provide bystanders with information and tools to recognize ijime and how to combat it, and to promote a tradition of the sempai-kohai relationship in a benevolent sense. Although mixed genders are possible, they are not recommended in this instance because group members may speak more freely in single sex groups, and most of the ijime is taking place in the single Bullying in Japanese Culture 7 sex dormitories. Each group should have 7-10 members in order to provide each member with opportunities to contribute. It is suggested that each group have only one student who is suspected of ijime and that the person(s) who are suspected of being the assistant to the bully are in separate groups.

Anticipated Changes

Students who undergo this leadership training program will increase their skills of empathy. They will understand the attributes of leadership and the characteristics of bullying.

Students will also have an increased sense of social awareness and of the importance of their contribution to the school community. In addition to knowledge, students will have had opportunities to practice these skills and to apply them outside of the group.

Potential Obstacles

Potential obstacles include administrators and faculty who do not support the program.

Those persons who do not recognize a problem or who do not believe in the good intentions of all of the students involved will undermine the program through their lack of support. Other obstacles include taking the use of study hall or activity time for this intervention. In addition to these obstacles, some students may be reluctant to participate while others may form subgroups.

Group Leadership, Theory, and Techniques

Theoretical Orientation

The theoretical orientation of this group will be Adlerian. Although the group is being presented as psychoeducational, it will have as its focus reorientation of perceptions and behaviors. Adler believed that all behavior disorders are based on the inability to make wise decisions (Gladding, 2012) and the purpose of this intervention is to provide choices that will Bullying in Japanese Culture 8 improve the style of life by eliminating the feeling of inferiority and the need to achieve superiority (Gladding, 2012).

Strengths and limitations of the theory. The strength of this theory is that it is educational in nature and nonjudgmental. The democratic approach to group discussion and decisions will allow all members to feel included and to take ownership in the outcomes. The holistic approach to teaching students to identify the traits of leadership versus the characteristics of ijime, and the opportunity to practice those skills is an added benefit to this theory. The limitations of this theory are the lack of clear procedures for the group leaders. This may result in a lack of consistency between the groups.

My Personal Leadership

My philosophy of leadership is simple: other people depend on me, I need to depend on other people, and from time to time, we all need help. As a leader, I need to provide encouragement, collaborate with others, and do whatever I can to enable others to develop and grow. I need to have the big picture, but the end product requires that we work together. It is when we work together that we allow for growth for each individual. We each have our individual strengths and weaknesses, but by working together, we are stronger and more vibrantly alive. The famous cellist, Pablo Casals, described this philosophy when he said, “We ought to think that we are one of the leaves of a tree and the tree is all humanity. We cannot live without the others, without the tree.”

This philosophy of leadership involves both intrapersonal and interpersonal styles. The thoughts, feelings, and actions of each of the individual members of a group have an effect on the group itself. How the individuals relate to each other has an effect on the group. Therefore, there is a constant flow and interaction between the individual’s inner reactions and the Bullying in Japanese Culture 9 individual’s reactions with the group. The group leader’s primary focus is on the group interaction with a constant awareness of each member’s introspections. The two cannot be separated, nor can one be ignored (Gladding, 2012).

Strengths. The conflict management strategies that I prefer are those of suppression, integration of conflicting ideas, and working out a compromise. I prefer these techniques because they can allow all group members to maintain dignity and then allow the group to move on. Suppression is the most difficult of these techniques to manage, but if I can do so with humor, a difficult moment will not have a negative effect on the group atmosphere.

The integration of conflicting ideas and the ability to work out compromises are also preferred because they allow for all parties to contribute to solutions. These techniques sometimes require more creativity, but the students themselves are frequently the ones to arrive at the best solutions.

Challenges. The strategy that I try to avoid is using the power of position to resolve conflicts. This can easily escalate into a power struggle, which is usually a situation where none of the parties involved feels vindicated. I have had to use this method, but I have never felt that it was the best way to have handled the situation. It is the method that I use when I have difficulty thinking on my feet and I have no other resource. In these situations, I try to modify the scenario immediately and mitigate the damage to the classroom aura by injecting a little humor. It is amazing how a little shared laughter will diffuse a tense situation and allow the group to get back to work.

Leader vs. Co-Leader

This intervention is intended for a Japanese boarding school. Although the language of instruction is English, the majority of the students are native Japanese speakers with varying Bullying in Japanese Culture 10 degrees of English acquisition. For this purpose, it is recommended that the group have two leaders, one who has been trained in counseling and the other who is a fluent Japanese speaker.

Evaluation of the Group

It is suggested that a survey be administered before the intervention takes place in order to set the standard to measure the intervention effectiveness. Survey questions may include, but are not limited to: During this month, have you felt that the older students were helpful? During this month, have you felt that you were welcome at this school? During this month, how many times have you observed ijime through intimidation, social exclusion, taunting, or social networking? During this month, do you feel that you have experienced ijime? If you have witnessed ijime, did you report it or did you try to stop it? Monthly anonymous surveys should be conducted throughout the school year. In addition to the surveys to assess community perceptions, the leadership groups should continue to meet on a monthly basis to assess and reassess attitudes of group members. Bullying in Japanese Culture 11

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