Adult bullying often hidden, yet devastating

Program aims to empower victims to deal with maltreatment at workplace

Bullying in the workplace can have deadly consequences.

An investigation by the Workers Compensation Board found Robert Duhaime’s employment with the Rural Municipality of Parkdale contributed to his mental health issues and eventual suicide.

The suicide underscores the serious effect of harassment and bullying among adults, said Aida Thorisdottir, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Regina.

“We should make sure that employees, or people working with us, are being treated in a fair manner and people are supporting each other in the workplace,” she said. “This tragic case really speaks to the need for more supports for adults who are being bullied.”

Research suggests nine to 40 per cent of adults are exposed to bullying in their workplace, she said.

“In talking with my participants, they say a lot of people are being bullied and they don’t have anywhere to turn to at the workplace in Saskatchewan,” she said.

Bullying is a large-scale problem that is not confined to youth.

As part of her doctoral dissertation, Thorisdottir has developed an online treatment for adults exposed to bullying, either as children or adolescents or, more recently, in their workplace.

People bullied early in life can suffer low self-esteem, have difficulty trusting people, problems with relationships and experience anxiety and depression.

Adults frequently experience profound shame and tend to blame themselves for not being able to stop the bullying.

“Bullying among adults is often a hidden problem,” Thorisdottir said.

Bullying takes more forms: Victims might be the butt of degrading jokes, humiliation, physical aggression or exclusion from the group.

“Bullying happens over time — it’s not like an isolated incident,” she said. “That’s why it’s so difficult for the victim.”

Psychological treatments usually focus on bullying symptoms, not the cause. However, Thorisdottir is using cognitive processing therapy to reverse the traumatic experience of being bullied.

“My treatment is the first of its kind and, with my project, I hope to increase the availability and accessibility of psychological support to victims of bullying,” she said.

Participants work at their own pace through 12 online lessons. Therapists check with them weekly to help them work through practice assignments so they can incorporate skills into daily life.

She thinks people might be hesitant to participate in the study because they’d prefer to forget horrible events and move on.

But when people don’t process the bullying and carry the belief that something is wrong with them, they’ll never feel equal and will find it hard to be intimate.

“By focusing on it as a trauma, we don’t push people to do something they’re not ready to do, and we do it in a gradual and supportive manner,” Thorisdottir said.

“A lot of people have found that they ’ve discovered something new about themselves going through this program.”

Thorisdottir moved from Iceland to work under the supervision of Gordon Asmundson at the UofR.

For more information about Thorisdottir’s study, visit facebook.com/bullying.research.