Archives

Workplace Harassment: Leanne’s Case Study

The following case study is based loosely around a real story but the people and the circumstances are fictional. Leanne is a 48 year old woman who is one of two product managers in a major computer parts facility. Leanne has excellent qualifications and experience as a manager in the computer sales industry. However she […]

Workplace Bullying: Ineffective Responses

Defining ineffective options is really difficult because there is not a lot of research evidence to guide people about what are effective and ineffective responses to workplace harassment and bullying in context (Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000: 35). Obviously becoming mentally ill and suicidal should be considered as ineffective responses and a […]

Graduate Story: Louise Gourley

AIPC Graduate Louise Gourley shares her story… “The six million dollar question when you’re doing this course (Diploma of Professional Counselling) is – will it lead to a paying job and how will I get one. Actually, that’s two questions, but you get the picture. I think just about every conversation I had with fellow […]

Bullying and Your Health

According to Field ([2002-2004, Web site (accessed 21/08/06): www.bullyonline.org/workbully/amibeing.htm): ‘Bullying causes injury to health and makes you ill. How many of these symptoms do you have? Constant high levels of stress and anxiety Frequent illness such as viral infections especially flu and glandular fever, colds, coughs, chest, ear, nose and throat infections (stress plays havoc with […]

Bullying Behaviours

Let’s identify some key elements of a bully in the following list, adapted from Witheridge’s (2001: 4) outline of open versus hidden bullying. Open Bullying Behaviours Physical violence Shouting or swearing at someone in public or private Instant rages over trivial matter Humiliating someone in front of colleagues Ignoring or isolating someone in public deliberately […]

Why Do People Harass and Bully?

Brinkman and Kirshner (2003: 7) argue that depending upon goals and intentions of people in an organisation for example certain personality characteristics and behaviours emerge depending upon what a task may entail. They claim that there are 4 intentions that people use in their lives in order to function in undertaking tasks. They include: Get […]

What is Bullying Then?

Source: www.bullyonline.org/workbully/amibeing.htm “Constant nit-picking, fault-finding and criticism of a trivial nature – the triviality, regularity and frequency betray bullying; often there is a grain of truth (but only a grain) in the criticism to fool you into believing the criticism has validity, which it does not; often, the criticism is based on distortion, misrepresentation or fabrication. […]

Series: Coping with Workplace Harassment

“Bullying is a compulsive need to displace aggression and is achieved by the expression of inadequacy (social, personal, interpersonal, behavioural, professional) by projection of that inadequacy onto others through control and subjugation (criticism, exclusion, isolation etc). Bullying is sustained by abdication of responsibility (denial, counter-accusation, pretence of victimhood) and perpetuated by a climate of fear, […]

Infidelity: Making a Decision

As discussed earlier, one of three events occur after the discovery of an affair. For some, nothing changes in the relationship and the affair is either ignored, denied, repeated, or continued. The affair can unfortunately also end a relationship depending on the intensity and length of the affair and the values of the parties involved. […]

Counselling Dilemma: A Multicultural Issue in a Relationship

An Asian couple has been referred to a counsellor for marriage guidance. The impact of migrating to Australia has taken its toll on their relationship. In the session, the husband seems quite controlled and reserved, whereas the wife cries often but says little. The counsellor is a novice in the area of multicultural difference, but […]

Infidelity: Getting Through It

Have you had to deal with infidelity? How did you cope? This post is directed to those who are facing such situation or still suffer from a past instance. It is a personal and up-close perspective aiming to support those in need. Others can use this information as reference to help a friend, or to […]

Inside Love

“Love is many things: the protective love of a mother for her child, the passion of a couple newly in love, the deep love of long-term companions and the divine love of God, to name just a few. Some cultures have 10 or more words for different forms of love, and poets and songwriters always […]

Infidelity: Stages of Grief

The loss resulting from infidelity is often followed by grief. This grief can be commonly divided into 5 stages. Denial On discovery of the affair, there is an initial period of shock and maybe denial. This may include making excuses for the betrayer or believing only what you want to hear. This is a perfectly […]

Graduate Story: Maureen Williams

AIPC Graduate Maureen Williams shares her story… “I graduated as a counsellor with AIPC after 3 years study. I had always been intrigued by the concept of a counsellor as a helper of people, and I found that university studies did not suit my timeframe and were not very user friendly. At age 48 I […]