The practical class with elements of training, aimed at the prevention and counteraction of bullying (harassment) in the educational environment, as well as at the prevention of conflict situations in cadet collectives, was conducted by the department of psychological support of Dnipro State University of Internal Affairs.
The goal of the meeting was the mastering by first-year cadets of skills of recognition of signs of bullying, a clear algorithm of counteraction to it and familiarization with current changes in legislation regarding the prevention of violence and cruel treatment.
The cadets gained knowledge about the causes of bullying, and also examined the destructive psychological consequences of harassment for all participants of the collective and ways of effective response to manifestations of physical, verbal, social and cyber violence. Special attention was paid to unfavorable psychological qualities in educational groups, which provoke conflict situations and are capable of turning into cases of bullying. The participants of the class were also explained the procedure of application and consideration of applications about cases of bullying (harassment) at the university.
The main feature of the class is the use of elements of training, which give the opportunity not just to obtain theoretical knowledge, but also in practice to debunk myths, cognitive distortions and prejudices, which most often become the cause of the emergence of bullying or conflicts in any collectives, especially under conditions of increased emotional tension of wartime.
The cadets actively showed initiative: asked questions and shared their own thoughts. Particularly productive were the discussions about how to recognize the boundary between an ordinary conflict and harassment, why witnesses of bullying are just as important for its overcoming as the direct participants of the situation, and what steps each person can take not to remain aloof.
The initiator of the class – the head of the department of psychological support Serhii Vyshnevskyi emphasized that the practical significance of the conducted work lies in the formation in cadets of DSUIA of intolerance to violence and bullying (harassment), as well as in teaching methods of its prevention, recognition and counteraction.
The moderator of the event Vladyslav Bidniak noted that the key idea of the class was the understanding: bullying is a dangerous phenomenon that arises spontaneously and never stops on its own. This is a problem not of one person, but of the entire collective, because none of its participants remains protected from the negative consequences of such behavior even through long years after its cessation.
The acquired knowledge and skills help cadets build a healthy psychological climate in their own collective.
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