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Tra A. Ahia, Ph.D., is recognized as a nationally profound published author, consultant, lecturer, and advocate for LGBTQ youth. Dr. Ahia is a consultant that conducts lectures, trainings, live video chats, and teleconferences to integrate her work in various settings, schools, healthcare agencies, and behavioral health fields. Her work for the past 35+ years includes owning and operating an outpatient clinic in New Jersey and Arizona. She has created and implemented several therapy groups that include HIV, substance addiction, family and youth. Also, two specialized training programs of healing called Transforming Individuals with Care (TIC) and the Family Improvement Training (FIT) program. Unlike traditional methods, TIC training program meets each client where they are and empowers each individual according to their emotional, physical, mental, spiritual position in the universe, while working to transform each individuals’ thoughts, beliefs and experiences that was associated with the motivating force that lead them down a path of destruction, confusion and addiction.
Dr. Ahia has instructed at Estrella Mountain Community College, and Essex County Community College, United States University and University of Phoenix. She is a member of the Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Advisory Council, Scholarship Collaboration Committee, the Human Rights Council, American Counseling Association, Epidemiology and Prevention of Public Health, the Arizona Association of School Psychologist, American Mental Health Counselors Association.
SESSIONS
The Psychological Trauma of a Bully
Bullying creates and fosters an overwhelming environment of disrespect and fear that has the ability to impair the behavioral, educational, physiological, psychological, physical, and social emotional progress, and can impede the student’s ability to achieve academic success. Much of the current research explores the act of bullying, preventive strategies and measures that include changes in school policies, teacher, student, school staff and parent awareness training after the act has occurred. Additionally, it is well accepted that there is a need to address and explore bullying characteristics in an attempt to reduce the emotional harm that can persist over a lifetime. Interestingly, limited research is available that explores the trauma that the bully may have had to endure. This presentation aims to examine the association between childhood trauma’s and maltreatment (emotional, physical and psychological neglect and abuse), familial relations and children’s propensity to bully.Increasing our understanding of the factors that influence and perpetuate bullying behaviors is particularly important in keeping students and schools safe. Traumatic psychological, environmental, and physical experiences endured in early childhood can create bullying behaviors that manifest in late childhood and early adolescence. What are parents, educators, stake holders and academic environments doing to recognize, address, and support students that present bullying characteristics and behaviors. In this discussion we will look at ways to recognize and address bullying behaviors and characteristics and strategies to reduce the behavior on school campus’.
Learning Objectives
- Identify traumatic psychological, emotional, environmental and physical factors that perpetuate bullying behaviors and characteristics in children.
- Understand evidenced based measures to mitigate and reduce student’s potential to bully.
- Improve staff and students understanding of the importance of preventing bullying in an effort to improve campus safety.
- Understanding the importance of preventative and intervention measures for responding to students who exhibit bullying behaviors.
Participant Outcomes
- Attendees will prepare ways (policies, teams, procedures, manuals) to engage and identify high risk students.
- Attendees will be able to create a plan to mitigate and reduce student’s potential to bully peers
- Attendees will be able to develop and implement a plan to mitigate and reduce student’s potential to bully peers.