Study suggests therapy can reshape painful bullying memories

A review involving an Estonian researcher suggests that imagery-based rescripting may help people change the impact of painful bullying memories, with early findings indicating an effect similar to cognitive behavioural therapy. ERR reported the findings.

Bullying can take place at school, at home or in the workplace, and its effects may emerge years later as depression or anxiety. In some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder can develop soon after the experience, said Gerly Tamm, an associate professor of psychology at Tallinn University.

Bullying can be physical or social. It may involve direct verbal or physical attacks, or exclusion from a group or workplace. People do not always recognise at the time that they are being bullied, Tamm said, but the experience can still leave a distressing memory.

For the review, Tamm and colleagues in Belgium examined 24 studies of cognitive behavioural therapy and eight studies of memory reappraisal and rescripting. The initial findings suggest that imagery-based rescripting has an effect similar to, and possibly comparable with, cognitive behavioural therapy.

The researchers focused specifically on bullying experienced during childhood at school, in the family and in extracurricular activities. Tamm said past experiences can shape people’s attitudes towards situations and institutions, and that recalling a memory can create an opportunity for it to be encoded again with small changes.

She said therapists could consider imagery-based rescripting as an initial approach for people affected by bullying.