Manager of relationship services at Interrelate in Lismore, Thea Keane, said bullying could be defined as ‘any instance where someone intimidates or hurts another person or a group of people’.

The Northern Star

THEA KEANE knows more than most about the long-term impact schoolyard bullying can have on a person.

Thea, manager of relationship services at Lismore's Interrelate Family Centre, was bullied when she was at school.

“I felt very isolated, I felt alone and I felt that no one understood me,” she said.

“The experience of bullying has a big impact on you for many years.”

But Ms Keane's experiences have helped her to better understand the families and children she now assists through her work.

Building self-esteem is the key to healing the scars of bullying, whether it occurs at home, in the workplace, or at school, she said.

“When I'm working with kids who are being bullied, or have been bullied, it's working on their own self-esteem,” Ms Keane said.

The Australian culture of self-deprecation discourages people from liking themselves, particularly in the self-conscious adolescent school environment, she said.

“No one's really going to say they like themselves. The Aussie culture is it's easier to say 'I'm a loser'.”

The Interrelate Family Centre offers counselling to families struggling to keep it together, mediates in custody disputes, and organises sex education in schools.

Ms Keane said some young victims of bullying were bombarded from all sides.

“They're getting it from all angles,” she said. “I've seen some kids who get no time out.”

Others learned to bully from experiences. “They're often learning that from within the home,” she said.

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