The Trauma Hiding in Plain Sight: Workplace Bullying, Treatment Considerations, and a Case Example of Recovery as Seen Through the Structure of the Expressive Therapies Continuum
February 08, 2025 / 9:15-11:15 AM Pacific Standard Time
Workplace bullying is relational violence and psychological terrorism
Targets of workplace bullying often seek therapy, yet therapists aren’t trained to understand the nuances of treating this kind of trauma
Learn how to help targets of workplace bullying and see a case example of recovery through the lens of the Expressive Therapies Continuum’s levels and components
This isn’t trauma treatment as usual
You’ve seen it before—a client comes to you in distress about what’s going on at work. They’re up against a truly mean person, and you do your best to be supportive with trauma treatment and conflict management-type suggestions. The client meets the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis…yet they’re not really post anything because the situation is ongoing, and you don’t know what to do.
You wish you knew how to help people better than the way you were helped
You know how to treat anxiety, depression, and trauma day in and day out. But clients in toxic work situations leave you hoping for resources that go beyond the ones you were given when you were the person getting beaten up on the job.
You’d go online and look for those resources if only you knew what to call them other than “resources for dealing with a problem person at work”. Still, your gut tells you there has to be something better out there.
I can help you understand the nuances of treating the trauma of workplace bullying
My name is Megan, and I help people understand the hidden trauma of workplace bullying. I was on the receiving end of it once myself, and I started volunteering with the National Workplace Bullying Coalition after I realized that “workplace bullying” is the name for what I went through.
I’m happy to share what I’ve learned with other therapists so they can help the clients who come to them due to work-related relational violence and psychological terrorism, and I even share images from my own recovery experience to help illustrate the process of integration. I use the structure of the Expressive Therapies Continuum, a nervous system-oriented framework, to highlight my journey through physical, emotional, and intellectual synthesis as a means of offering hope for therapists who are treating targets of workplace bullying—and may be targets of workplace bullying themselves.
Level up your approach to providing trauma treatment for people who are targets of workplace bullying
Do you want better skills for treating targets of work-related relational violence and psychological terrorism? Join me for a two-hour webinar that will leave you with the language to describe the traumatic phenomenon of workplace bullying and the resources to guide what you do with targets who come to you for help.
This trauma hides in plain sight through the normalization of aggression and power imbalances even at lateral levels. It’s more common than the mental health profession has acknowledged—and learning how to appropriately support the workplace bullying targets in your care will help you support your bullied colleagues as well.
Investment: $40.00 USD
Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to
define workplace bullying and differentiate it from harassment.
describe the characteristics of at least three (3) key players involved in workplace bullying.
explain at least three (3) tactics of workplace bullying.
identify at least three (3) actions mental health professionals can take to stand against workplace bullying.
list at least three (3) resources for supporting targets, bullies, and/or therapists who work with them.
name at least three (3) considerations for addressing workplace bullying in trauma treatment.
specify the types of information processing associated with each of the Expressive Therapies Continuum’s three (3) levels.
CECs/CEUs: 2.0 hours (Note: at this time continuing education credits for presentations offered through Megan VanMeter PLLC are only available for individuals who are licensed through the MFT, professional counseling, or social work boards of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Please see the “Continuing Education” section below for more information.)
Do you feel helpless when providing trauma treatment to clients who are helpless in the face of work-related aggression and power imbalance?
Hope to see you there!
More information about the webinar
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Megan VanMeter
LPC (AZ), LMHC (IN), LPC-AT/S (TX), ATR-BCMegan is licensed by the counseling boards in the U.S. states of Arizona, Indiana, and Texas, and she also holds board-certification status through the Art Therapy Credentials Board. She has worked as an art therapist in behavioral health, correctional, educational, medical, and social services settings and now draws upon these experiences in her online private practice. Megan earned her master’s degree in art therapy with a specialization in grief and medical counseling from the University of Louisville, where she studied under Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) co-creators, Drs. Vija Lusebrink and Sandra (Kagin) Graves-Alcorn. These art therapy pioneers trained her in their ahead-of-its-time, nervous system-oriented, outcome-informed framework as a basis for assessment, treatment planning, intervention, progress monitoring, and case conceptualization.
She has served on professional boards and committees at local, regional, and national levels within the U.S. A scholar at heart, Megan enjoys doing research, giving presentations, and writing about the Expressive Therapies Continuum. She is hopeful that a new generation of art and expressive therapists will have the opportunity to learn the ETC via methods similar to the ones her professors used. Megan is cultivating a community of ETC enthusiasts and provides ETC supervision and webinars to help others develop appreciation for both the basics and the nuances of this important framework. See https://www.meganvanmeter.com/for-expressive-therapists for more information.
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Cancelation requests must be made in writing and sent to admin@meganvanmeter.com. The date stamp on the message will be used for determining the date the cancelation was requested.
A full refund (100%) will be made for cancellation requests received at least 10 days in advance of an event.
A partial refund (50%) will be made for cancelations requests received 5-9 days in advance of an event.
Sorry, no refund (0%) will be made for cancellation requests received 0-4 days before an event.
Cancelation requests received:
10+ days in advance = 100% refund
5-9 days in advance = 50% refund
0-4 days in advance = 0% refund
Technology-related refunds: please see the Terms & Conditions.
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At this time continuing education credits for presentations offered through Megan VanMeter PLLC are only available for individuals who are licensed through the MFT, professional counseling, or social work boards of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. An application will be made for continuing ed provider status through a national (U.S.) entity, and this entails the submission of materials from previously run educational sessions to prove that Megan VanMeter PLLC is familiar with the organization's requirements.
The current webinar being offered will serve this purpose. In the meantime it is hoped that you will see the value in these Expressive Therapies Continuum educational sessions.
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It is your responsibility to ensure that you are using the technology and equipment that best facilitate your online learning experience. Megan VanMeter PLLC does not assume liability for lagging technology/equipment used by any attendee. Refunds will only be made available if technology and equipment failures on Megan VanMeter PLLC’s end contribute to difficulties with the presentation.
Please note that Megan VanMeter PLLC does not assume liability for misapplication or misuse of the content and information covered in this presentation. This presentation is being provided for informational purposes only; your attendance does not constitute a formal agreement or arrangement for treatment, training, or any other purpose.
References for the presentation will be provided. Per good professional boundaries, do not photograph, capture screenshots of, video record, audio record, livestream, or publish online this presentation or any portion of it. This presentation is under copyright protection. Your attendance does not constitute the right to take copyrighted material and store, modify, or distribute it in any way.