The Have a Go Spaghettio! Success Helper Approach to Bullying

The Have a Go Spaghettio! Success Helper Approach to SEL

embodies the thinking and ideas of Dr. Albert Ellis who created

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. His ABC Theory of Emotional

Disturbance is a counselling paradigm used universally to help

people navigate their way through life. Here we consider Bullying

and how we can best address it as educators in the early childhood

context. Jonas Salk hypothesised that we could psychologically

immunise our students so that they develop optimum positive mental

health. We again revisit the red 'I'm worthwhile crocodile!' habit of

thinking which underpins personal agency, assertion, and overall

confidence. This video puts forth how the Rational Emotive

Behaviour Educator can foster, encourage, and reinforce a mindset

that will empower the young child in dealing with challenge,

particularly with bullying. Have a go Spaghettio! helps to

psychologically immunise our young children against the scourge of

bullying as suggested by Jonas Salk, Martin Seligman, and others. As

Dr. Albert Ellis says, the future of psychotherapy is in the school

system. So Have a Go Spaghettio! and 'Give it a Try Banana Pie!'

The Have a Go Spaghettio! Approach to It’s Not Fair!

Children may feel frustrated, upset, or disappointed when they perceive that they are being treated unfairly, whether in games, at home, or in social situations. Saying ‘that's not fair!’ is a way for them to articulate how they feel. The belief ‘it’s not fair’ is driving those emotions according to the ABC Theory of Emotional (and behavioural disturbance). How strong are they? If children believe that ‘it’ whatever ‘it’ may be ‘is’ unfair, they may be applying a developing philosophy that is rigid in nature, that things ‘must’ pan out as it should. Anything deemed unfair, its unfairness, depends on how it is viewed, perceived, interpreted. Applying a ‘must’ rule, demanding that wants and desires are met immediately, will cause heightened upset. An attitude of preference over demand will allow the child to keep things in perspective i.e., this happening is uninvited but in the scheme of things its not a big problem. The thing that’s ‘unfair’ is received as an inconvenience rather than a catastrophe. In the counselling context the child will articulate: What happened and how they felt when whatever happened, happened. This will establish the A and C components of the ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance. How ‘it’ is perceived at B of the ABC paradigm will affect the strength of feeling and the behaviour at C and the counselling session will focus on the B, perception part of the ABC theory i.e., how can we (re) consider an ‘unfair’ happening in a different way. The child and counsellor will set some agreed Success Helper goals to focus on as illustrated in the video, and its important for the child to know and practice the ‘I’m worthwhile crocodile’ Red Success Helper’ which teaches self-worth is unconditional and isn’t diminished by failure or the opinion of others.

Arthur the Dog is not chosen!

Arthur is an ordinary brown dog nobody wants to buy from the pet shop. He tries to be every other animal in the shop yet he’s still overlooked for the snakes, birds, and rabbits. He realises in the end that he’s a dog and he accepts that fact.

This story is analysed through the ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance lens as per the Have a Go Spaghettio! Success Helper approach to psychological, emotional, and behavioural wellbeing.

The ABC theory offers a way of considering the emotional and behavioural dispositions of characters and how they relate to thinking or perception of events. Children can think about what’s happening to a third party and make connections to their own lives. So Have a Go Spaghettio!