Brief systemic intervention for cyberbullying in a university student
Keywords:
cyberbullying; mental health; psychotherapy; students; universitiesAbstract
Introduction: Cyberbullying among university students is an emerging mental health problem due to its emotional, academic, and relational repercussions. University psychological support services require intervention models that can be resolved in few sessions.
Objective: To describe the psychotherapeutic intervention based on the brief systemic model in a university student who was a victim of cyberbullying.
Case report: A 28-year-old university student referred for psychological care after the disclosure of her sexual orientation on a university social media account. She presented anxiety symptoms, panic attacks, concentration difficulties, and reactivation of previous school bullying experiences. The process comprised 10 face-to-face and online sessions, aimed at identifying the dominant narrative, recognizing protective resources, strengthening boundaries, and promoting an alternative narrative. Changes were observed in self-perception, emotional validation, and coping with threatening situations.
Conclusions: The brief systemic model showed clinical usefulness in addressing the emotional consequences of cyberbullying in a university context by fostering narrative change, coping resources, and subjective strengthening.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Osliani Luisa Padilla Suazo, Viviana Tartakowsky Pezoa

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