Tom Letson has been the Student Assistance Counselor and Program Coordinator for the Howell Township School District in New Jersey since 1998.  He has implemented a school-wide Bullying Prevention Program in Howell's three middle schools, including anonymous reporting and teaching students the skills  found throughout this site.  A participant in three international online school bullying and violence conferences , Tom was also a consultant to the award winning commercial "Collecting Rocks" which served to inform the Canadian public of the seriousness of bullying in Canada's schools.  Collecting Rocks depicts the tragic suicide of 14 year old Hamed Nastoh,  who jumped to his death from a bridge after years of torment  in school. 

Tom draws on his experiences as a school crisis counselor, probation officer, substance abuse counselor, and high school football coach to provide site visitors with a unique perspective on the issues effecting students in schools today.  

Tom is an advocate of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which emphasizes a school-wide approach to Bullying Prevention.  He is also an advocate of the controversial philosphy of teaching students, when appropriate, avoidance strategies and psychological defense tactics and skills when confronted with bullying.  The goal is to reduce the bully's emotional pay-off and bolster the victim's self-esteem. 

It should be noted that some bullying professionals disagree with teaching children such strategies because they feel it sends the message that the victim is primarily responsible for ending the bullying.  Depending on the developmental period of the child in question, this is a sensible approach. For example, a third grader is not developmentally capable of consciously controlling his non-verbal behavior to avoid giving a bully the emotional payoff he desires.  This being the case, teaching a 3rd grader avoidance and psychological defense tactics is not appropriate.  A 7th grader on the the otherhand, is developmentally capable to learn and implement these skills.  Tom's question to those professionals who discourage such skills training:  why would we not teach this child not to give a bully an emotional payoff?  One professional who disagrees with teaching victims strategies and skills even suggested that teaching children to be assertive, a life skill, is contraindicated when it comes to bullying. 

Tom believes that teaching students who are determined to be good candidates to learn and use skills to avoid and reduce the risk of bullying is comparable to the rationale in teaching personal safety skills and tactics. Click here.

Tom has also authored the self-help book, 4 Downs to Anger Control, which uses football as a metaphor to teach anger control skills, was recently purchased by Florida International University Football Team following the nationally televised brawl with the University of Miami in October 2006.  

Tom is available for trainings and speaking engagements on the topics of bullying and anger management.  He also has a private counseling practice in Millstone NJ, specializing in helping children with bullying, anger management for children and adults, and substance abuse evaluation and counseling for adolescents and adults.  Call Tom today to schedule an appointment - (732) 547-2603.

Experiences

Tom is employed as a Student Assistance Counselor/Program Coordinator for the Howell Township Middle Schools.  Since 1999 he has implemented a Bullying Awareness and Reporting Program in three middle schools including anonymous email reporting and skill building for victims of bullying.

        4 Downs to 

  Anger Control

   By Tom Letson, MA LPC

 Use Football to Coach Yourself in Controlling Anger. It works!

Click here  to order on Amazon.com