The launch of BBC Radio 1’s recent Bullyproof campaign brought together some of the biggest names in social networking, A-list celebrities like Cheryl Cole and Alesha Dixon and none other than a University of Essex lecturer to help young people make themselves bullyproof.

Dr Aaron Balick lectures in psychoanalysis in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, as well as having his own private psychotherapy practice in London. But he’s also a regular contributor to Radio 1’s long-running and successful Sunday Surgery, where he can be heard offering advice to thousands of young listeners on a wide range of personal problems and issues from relationships, mental and emotional health, to bullying, stress and sexual health.

Aaron has been writing web content for the BBC for teenagers and for younger audiences for several years and has also appeared on numerous popular TV programmes like Newsround and other CBBC outlets. His became an expert on the well-known Radio 1 Sunday Surgery about two years ago.

Aaron believes that the worlds of psychotherapy and psychology can sometimes seem very alien to people and to have a language of their own which can put people off from learning about the ‘great insights’ that psychology has to offer. He explained: ‘That’s why it’s always been important for me to do the best I can to bring its ideas to a wider public which is exactly what I do as a media psychotherapist.’
That commitment to communicating ideas more widely comes from Aaron’s deep-seated belief that psychotherapists have a responsibility not just to limit themselves to working with individuals, taking part in conferences, and writing for academic journals. Talking about his Sunday Surgery spot, he said: ‘This is where I try to apply psychological insights to real people’s problems in a way that’s accessible to all. It’s a challenge but it’s hugely rewarding.’
To listen to what Aaron has to say about bullying: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bullyproof/listen/