Diagnosing the Invisible: Introducing the DARMA Model as a Conceptual Companion to UCT's Bullying Policy

Abstract

This conceptual paper introduces the DARMA Model of Diminishment—a five-part diagnostic framework designed to illuminate the often-invisible psychological and structural terrain that precedes formal bullying complaints in institutional settings. Where existing policies, such as the University of Cape Town’s Policy Addressing Bullying (2021), focus appropriately on procedural redress and behavioural definitions, DARMA expands the diagnostic vocabulary by surfacing the lived experience of pre-languishing—those slow-burning states of internal erosion that are rarely named yet widely endured.