Right, indeed, I'm not a psychologist by any means, but I also think that removing the problem altogether without solving it could be damaging too, maybe in other, more subtle ways later on. To be honest, I don't think there's a solution to bullying that wouldn't be damaging in some way, for all involved - once it starts, it's already too late to go back to normal; you can only do damage control and hope for time (and/or professionals) to help heal the wounds.

I'm glad you've made it out of that situation without major harm (and even some constructive conclusions), but you're an outlier, I think. Normally it doesn't go that well. It really shouldn't happen in the first place...