Just for Girls
the rocky road through adolescence
and avoid pitfalls such as eating disorders
and preoccupation with food and weight
ISBN# 0-9698883-5-X 176 pages $35.00
Just For Girls is a group-discussion program that addresses what happens to girls in the process of growing up female that silences their ability to express their feelings and articulate their experiences and encourages them instead to define themselves by numbers on the bathroom scale. The program helps girls decode the language of “fat” by teaching them about the grungies — the term coined to describe the negative voice that girls develop when they cannot be direct with their feelings and experiences. The program helps girls become aware of their grungies and encourages them to tell the stories that lie underneath. Through the use of group discussion and role-play and creative activities, girls are able to express their feelings and articulate their experiences.
Just For Girls helps girls understand the societal pressures that they face during adolescence and the physical and emotional changes they are experiencing. It provides them with an awareness of their own bodies that goes beyond relating to them solely in terms of how they look.
The program teaches girls communication skills so that they can strengthen their friendships and support one another, and at the same time maintain their sense of themselves. This helps girls counter the disconnection from themselves and from others and the resulting isolation that comes from the overuse of social media and technology. For example, continuous cell phone use and texting create a steady babble of conversation without connections. Cyber bullying harms any form of human interaction. While Facebook can enhance feelings of social connectedness among some, it can have the opposite effect on those prone to depression.
The Just For Girls program manual includes:
- A framework that is based on contemporary theories of brain sex and of female development.
- A blueprint for the Just For Girls program.
- Everything you ever wanted to know about starting and facilitating effective groups for girls.
- Information and activities that address issues such as body image, communication, sense of self, depression and relational and cyber bullying.
- Activities for energy breaks.
- A special chapter on male development and working with boys.
- 18 structured session plans, and 25 reproducible handouts — including evaluation forms and an introductory letter to parents.
- An extensive up-to-date resource section that includes books, magazines, videos and programs.
Just For Girls is currently in use by public health nurses, teachers, counselors, social workers, child and youth workers, Girl Guide and church group leaders across Canada and the United States. The program is used to address other social and heath risks that girls are vulnerable to such as: smoking, teen pregnancy, abusive relationships, sexually transmitted diseases and drug and alcohol use. It can be used on its own or adapted to other programs. Its skills and concepts can be integrated into a classroom curriculum.
“Just For Girls is an outstanding innovative program that is solidly grounded in contemporary theories of women’s development. It focuses on the experiences of girls that underlie negative self-labeling such as “feeling fat” and it gives girls room to find their voices within a validating and respectful small group context.”
Niva Piran, PhD
Professor, Associate Chair
Counseling Psychology Program
University of Toronto
“Young girls need to be given opportunities to believe in themselves. If I could give every girl a gift, I would give her a chance to be part of this program. It is precisely what most girls need to withstand the social pressure to be useless and beautiful.”
Marion Crook, PhD
author of The Body Image Trap and Looking Good:
Teenagers Talk about Eating Disorders
