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-labelling  such as ‘feeling fat’ and it gives girls room to find their voices withing a validating and respectful small group context.

Niva Piran, PhD
Professor, Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology
University of Toronto, Toronto ON



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 a Just for Girls group. It is precisely what most girls need to withstand the societal pressure to be useless and beautiful.

Marion Crook, PhD
Faculty of Community and Health Studies
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC
Author of The Body Image Trap and Looking Good: Teenagers Talk about Eating Disorders



When Girls Feel Fat brings together the incredible range of things Sandra Friedman learned in her groundbreaking, successful efforts to prevent and treat girls’ eating disorders. Clearly and convincingly Sandra shows how each of us—girls, parents, schools, media, relatives, friends and community leaders—can confront and resist the things that damage our daughters. This is a sold and realistic look at girls’ adolescence and a very valuable book.

Joe Kelly,
“The Dad Man”
Author of Dads and Daughters



Just for Boys hits the nail on the head—especially in terms of busting myths about masculinity, social networks, conflict and anger, creating safety and ‘Do No Harm.’ I wish I had such a resource when I was in elementary school or as part of my extra-curricular activity in scouts.

Paul Gallant, PhD
Gallant Healthworks, Vancouver BC
Eating disorders clinician and research with a focus on males with eating disorders.



With great wisdom and warmth, Sandra Friedman’s resources reflect on the challenges  faced  daily by young people that can rob them of their confidence and their future—especially the pressures to conform to rigid body ideals. Crucially, they provide parents, friends and professionals with effective and practical strategies to build resilience and self-acceptance in the face of these threats.

Susan Paxton, PhD
Professor, School of Psychological Science
La Trobe University
Tasmania, Australia
Past President of the Academy for Eating Disorders and researcher in the field of prevention of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders



Sandra Friedman’s resources Just for Girls and Just for Boys not only instill a healthy body image, promote media awareness, healthy emotional awareness, and coping skills, they also promote skills to address other common risky behaviors such as smoking, drugs and alcohol and steroid use, teen pregnancy and bullying. For years I have used her resources in outreach and prevention programs and directly with my adolescent patients and their families. They are the most user-friendly resources I know for health education and prevention of eating disorders. Sandra Friedman is one of the most gifted health educators I know, with a unique knack of getting to the core of adolescent issues sensitively, playfully and creatively.

Margo Maine, PhD, FAED, CEDS
Maine and Weinstein Specialty Group
Author of Treatment of Eating Disorders: Bridging the Research-Practice Gap (Co-edited with Beth Hartman McGilly and Douglas Bunnell, Effective Clinical Practice in the Treatment of Eating Disorders: The Heart of the Matter (Co-edited with William Davis and Jane Shure) Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters and the Pursuit of Thinness.



Sandra Friedman’s work provides an accessible, clear way in which to understand the desires, the fears and the frustrations of girls and boys as they navigate contemporary society. Her books show how to work with girls and boys towards developing not only individual resilience to negative messaging, but also active participation in supporting healthy peer groups and a society in which they are valued for who and what they are, rather than how they appear. Sandra Friedman encourages each of us to address our beliefs and prejudices with compassion, as we develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be male or female in North American culture. Her ability to integrate theory and practice in ways that are readily understandable encourages us to see the opportunities for growth in the challenges of living in an image-obsessed culture.

Merryl Bear
Director
National Eating Disorders Information Centre
Toronto, Canada