Girl CODE is a 6 week support group for people who identify as black females, ages 14-17 years old. This group will offer an opportunity to discover a deeper understanding of your Self while empowering one another to address issues related to the young black female experience. The group will focus on topics such as self-esteem, self-compassion, and the importance of self-care. Often times, there is tension between the intersections of who we are, how society views us, and where we want to be.
Participants will walk away from this group having unlocked keys to the following questions:
- Who am I?
- With whom do I identify?
- What do I believe in?
- Where am I going?
Join us to get connected as we Co-create Opportunities to Discover and Empower. We can’t wait to see and hear from you!
Girl
C – Co-creating
CO CREATE TOGETHER
O – Opportunities
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU
D – Discover
DISCOVER NEW POSIBILITIES
E – Empower
EMPOWER EACH OTHER
The curriculum includes working on your:
- Self-Esteem – Increase your belief in yourself through making deep connections with others and hearing their honest feedback. Know that you are not alone in your experience as a Black female. Learn that you don’t have to believe certain societal messages about yourself and that you have the right to feel good about yourself.
- Self-Compassion – When the messages you hear can be harsh, learn to be nice to yourself. Be the voice in your head, don’t let anyone else take over and tell you who you are, your worth, and what you deserve. Learn to love yourself inside and out and speak to yourself in a way that reflects this.
- Self-care – Participants will learn how to take care of themselves on a mental health level specific to the lived experience of a Black girl in our society. Gain resources that are specific to your needs and integrate self-care into life outside group sessions.
- Peer support – Through human connection there can be healing. Build life-long connections that help you process your emotions and help empower you to reach your goals. Feel safe to debate the roles that we feel pressure to fill while dreaming of something different. Explore your true longings with the support of others and, possibly, for them to come along with you on the journey!
Details:
Name of the group: Girl-CODE Teen Therapy Group for Black Girls (Co-creating Opportunities to Discover & Empower)
Group Leader: Lena Hayes, MFT
Dates: Thursdays starting September 23, 2021 for 6 weeks (9/23/21; 9/30/21; 10/7/21; 10/14/21; 10/21/21; 10/28/21)
Time: 5:00-6:30p EST (90 Minute sessions)
Place: The Better You Institute at 100 N. 18th St. Suite 300 Philadelphia PA 19103 (2 Logan Building)
Participant Demographics: 14-17 y.o. Black girls
Cost: $30/session/person
How to sign up: Use the form below, or call us at 267-495-4951 to see if you’d be a good fit for the group.
Please note: This is a closed group, meaning participants have to commit to all 6 weeks from start to finish.
About Lena
Lena is a trained marriage and family therapist with years of experience working with youth in Philadelphia schools, their homes, and private practice settings. She has heard countless stories of teenage Black girls living in Philadelphia. She herself was once a teenage Black girl living in Philadelphia. Pulling from her own experience, along with the stories of past clients, Lena’s niche is making sense of how girls start to view themselves based on the messaging they receive, the pressures that are put on them, and the lack of emotional support that can too often occur living as a Black girl in our society. Having first hand experience, Lena knows a thing or two about building yourself up, learning to love yourself, empowering those around you, and using the support you have to reach your goals. Lena is also specially trained in trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), and can lean on her knowledge from that training to help everyone connect and dive deep into some of life’s stressors that teenage Black girls encounter.