Groups

Facilitators:

Lindsay Poynter MA

Amy McKenney MS LMHC

Amy McKenney, MS LMHC

Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Amy’s work with young women has taken her into the wilderness, on travel programs, into schools both locally and internationally, to college campuses and currently, private practice in Bellingham, WA. Amy graduated from Montana State University in Mental Health Counseling with a focus on young women and experiential learning/adventure therapy. Her practice focuses on adolescent and young adult transitions, trauma recovery, identity, depression/anxiety, self harm, body image.

“Working with girls and young women is rewarding and powerful, witnessing as they work through the process of discovering who they are as individuals and in relationships. One of the greatest challenges for girls can be navigating a healthy path and not losing a strong sense of self and connection. There is increasing pressure to grow up fast, be thin, popular, sexual, tech savvy and smart, but not too smart. I love helping girls and women understand and accept who they are.”

Why a Middle School Girls group?

There has been a great deal of research showing that girls transitioning from girlhood to adolescence tend to be at risk of losing their self-confidence, sense of who they are, and vigor for life. This 10-week therapeutic/personal growth group targets some of the key developmental struggles of middle school age girls: connection, identity formation, peer approval and acceptance, boundary setting, body image, and understanding and expressing emotions in healthy ways. This group focuses on giving girls the extra support they may be looking for during this important transition.

What will my child be doing in group?

Girls will engage in art, games, and discussion focusing on themes appropriate to their developmental growth. They will be encouraged to bring their own ideas and concerns to the group so that both the facilitators and girls will create the topics that are covered. Topics may include: working with peer pressure, expressing and managing emotions, setting boundaries, coping skills for anxiety, how to work with relational aggression among girls, exploring values and beliefs, protecting and nurturing authentic core self, and navigating media and peer messages.

In the first session we will spend time getting to know the girls and give them information about what to expect during our time together. We will cover topics such as group norms, ground rules and confidentiality, and we will play cooperative games.

How is the group membership formed?

We make every effort to ensure that the group membership will be appropriate for your child. We screen each potential participant to determine age, maturity level, current and past functioning, concerning behaviors and emotional concerns. Each 10-week session is a closed group, which means that once we begin group, we do not accept new members. This allows the group to build trust and increases safety and connection. Each 10-week session will be comprised of girls in either 6th-7th grade or 7th-8th grade, which helps to focus the needs, interests and concerns of the group.

Group is appropriate for girls struggling with self-esteem, peer groups, body image, divorce, family, fitting in, depression and anxiety. Each groups is comprised of girls in either 6th-7th grade OR in 7th -8th grade and we make every effort to ensure that the group make up is appropriate for your child.

Lindsay Poynter, MA Counseling Psychology

Mental Health Counselor

Lindsay has worked with adolescent girls and their families in the fields of Education and Counseling since 1997. She has worked in wilderness programs, environmental education programs, public and private schools, and now has a therapy practice in Bellingham, WA. Lindsay received her MA in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Wilderness Therapy from Naropa University in Boulder, CO and she draws from eclectic therapeutic approaches that emphasize training received in Experiential Education/Therapy, Contemplative Psychology, Wilderness Therapy, Art Therapy and Body – Centered Psychotherapy.

Lindsay specializes in working with children, teens and young adults with issues such as Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, and Life Transitions. In her work with adolescent girls, Lindsay believes the most important piece is creating a relationship with them that allows the girls to fully be themselves, have a place to ask questions, and bring a greater awareness to their connection with self, other, and the world around them. Lindsay’s non-judgment, soft way of challenging, and down-to- earth perspective support her ability to connect and support a wide-range of girls through periods of challenge and transition.