I am founder of a Community Interest Company that takes self esteem and body image workshops into schools and educational and community groups, working with children and young people, aged 4 to 19. I also work with vulnerable women in group settings. In more normal times, I work with groups in person, as that enables me to respond to each individual within the groups; now, during Covid-19, I am working on creating workbooks that can be sent to people, relevant to their age group. So many studies show how poor body image and self esteem affect the mental health of children and young people, affecting their education and their relationships with friends, family, peers and teachers; by teaching them tools to live happier, kinder, more resilient, lives, they learn that it's who we are that matters, and not what we look like.
What I do with 4 year olds is very different to what I do with 19 year olds and adults. With primary age children, I play games and ask simple questions; with secondary age, it's more discussion based, asking questions and answering theirs; with women, it's discussion based, possibly relevant films, if time allows, and answering their questions. All the workshops are organic; it's very rare I do everything I have planned for a session, as I respond to what the participants want to talk about.
