Group Facilitator (Bullying: girls)

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Severson Sisters

ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP

Duties

Group Facilitators will lead girls enrolled in all Severson Sisters Super Girl programs in the overall content that Severson Sisters has put together. Group Facilitators conduct group discussions and facilitate meaningful activities that promote positive self-awareness for all the group participants.

They will assist group participants effective and age appropriate strategies for conflict resolution and problem-solving.

They will maintain confidentiality and uphold an ethical code of conduct.

 Assists in development of community based referral network.

Organizes, coordinates and conducts reviews of community resources and social service agencies and other psychosocial referral sources when participants are in need of additional support beyond Severson Sisters ability.

Population served

Research shows that girls tend to engage in more social or psychological bullying such as cyber-bullying, prank calling, spreading rumors, teasing or belittling.  As a result, and because the nature of bullying crosses all socio-economic and demographic backgrounds, Severson Sisters focuses on bringing our program to all girls. The sessions that the Program Facilitators will take part in will be associated with the Girl Scouts grades 3 - 8 and the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Community need/impact

A child who feels unsafe, humiliated, and degraded suffers devastating effects including lower grades, low self-esteem, and social withdrawal which often lead to depression, substance abuse and/or suicidal thoughts. And Arizona is on the top-ten list for teen suicide.

The Arizona Youth Survey (AYS) and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are two widely used methods relied upon by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to track risk factors that affect achievement and student safety.  Both the AYS and YRBS data point out that bullying continues to be a problem in schools. Almost one third of students reported having been bullied in the past year, with nearly 5% of those students bullied on average at least once a month.”

We created a program called the Severson Sisters Super Girl Program for girls in elementary and middle-school, which is designed to protect girls’ physical and mental health and well-being at a very impressionable age, an age where experiences affect their confidence and productivity for the rest of their lives.

Our program is designed to protect girls’ physical and mental health and well-being at a very impressionable age, an age where experiences affect their confidence and productivity for the rest of their lives.  Severson Sisters uses creative arts as a powerful tool for helping girls build self-esteem, develop social skills to support healthy relationships, and mitigate their need for a false sense of superiority through bullying tactics.

We strive to groom our Super Girls into role models by helping them recognize the signs of bullying and giving them the skills and motivation to personally exercise and encourage zero tolerance policies among peers, even those who are not necessarily victims or bullies themselves.  Ultimately, our goal is to populate schools with role models who choose positive over negative behaviors, positively influence their peers, and thereby creating a culture shift among girls and a more positive school environment for the entire student body.

 The Severson Sisters approach to bullying, compared to other programs, is unique for two key reasons.  First, our program was developed specifically to meet the unique needs and interests of girls since statistics show that girls actually bully more than boys and they use very different tactics.  The program teaches girls to “give respect” using an approach which teaches them how to recognize and reject some of the unique tactics used among girls.  Second, unlike other programs that emphasize the negative aspects of bullying, our approach focuses on infusing a positive energy into creative arts lessons that demonstrate the fulfillment of positive behaviors as an alternative to the negativity of bullying.  By emphasizing opportunities for creative expression, we are able to tap into girls’ natural tendencies and preferences for nurturing and supportive relationships both with themselves and with others.  Developed by certified teachers, school counselors, social workers, and our founder, Carrie Severson. The Severson Sisters Super Girl Program combines a series of social circles, journaling, movement, dance, and cooking to help girls place awareness on their emotions, thoughts, actions and expression in a playful, graceful, educational and inspirational way.