Voices:A Program of Self-Discovery

and Empowerment for Girls

Curriculum written by

Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., LCSW

Training provided by 

Carol Ackley, LADC


Definition of Gender-Responsiveness

Creating an environment through site 
selection, staff selection, program 
development, content, and material 
that reflects an understanding of the 
realities of women’s and girls’lives, 
and is responsive to their strengths 
and challenges.

(Covington & Bloom)


Gender-Responsive: Guiding Principles

..Gender
..Environment
..Relationships
..Services
..Economic & Social Status
..Community



Guiding Principles

..Gender:Acknowledge that gender makes a


difference.

..Environment:Create an environment based


on safety, respect, and dignity.


Guiding Principles (cont.)

..Relationships:Develop policies, practices,


and programs that are relational and

promote healthy connections to children,

family, significant others, and the 

community.

..Services:Address substance abuse, 


trauma, and mental health issues through 

comprehensive, integrated, and culturally

relevant services.


Guiding Principles (cont.)

..Socioeconomic status:Provide girls/women


with opportunities to improve their socio-

economic conditions.

..Community:Establish a system of 


comprehensive and collaborative community

services.

(Bloom, Owen, Covington 2003)


Therapeutic Environment

..Attachment:a culture of belonging
..Containment:a culture of safety
..Communication:a culture of openness
..Involvement:a culture of participation 


and citizenship

..Agency:a culture of empowerment


(Haigh)


Sanctuary

Card 27
Definition of Sanctuary

•Sacred place
•Place of refuge/protection
•Shelter



Qualities of a Facilitator

The following qualities in a facilitator will help 
to ensure a positive group experience:

..Trustworthiness
..Reliability, consistency
..Warmth, compassion 
..Emotionally mature



Qualities of a Facilitator(cont.)

..Healthy boundaries, respect for confidentiality 
..Committed to and interested in the girls’issues
..Multi-cultural sensitivity and responsiveness



Qualities of a Facilitator(cont.)

..Appropriate gender (a female should facilitate


the all-female groups)

..Content expertise, if possible
..Facilitation Skills



Qualities of a Facilitator(cont.)

..BE PREPARED!



Four Key Elements in the 

Voices Group Process

1.Understanding more about their experiences 
as girls–their similarities to and differences 
from others in the group
2.Exploring how the influences in their lives 
(e.g., gender, families, substance abuse, 
interpersonal violence and various forms of 
oppression) have impacted them



Four Key Elements in the 

Voices Group Process (cont.)

3.Learning skills and coping mechanisms to 
help them both now and in the future
4.Feeling safe and learning that this is a safe 
place to share their voices



Text Box: Voices
What about the Girls?

Reality of Girls’Lives

..Socialization and identity
..Culture and class
..Sexuality
..Violence and aggression
..Expressions of risk



Socialization and Identity

..Girls stop “being”and start “seeming”.


..Girls develop identity in their 
connections with others.



Culture and Class

..Ethnicity and socioeconomic status 


have a significant impact on girls’

strengths and challenges.


Sexuality

..50% 9-12thgraders have 


had intercourse.

(Centers for Disease Control, 2002)

..74% of young women who had 


intercourse before age 14 and 60% 

before age 15 reported it was involuntary.

(Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 2001) 


Sexuality (cont.)

..24.5% of sexually active 9thgrade girls 


use alcohol/drugs with intercourse. 

(Center for Disease Control, 2002) 

..4 out of every 10 young women are 


pregnant before age 20.

(The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2001)

..Teenage sex often means girls servicing 


boys. (Denizet-Lewis, 2004)


Sexually Transmitted Infections

(STIs)

STIs may result from the sexual transmission of bacterial

or viral agents such as:

Chlamydia trachomatis(Chlamydia)

Neisseria gonorrhoeae(Gonorrhea)

Treponema pallidum(Syphilis)

Trichomonas vaginalis(Trichomonas)

Human ImmunodeficiencyVirus(HIV)


Text Box: Highest rates among adolescents and young adults (34% of infections are 10-19 year olds [CDC, 2004]).
Higher rates in youth involved juvenile justice systems
70% of infections do not have symptoms
Major cause of reproductive health consequenc
Among Young Attendees at STD Clinics, 
Substance Abusers Report 
more Risky Behavior28.8%
48.8%
6.1%
14.4%
26.70%
35.00%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
No SUDWith SUDAlways UsedCondomsMutiple SexPartnersSTD DiagnosedPercentage of PatientsSource: Cook R.L., et al. Alcohol and drug use related disorders: An 
underrecognized health issue among adolescents and young adults 
attending sexually transmitted disease clinics. Sexually Transmitted 
Diseases33(9): 565-570, 2006.
Patients aged 15 to 24 of a public sexually 
transmitted disease clinic who had a 
substance use disorder (SUD) were two to 
three times likely as those without an SUD 
to report multiple sex partners and 
inconsistent condom use during the past 
year. Overall, 43 percent of the 448 
patients who participated in the 
Pittsburgh, clinic study had an alcohol or 
marijuana use disorder, and these young 
people also were 70 % more likely to be 
diagnosed with a sexually transmitted 
disease during their visit.

Violence & Aggression

..Violent crime doubled from 1988 –1994.


(Mahan, 2003)

..Girl initiated violence increased 118% 


since 1987.(Brown, 2002)

..Girl fighting –horizontal hostility


(Brown, 2002)


Expressions of Risk

..Depression
..Substance abuse
..Relationship violence
..Eating disorders
..Teen mothers
..Girls in juvenile justice settings



Girls’Mental Health Needs

..Girls who are coping with such serious 
issues as sexual abuse, substance 
abuse, family dysfunction and/or 
academic failure may experience 
depression, eating disorders, and other 
mental health concerns.


..More than half of young women in 
training schools have reported 
attempting suicide; of those, 64% have 
tried more than once to kill themselves. 



Substance Abuse

Girls use alcohol and other drugs to:

..Improve mood
..Reduce tension
..Increase confidence
..Lose inhibitions
..Exchange sex
..Lose weight



..Start drinking before age 1447% alcohol dependent


..Start drinking after age 219% alcohol dependent


(n=43,000)

(Source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, July 2006)

Text Box: Adolescence & Alcohol
..Disrupts parts of the brain essential for 
self-control, motivation and goal-setting


..More severe damage in adolescent brain 
than adult brain


(University of North Carolina; Duke; UCSD)

Text Box: Alcohol & Adolescent Brain
Text Box: Alcohol & Adolescent Brain (cont.)
Relationship Violence

..Girls risk three times greater than boys. 
(Banister & Screiber, 2001)


..Homicide (by someone they know) is a 


leading cause of girls’death.

(Anderson, 2002)

..1 in 5 girls abused by dating partner. 


(Patton & Morgan, 2002) 


Sexual Assault Graph


Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000

Sexual Assault Graph

Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000



Female Delinquents and Sexual Abuse 

..Among female delinquents, an estimated 
70% have a history of sex abuse. 


..In some detention facilities, the incidence 
of girls who have been abused is closer to 
90%. 
..Most often, abuse is perpetrated by family 
members or close family friends who are 
perceived as trusted adults. 



Effects of Abuse on Girls

Sexual abuse can have a profound 

impact on a girl during adolescence:

..lessened self-esteem
..inability to trust
..academic failure
..eating disorders
..self-harm
..teen pregnancy
..running away 
..substance abuse
..defensive & reactive violence



Eating Disorders

7 million women

..43% onset 16 –20


..33% onset 11 –15


..10% onset 10 and under


(National Association of Anorexia Nervosa 

and Associated Disorders, 2004)


Girls in Juvenile Justice Settings

..Histories of victimization


..Unstable family lives
..School failure
..Repeated status offenses
..Mental health problems
..Substance abuse



..1.4 M adolescents incarcerated in 2004 (USDOJ, 
2004)


..Engage in high-risk behaviors


Substance use: 75% drug of alcohol (Belenko & Logan, 2003)

Early sexual initiation (Teplin et al., 2003)

Multiple partners (Teplin et. Al, 2003)

Unprotected sex (Canterbury et al., 1995)

..Substance use associated with higher STI risk 
(Cook, 2006)


..Limited access to health care, STI 
education/prevention (Forrest et al., 2000)


Text Box: A High-Risk Population
Girls and Juvenile Justice

..Between 1980 and 2000, the juvenile 
arrest rate for girls increased 35%. 


(Snyder, 2002)

..In 2000, girls accounted for 28% of all 
juvenile arrests compared with 19% in 
1990. (Maniglia, 1998; Snyder, 2002)


..From 1991 to 2000, the juvenile arrest rate 
for aggravated assault increased by 44% 
for girls and declined 16% for boys.


(Snyder, 2002).


Girls and Juvenile Justice (cont.)

..Approximately 78% of arrests of girls for 


crime index offences are not for violence, 

but for larceny-theft, or shoplifting.

(FBI, 2000).

..Girls account for 59% of arrests for running 
away and 55% of arrests for prostitution.


(Snyder, 2002)

..Between 1988 and 1997, the use of detention 
for girls increased 65% as compared with a 


30% increase for boys.


Poor Academic Performance

..One significant risk factor relating to 
early onset of delinquency is poor 
academic performance. 
..By the time girls enter the system, they 
may be at least a grade level behind 
their peers. 
..Girls may have developed a negative 
attitude about learning and lack self-
confidence about their own ability to 
master academic skills.



Risk & Protective Factors

Risk Factors

..History of sexual abuse
..Academic failure 
..Substance abuse
..Low self-esteem 
..Fragmented family
..Lack of trusting adult 
..Racism 
..Sexism
..Negative peer group
..Lack of safe, nurturing 
environment


Protective Factors

..Positive sexual development 
..Academic success/progress
..Positive self-esteem 
..Positive, nurturing family 
..Positive cultural and gender 
identity 
..Positive peer group
..Positive relationship with 
caring adult
..Safe, nurturing environment



Protective Factors Easier to Changethan Risk Factors

131710805101520ProtectiveRiskIntakeExit
(SANDAG, 2004)

Why Develop Gender-Responsive Programs?

..Girls travel a different path to problems 
than most of their male counterparts.
..After years of struggling to squeeze girls 
into programs designed for boys, some 
agencies that work with girls are seeking 
approaches that are gender-specific. 



Gender-Responsive Programs

..This does not mean giving girls the 
same programs as boys, or simply 
isolating juvenile offenders 
according to gender.
..Instead, the most effective 
programs are rooted in the 
experience of girls and incorporate 
an understanding of female 
development.



How do We Develop Services for Girls?



Definition of Gender-Responsiveness

Creating an environment through site 
selection, staff selection, program 
development, content, and material that 
reflects an understanding of the realities 
of women’s and girls’lives, and is 
responsive to their strengths and 
challenges.

(Covington & Bloom)


Creating Programs for Girls

Gender-Responsive Elements

..Celebrates Strengths
..Safety is Key
..Female Mentors and Role Models
..Develop and Support Leadership Skills
..Empower Girls –Force for Social Change
..Media Literacy
..Physical, Sexual and Mental Health Information
..Cultural Connections
..Solidarity between Girls and Women



Theoretical Framework

The theories related to gender and 
substance abuse (and any other relevant 
treatment services) that create the 
framework of thought for program 
development. This is the knowledge base 
that creates the foundation upon which the 
program is developed.


Text Box: Treatment Strategies
Concepts of Successful Interventions

Strength-based approach: Working 
from a positive perspective, building 
on girls’personal and cultural 
strengths and providing opportunities 
for girls to be successful.


Addressing the “Whole Girl”

Domains:

..Physical
..Sexual
..Relationships
..Emotional
..Intellectual
..Spiritual



Voices:A Program of Self-Discovery 

and Empowerment for Girls

Theoretical Foundation

..Psychological development
..Attachment
..Resilience
..Addiction
..Trauma



Psychological Development

Relational Theory

..Gilligan


..Stone Center


..Brown



Growth Fostering Relationships

..Increased zest and vitality
..Empowerment to act
..Knowledge of self and others
..Sense of self-worth
..Desire for more connections



Alone and Lonely

•Girls are alone more than 20% of awake time
•Less than 10% of time outside school with 
friends-happiest then
•12th graders have 50% more alone time than 
6th graders
•Many girls alone over 6 hrs a day
•Too much solitude=poor outcomes


(Source: M. Strauss, All the Rage)


Attachment Theory

..Bowlby
..Harlow
..Winnecott
..Stern
..Ainsworth



Types of Attachment

..Secure
..Avoidant
..Ambivalent (or anxious-avoidant)



Resilience

..Close relationship with one adult
..High expectations from significant people
..Positive role models and community involvement



AddictionTransformationAddiction(constriction)
Recovery(expansion)

Definition of Trauma

The diagnostic manual used by mental health providers 
(DSM IV-TR) defines trauma as, “involving direct personal 
experience of an event that involves actual or threatened 
death or serious injury, or other threat to one’s physical 
integrity; or a threat to the physical integrity of another 
person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, 
serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a 
family member or other close associate.”

“The person’s response to the event must involve intense 
fear, helplessness or horror (or in children, the response 
must involve disorganized or agitated behavior).”


Trauma

Sexual abuse

Physical abuse

Emotional abuse

Domestic violence

Witnessing abuse/violence

Self-inflicted violence


Trauma (cont.)

Stigmatization

Girls in juvenile justice system

Girls of color

Poor girls

Lesbian, transgendered, bisexual

Girls with mental illness


PTSD

..Nightmares; Flashbacks
..Estrangement
..Numbing of General Responsiveness
..Insomnia
..Exaggerated Startle Response
..Hypervigilance


(DSM-IVTR)


Co-occurring Disorders

There is a high level of co-morbidity between post-
traumatic stress disorder and:

Depression

Anxiety

Panic disorder

Phobic disorder

Substance abuse

Physical disorders

Source: “Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research, Practice and Guiding 
Principles for Women Offenders Project: Covington & Bloom (2001)


Trauma Services

Trauma-informed

These are services that are provided

for problems other than trauma but

require knowledge about violence

against girls and women and the

impact of trauma; thereby increasing

their effectiveness. 


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services

Principle 1.

Trauma-Informed Services Recognize the 
Impact of Violence and Victimization on 
Development and Coping Strategies


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services(cont.)

Principle 2.

Trauma-Informed Services Identify Recovery 
from Trauma as a Primary Goal


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services (cont.)

Principle 3.

Trauma-Informed Services Employ an 
Empowerment Model


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services(cont.)

Principle 4.

Trauma-Informed Services Strive to Maximize a 
Woman’s/Girl’s Choices and Control Over Her 
Recovery


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services(cont.)

Principle 5.

Trauma-Informed Services Are Based in a 
Relational Collaboration


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services (cont.)

Principle 6.

Trauma-Informed Services Create an 
Atmosphere That Is Respectful of Survivor’s 
Need for Safety, Respect, and Acceptance


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services (cont.)

Principle 7.

Trauma-Informed Services Emphasize 
Women’s/Girls’Strengths, Highlighting 
Adaptation Over Symptoms and Resilience 
Over Pathology


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services (cont.)

Principle 8.

The Goal of Trauma-Informed Services Is to 
Minimize the Possibilities of Retraumatization


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services (cont.)

Principle 9.

Trauma-Informed Services Strive to Be Culturally 
Competent and to Understand Each Woman/Girl 
in the Context of Her Life Experiences and 
Cultural Background


Ten Principles of 

Trauma-Informed Services(cont.)

Principle 10.

Trauma-Informed Agencies Solicit Consumer 
Input and Invoice Consumers in Designing and 
Evaluating Services

Elliot, D.E.; Bjelajac, P.; Fallot, R.D.; Markoff, L.S.; Reed, B.G. Trauma-Informed or 
Trauma-Denied: Principles and Implementation of Trauma-Informed Services for 
Women. Journal of Community Psychology, July, 2005., 33(4): 461-477.


Text Box: ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
ACE Study

(Adverse Childhood Experiences)

Results

ACEs still have a profound effect 50 years later, 
although now transformed from psychosocial 
experience into organic disease, social 
malfunction, and mental illness.

–Smoking
–Alcoholism
–Injection of illegal drugs
–Obesity


(Felitti, V.J.: Origins of Addictive Behavior: Evidence from theACE Study. 2003 Oct:52(8): 

547-59. German. PMID: 14619682 (PubMed-indexed for MEDLINE).


Childhood Traumatic Events

Largest Effect-Mental Health

•Psychotropic medication
•Mental health treatment
•Attempted suicide


•Traumatic stress


(Messina & Grella, 2005)


Childhood Traumatic Events

Largest Effect-Mental Health

•980% increase in odds if exposure to 7 
CTE’s(Messina & Grella, 2005)

Process of Trauma

TRAUMATIC EVENT 

Overwhelms the Physical & Psychological Systems

Intense Fear, Helplessness or Horror 

CURRENT STRESS

Reminders of Trauma, Life Events, Lifestyle 

PAINFUL EMOTIONAL STATE

RETREAT

SELF-DESTRUCTIVE ACTION

DESTRUCTIVE ACTION

ISOLATION

DISSOCIATION

DEPRESSION

ANXIETY

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

EATING DISORDER

DELIBERATE 

SELF-HARM

SUICIDAL ACTIONS

AGGRESSION

VIOLENCE

RAGES

SENSITIZED NERVOUS SYSTEMCHANGES IN BRAINRESPONSE TO TRAUMAFight or Flight, Freeze, Altered State of Consciousness, Body Sensations, Numbing, Hyper-vigilance, 
Hyper-arousal

Self-Harm Interventions

..Validate reality
..Understand cycle (CBT frame)
..Know when she doesn’t self-harm
..Harm reduction 
Try other things first (writing)
..Therapy for feelings andthoughts
..Teach new methods of coping: finding 
words and someone to hear them


(Source: Tracy Alderman, Scarred Souls)


Text Box: Voices
Each Session Contains the 

Following Components:

Opening:Helping girls check-in/become present

Teaching:Key topic is presented

Interactive:Discussion of issues, questions, etc.

Experiential:Exercises to try out new skills and

learning

Closure:Focus questions to facilitate reflection


Text Box: Module A: 
Self 

Module A:Self

Session 1Who am I?

Session 2My Life Story

Session 3Breaking the Silence

Session 4The World Girls Live In

Session 5Support and Inspiration

(27 activities)


Who am I?

Describing myself

..A feeling
..A belief
..A quality



Examples of Feelings

..Bitter
..Furious
..Depressed
..Ashamed
..Embarrassed


Text Box: Joyful
Sad
Angry
Happy
Afraid 
Examples of Beliefs

..I believe in myself
..I believe it’s okay to be a virgin
..I believe in equality
..I believe youare what you eat
..I believe that life is tough
..I believe in practicing safer sex
..I believe that I can trust my friends
..I believe that I am fun, clean and sober
..I believe that I can use my voice
..I believe I am a good listener
..I believe that I have rights
..I believe that I can meet my goals



Examples of Qualities

..I am strong
..I am a good friend
..I don’t trust people easily
..I am curious about things
..I am smart
..I am a loner
..I am sexy
..I do well in school
..I am honest
..I am caring
..I am funny
..I am a good artist



Feeling Okay Chart



Five Senses Activity

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste


My Life’s Journey



Tree of Self Esteem



Esteemable Acts

One way to improve your self-esteem is to do 
things that make you feel good about yourself. 
What three things can you do?

1. ___________________________________

2. ___________________________________

3. ___________________________________

(Source: F. Ward)


Me: Inside and Out



Got Power?

Media Messages

Key points to convey:

..Media messages are everywhere (e.g., in music, 
television, movies and advertising).


..Media messages give limited and unrealistic 
portraits of women and girls.


..Media messages tell us that alcohol and cigarettes 
can make us sexier, attractive, desirable and fun. 
Media messages do not show us the negative 
consequences of substance use and abuse (e.g., 
getting sick, being addicted).


..Media messages can make us feel bad about who 
we are.



Break the Chain!



What I have Learned from Her

What I have Learned from Her

Name:_____________________________

She has inspired me by:_______________

__________________________________

__________________________________


Text Box: Module B: 
Connecting with Others 

Module B:Connecting with Others

Session 6Communication

Session 7My Family

Session 8Mothers and Daughters

Session 9Friendship

Session 10Dating and Sexuality

Session 11Supportive Relationships

Session 12Abuse Relationships

(36 activities)


Communication is:

An exchange of ideas; an 
expression of oneself in such a way 
that one is clearly understood; a 
connection, one with another.


Communication (cont.)

..Passive communication
..Aggressive
..Passive-aggressive
..Assertive



My Family

Key__Strong--------Weak--------Broken/no connectionConfusingAngryMe

Healthy Families



Mom and Me

Key Points:

..Mother-daughter relationships are 
complex and powerful.
..Our mothers influence how we see 
ourselves as young women.
..Mothers are more than simply their 
roles. It can be interesting and 
enriching to get to know our mothers 
as complete persons.



Friendship

Key Points:

..It is important to think critically about why girls 
can be mean to one another.
..Girls’relationships with one another are very 
important parts of their lives.
..Collaborating with and supporting one 
another counteracts negative stereotypes of 
females and creates powerful, collective 
opportunities for change in girls’lives.



Is it Love?

..Infatuation:Intense feeling of attraction to, admiration for 
or fascination with another person that may not be based 
on realistic facts or a true understanding of or connection 
with the person. Often does not involve seeing the 
person realistically. Can feel “high”and exciting.


..Sexual attraction:A desire or longing to be involved with 
someone physically and sexually.


..Love:A deep, tender feeling of affection and care toward 
another person. Can involve sexual attraction or intimacy 
but is much broader in that it also involves a sense of 
oneness, understanding, trust, respect and care. Love is 
also a behavior.



Shades of Sexuality

..Gender
..Gender identity
..Sexual orientation
..Straight
..Gay/lesbian
..Bisexual



Sexual Bill of Rights

Text Box: My Sexual Bill of RightsI have the right to….

Connecting with Others



A Map of My Relationships



What is Abuse?

..Emotional


..Physical
..Sexual



Effects of Abuse

Key Points:

..Abuse can have a long-term impact on the victim.
..A girl’s reaction to abuse can take many forms.
..You are not alone if you are the victim of abuse.
..There are things you can do to heal from abuse.


..There are people and organizations that work


very hard to end abuse.


Power and Control Wheel



Text Box: Module C: 
Healthy Living 
Module C:Healthy Living 

Session 13Our Bodies

Session 14Emotional Wellness

Session 15Alcohol and Other Drugs

Session 16Spirituality

(24 activities)


My Body Image



Five Steps to Emotional Wellness

1.Tune in to feelings.
2.Name the feeling.
3.Locate the feeling in your body.
4.Express the feeling.
5.Practice containment –which means 
holding your feelings in order to share 
and process them in a safe place with 
a trusted person.



Containing vs. Stuffing

1.Slow down or stop what you’re doing.
2.Identify what you’re feeling.
3.Name the feeling.
4.Notice where you feel it in your body.
5.Evaluate whether the intensity of the 
feeling matches the situation.
6.Consider what other factors may be 
contributing to your intense feeling.



Anger and Me

Key Points:

..Young women are encouraged/socialized 
to be nice.
..When girls don’t feel that they can 
express anger, they are unable to be their 
true, authentic selves.
..It is important to learn how to express 
anger.
..Anger is a healthy reaction to injustice, 
racism and poverty.



Assessing Anger

..Who else is she angry at?
..How is her behavior effective?
..How has she attempted to express it in the past?
..What was the response?
..When did she start? Is it same?
..What is happening to make her mad?


(Source: M. Strauss, All the Rage)


Assessing Anger

..What else is she feeling?
..What would she like to have happen?
..What IS going to happen?
..How effective is the communication?
..Will she need to escalate, suffer more to get 
what she needs?


(Source: M. Strauss, All the Rage)


Weighing it Out

Understanding Addiction

..Biological
..Psychological
..Environmental



Spirituality

Includes but not limited to:

..Quiet time
..Prayer
..Meditation
..Centering activities, such as singing or 
listening to music
..Being out in nature
..Creating personal altars (a collection of 
personal items that mean a lot to you)



Spirituality (cont.)

..Attending church, synagogue, mosque,


temple or another spiritual meeting place

..Keeping a journal
..Helping others in need
..Learning from others
..Celebrations
..Wise woman
..Cultural rituals
..Appreciation and gratitude 



Text Box: Module D: 
Journey Ahead 

Module D:Journey Ahead 

Session 17Crossroads

Session 18Packing for My Journey

(9 activities)


Crossroads



My Crossroads

How might choosing this path 
affect you in the short-term?

How might choosing this path 
affect you in the long term?

How might choosing this path 
affect you in the short-term?
How might choosing this path 
affect you in the long term?

Making Good Decisions for Me

My Group Experience

OObjective

RReflective

IInterpretive

DDecisive


Sisterhood and Support

For More Information

•Stephanie S Covington, Ph.D, LCSW


Email: SC@stephaniecovington.com

Websites: www.stephaniecovington.com

www.centerforgenderandjustice.org

•Carol Ackley, LADC


Email: Ackley@riverridgetreatmentcenter.com