What happens in a Flourish Group?
When we think back to our school years, it’s often the people we remember more than the intricacies of cell division, the long-term causes of WW1, or the calculation to find the circumference of a circle. Young people’s relationships with their peers are often intense, and intensely important to them. Forming positive relationships at this time is vital, both in the short-term and in the long-term. One of the ways to facilitate this is to help young people to understand themselves and their value - what they bring to friendship groups, relationships, and the wider world. This is one of the reasons why Flourish group mentoring can work so well for girls: these groups provide a safe place for girls to be themselves, to learn and grow, and to flourish.
In groups of up to 8 girls, the sessions take place across 8 weeks. This allows girls to meet new people and build up new friendships as they explore their emotions, their value, and strategies to support their well-being. Flourish offers two group mentoring courses which usually take place in their school. Although they may be in a school environment, the Flourish courses are definitely not a ‘lesson’! The small group allows for the girls to get to know one another better. We also use crafts, discussions, and games to help girls to learn about themselves (the more stickers involved, the better!). In both of the courses, girls are encouraged to get creative, be themselves, and share their opinions and ideas.
The Flourish Course focuses on self-esteem and understanding self-worth and value. Each session involves using a journal that the girls are given in the first session. This journal is theirs to decorate with stickers, doodles, words… that represent them. The journal is then used throughout the Flourish Course to solidify what they have learned in each session - their unique strengths and those of their group-mates; positive affirmations to remind them of their self-worth; strategies to get out of negative thinking traps; friendship values; the importance of their support network. These are just a few of the ideas covered over the 8 weeks of the Flourish Course, and having the journal to take away at the end is a way to help girls to be able to use these ideas now and in the future.
The Rebuild Course is more targeted to help girls understand their emotions and emotional resilience. In the first session, girls are given a ‘toolbox’ for them to decorate (more stickers!) and personalise. This toolbox is theirs to keep and to fill with items that help them to be their best selves. The toolbox also contains their Rebuild workbook. This workbook is filled with ideas and strategies to support good habits relating to understanding emotions. Throughout the Rebuild Course, girls will learn about identifying emotions and the links between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours/actions. This is the basis of further activities to help girls to identify potential triggers, challenge negative self-talk, and develop positive coping skills. The Rebuild Course helps give girls the tools to recognise what is in their control, how to make healthy choices, and identify who to lean on when they need support.
In the past six months, Flourish has worked with 65 girls in group mentoring through the Flourish Course and the Rebuild Course. We have loved supporting girls to know their worth, understand their emotions, and be the best version of themselves. We look forward to continuing this work in schools and in the community.