Girls Circle

Helping girls age 9-18 develop caring relationships using their authentic voices.

Girls Circle is a group-based support program that counteracts the social and interpersonal forces that can impede growth and development. Each group meets weekly for 8 to 12 sessions, and focuses on age- and topic-specific skill-building activities and discussions that promote positive connection, personal and collective strengths, and competence in girls. 

Girls Circle Groups include:

• Mother-Daughter Circle, Ages 11+: Promotes empathy, communication skills, stress reduction, setting limits and honoring boundaries, exploring meanings and messages about female identity, identifying relationship accountability, and experiencing affirmation together and within their broader female community. 
• Body Image, Ages 12+: Emphasizes raising awareness, recognizing body signals, and exploring underlying causes of poor body image. Topics include physical awareness, health, and emotional balance.   
• My Family, My Self, Ages 12-18: Addresses family and cultural identity, storytelling, coping styles, the influence of family substance use and/or domestic violence on girls’ lives, family expectations, and goal setting. Creates a foundation of confidence for girls as they honor the significance of their family relationships – no matter the status –to foster healthy interpersonal skills now and in their future. 
• Mind, Body, Spirit, Ages 12-16: A prevention program that addresses alcohol, tobacco, and drug decision-making. This program also fosters healthy sexuality, promotes abstinence and/or reduction of high-risk behaviors by exploring the realities of risk and the power of self-care. 
• Who I am, Ages 14-18: Encourages girls to examine identity, assertiveness skills, and goal-setting.
• Relationships with Peers, Ages 13-18: Enhances girls’ awareness of their relationships with themselves and others. 
• Expressing My Individuality, Ages 11-15: Explores topics such as celebrating individuality, diversity, getting along with others. Addresses goals, conflict styles, feeling good about ourselves, and taking time to relax. 
• Being a Girl, Ages 11-13: Introduces girls to the positive experience of a support circle, addressing topics such as Growing Up Female, Growth and Self-Care, and Female Role Models.
• Paths to the Future, ages 12+: Examines thoughts, beliefs, and actions about friendships, trust, authority figures, mother/daughter relationships, sexuality, dating violence, HIV, drug use, stress and goal setting. This group also introduces girls to important discussions concerning their choices and behaviors and examines ways to promote self-care and healthy decision-making through lively discussions and activities.  
• Friendship, ages 9-14: Groundbreaking guidance that addresses exclusion, intolerance, and feuding. Confronts relational aggression and strengthens girls’ interpersonal skills. Knocks down barriers to pride, confidence and empathy.   
• Honoring Our Diversity, ages 11-18: Themes focus on appreciating diversity in girls’ lives by identifying biases, developing navigational tools in a multicultural society, and promoting understanding and respect within and between groups. 
• Wise & Well, ages 12-18: Inspires girls to live with their eyes wide open, minds sharp and aware, and hearts willing to step up to leadership for their own health and safety. Activities in this group include navigating the digital world of cyberspace, social networking and texting, practicing coping skills, decision making and being in charge in relation to drinking and drug use. It also works to debunk the stigma about mental health.

Girls Circle is listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs.