What if you turned toward yourself with kindness instead of judgment?

What if instead of berating yourself for all the things you "should" be doing, you were able to appreciate all that you already do, and more importantly, for who you are? What if you could move away from that feeling of never good enough and start to practice self-compassion instead? This 8 week group provides the space for that journey.

"Never Good Enough": Moving from Shame to Self Acceptance combines education and experiential practice with the chance to share personal experiences and insights. We meet for 2.5 hours per week for eight weeks, and there is a limit of twelve participants to allow for maximum participation and individualized attention.

This 8 week group offers a chance for you to increase self-compassion, combat negative self-talk, build a healthy body image, make room for self-care, and become more shame-resilient!

Each week, we teach a new element that you can incorporate into your daily life, and we make time for group discussion to explore that topic in more depth. Along with bigger group discussions, we work in pairs and small groups to help explore tough questions. We use art and mindfulness exercises to explore who we are underneath the masks, what our version of a healthy relationship with ourselves really is, and how we can fight shame when it arises.

As a facilitator, I work from a collaborative approach where we provide ideas an options while always trusting in the wisdom of the group and the individuals that make up that group. We try to be flexible based on what the group needs most while also making sure to have you leave each session with some new ideas to reflect on and challenges to try out during the week.

Why Group?

Most people who have met me have at some point heard me talk about how much I love group. Here's why: the group experience adds so much to the process of healing.

Community

Having a group of other people that will be both your cheerleaders and your partners in accountability is hugely powerful. You also get the benefit of learning from others who are facing similar situations, and practicing vulnerability in a safe(r) space.

Growth & Learning

Eight weeks is a solid commitment to yourself, and it's rare that we ever dedicate that amount of time to really dig deep into one issue. It's becomes too easy to put things off, get off track, or wait for a "better time". The intensive format allows for some seriously exponential growth and healing!

What to Expect

Week 1: Introduction and the Strength of Vulnerability

Begin the journey of connecting and healing as a group. Through experience, learn how in vulnerability we find strength, and in each other we find an antidote to shame. We also touch on self-care, including what gets in the way of really putting ourselves as a priority, and how we can work through the numbing we so often do instead.

Week 2: Understanding Shame

Start to build shame resilience by learning how to recognize it in your body and understand your specific shame triggers. Rediscover your power to combat shame through a group art-based exercise.

Week 3: Exploring Vulnerability

In order to embrace who we are, we need to know who we are. Dig deep into the ways you tend to hide your true self. Create a visual representation of the masks you tend to wear, as well as who you are at the core.

Week 4: Self-Compassion

Discuss the foundations of self-compassion, learn to sit with uncomfortable emotions, and practice listening to what you need. Try a brief self-compassion exercise, learn about the benefits of treating yourself as well as you would treat a friend, and practice sending kindness into some of the parts of yourself that need it most.

Week 5: Body Image & Practicing Critical Awareness

Share your own struggles with body image and learn about how that story fits into a wider context. Start to imagine your own version of healthy femininity and create a visual representation of it. Learn about some amazing body positive resources.

Week 6: Self Talk...ing Back to Shame

Examine the ways you talk to yourself, and begin to change and challenge that talk. Consider the ways you may be disrespecting yourself and work through an exercise to help you let go of the behaviors that no longer serve you.

Week 7: Accepting Your Limits

Part of loving yourself is also recognizing your capacity, so in this session you will explore some ways of listening to intuition and learn the ways you tend to ignore it. Work in pairs to reflect on where you struggle to say no in your life and how that's impacting you. We will do a concrete exercise to help you understand what you're willing and able to do in a challenging situation.

Week 8: Cultivating Joy and Closing

This week we explore all the things that give you joy, that nourish you, and that helps you feel alive. As a group, you reflect back on the time you’ve had together and create a map of the journey.

Is This Group for You?

Are you ready to...

• Have a better relationship with yourself?

• Dig deep and combat habitual messages of shame, practicing vulnerability instead?
• Choose the situations and relationships that make you happiest?
• Talk to yourself with love and compassion instead of criticism and comparison?

 If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I'd love to hear from you!

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do” – Brene Brown

Dates: 2021 TBA
Location: Transcend Psychological #506, 8215-112 Street
Cost: $675 (may be reimbursable through your health benefits plan)
Early bird rate: $600 if paid 30 days prior to group

This group is open to women and gender non-conforming folks over the age of 18.

I'm ready! Register now!