Helping young women cope with mean girls

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Helping young women cope with mean girls

Through her unique new program, occupational therapist Justine Hutchins '14, G'15 is helping young women cope with mean girls--both at school and online.

When Justine Hutchins (‘14, G’15) chose occupational therapy as her major at UC, her goal was simple: She wanted to help people.

As a kid, she’d seen her own grandpa and a close friend suffer traumatic injuries, and Hutchins watched how OTs were critical in helping them build strength, improve self-esteem, and regain independence during their recovery.

Today, Hutchins, now a full-time OT at Little Lukes Childcare Center, is doing the same for victims of another type of trauma: bullying.

Founded in 2017 and launched in April 2018, Girl Empowered Talk is a group for young women to talk openly about self-esteem issues and learn strategies to cope with bullying, both in school and on social media.

“Doing something like this has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” says Hutchins, who was bullied herself as a teen and vividly remembers the pain and isolation of feeling like “you’re the only one going through it,” she recalls.

“Female bullying is so different from the way boys pick on one another, and I felt like there weren’t a lot of resources out there for me.”

With Girl Empowered Talk, Hutchins hopes to gives young women the accepting, non-judgmental environment she wanted as a teen, along with constructive ways to deal with the bullies themselves.

After months of planning, she launched the program in her hometown of Boonville, New York. In early 2018, she met with the school’s guidance counselor, who helped spread the word through parents and teachers. On social media, she connected with local Girl Scout troops and the 4H Club to attract interest.

During the first session, Hutchins used the techniques she’s honed as an OT to facilitate open discussion among the young women, who ranged in age from nine to 18.

“Rather than asking them directly about being bullied, I’d say things like ‘tell me about bullying you’ve seen at school or online,’” she says. “My goal is to act as a facilitator, because more than anything, these girls just want someone to listen.”

After the conversation, Hutchins led the group in mindfulness exercises, journaling, and a guided meditation, focusing on the idea that, with bullies, “their behavior is about them, not about you.”

The group’s second event is scheduled for the fall in Liverpool, New York, and Hutchins is already planning a third. She’s also in the process of earning her yoga teaching certification in the hopes of offering more yoga-based exercises during group sessions.

Feedback after the first session, she says, has provided plenty of encouragement to keep Girl Empowered Talk going—and growing—far into the future.

“One of the youngest participants told me it was the first time she was able to talk about her feelings without being interrupted,” Hutchins says. “That means everything to me.”