Full of Ourselves is a dynamic educational program, created by Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed.D. and Lisa Sjostrom, Ed.M., that aims to sustain girls in their health and decrease their vulnerability to the development of body preoccupation and eating disorders. This model prevention program emphasizes girls’ personal power and overall mental and physical well being. It has been piloted with more than 1000 girls in five states and proven feasible and effective.
What is Full of
Ourselves?
This is a primary prevention
program aimed at a general (i.e., healthy) population of girls; no one need be
at risk for an eating disorder to participate.
Two distinct program phases are geared toward girls of different
ages. During phase 1, a group of 6th,
7th or 8th graders completes the eight-unit Full of
Ourselves curriculum under the guidance of one or two women leaders. During phase 2, these same girls become peer
leaders and lead several sessions with 4th or 5th
graders. Any interested school or youth
organization can adopt the program. All
that’s needed is a supportive community and two committed adults—often
teachers, guidance counselors or school nurses—to facilitate the weekly group
sessions.
Each of the eight Full of Ourselves units takes 45-60
minutes to complete. Through dozens of
activities—discussions, art activities, role plays, guided meditations and a
host of others—girls explore a range of topics, including self and body
acceptance; weightism as a social justice issue;
media literacy; nutrition basics; how to nourish emotional hungers; and the
power of healthy relationships. Each
unit ends with a “Call to Action” directing girls to translate new-found
knowledge into positive action at school, at home and in the wider world.
How are the younger girls involved?
The exciting second program
phase is where some of the most profound learning takes place. The 7th and 8th graders,
now mentors, design and lead 3-5 sessions for 4th or 5th
grade girls. They draw upon suggested
activities in a second curriculum titled Throw Your Weight
Around: A Guide for Girl Leaders.
Numerous! Most importantly, we want girls to gain
higher levels of body and self acceptance, higher levels of self esteem and
confidence, as well as a wider range of coping skills to use in response to
stressful or emotional situations (rather
than turning to a fad diet or a pint of ice cream). We also hope that girls will gain healthier
eating habits, a proficiency with basic media literacy
skills, and the courage and wherewithal to speak up in the face of “weightist” teasing and bullying.
How do you know if the
program’s a success?
We evaluated the program
extensively. Participating and control
group girls answered a research questionnaire pre-program, post-program and
six months later. Research
reveals that Full of Ourselves is feasible, that it causes no harm, and that
it effects positive changes in several key areas. This
is the first prevention program of its kind to effect sustained positive changes
in girls’ body image, body satisfaction and body esteem, important risk factors
in the development of eating disorders. The
program also resulted in sustained positive changes in girls’ knowledge about
health, nutrition, weightism and puberty.
Full of Ourselves moves out into the wider world, as we publish, disseminate and replicate the program nationwide.
The Full of Ourselves project is located at