Pathways Group Mentoring For Teenage Young Women in Stroud.

 Our Pathways group for teen young women has contiuned to meet both on zoom and in person (when possible) throughout the Pandemic.
We meet on the 2nd Sunday of every month.
The ages of young women in the group currently ranges from
15 yr olds to 21 yr olds

Our work aims to provide a safe and supportive regular space for young women to explore and address any current issues they have as we navigate the challenging times we are in.
Our work using creative based group mentoring practices aims to cultivate and sustain a strong
sense of community and care. 
We take time to build a strong container together based on trust and respect. 
During which, we listen to any themes arising and actively respond to those.
We  choose themes informed by what we hear and see to help explore and discover through
experiences with self, other and in nature. 

We draw on a variety of fun and creative mediums to  explore themes arising and take in turns to speak and listen by using circle work as central to our practice.
Our work together aims to cultivate belonging, self-awareness, enquiry, listening skills, creative expression, collaboration,  confidence, and a strong sense of mutual support, based on respect and care through their journey of adolescence towards adulthood.

Guest mentors visit the group and contribute in a variety of ways. This is always one of the highlights of our times together.
The work is carried out through tried and tested
creative group mentoring approaches and nature based creative activities.
Our work is based on The Rose Circle ( now Rogue Valley Mentoring) who several of our mentors trained with in 2012 and one of the Founders Leslie Lanes mentored Liz to found this work in Stroud in 2011.

 Our groups have been running for ten years locally in Stroud. We have delivered several mentoring trainings for women who are interested in being involved in this work or setting up this work in their area.

Further info:
Training to be a mentor:
Our group mentoring work is inspired and informed by The Rose Circle who we have trained with. We now offer Pathways Group mentoring courses  for women (see our training page)
Helping to guide and support other women who want to get involved and support teenage young women.

Why we do it:
Many girls and young women face challenges as they navigate their journey through adolescence. This phase of growing up  as a young women, can often be a very challenging time with many issues arising due to the pressures of our society and how we live. Including the covid pandemic, climate emergency, social media, exam pressures, family situations , concerns about the future, bullying, drugs and rising mental health issues.

All of these issues have been amplified with the growing mental health crisis due to the challenges of the
Covid 19 Pandemic and we realise how needed this kind of community based support is. 

What we do:
​ We run nature based creative group mentoring sessions based on issues identified through our ongoing consultation with teenage girls and young women.
Through this informed approach we aim to meet the girls and young women where they are at and to co create an environment where they can explore who they are, how they feel and think within a well held space and often in nature.

Group mentoring supports, encourages and guides teenage girls and young women to connect with themselves, others and nature in a meaningful and well held way.

Our team of women mentors are all DBS checked and many of them have years of experience working with children and young people in other contexts.

What teen girls and young women say:

Teenage young women say that they feel more connected to themselves and each other through taking part in this work. They find the regular sessions are an on going place that they can explore issues and receive support in their lives, which helps  them to feel less isolated and more resilient.
Many of them report that they manage to cope more effectively with the pressures of growing up in today’s society.

'I have never felt so at peace with myself, like my whole being was just ok to be me as I was on the Camp without any pressures.
I felt free and happy and that was such a great feeling' 

'I have always felt nervous being around people, especially around girls. being on the camp with everyone and then in the group was like meeting this whole new feeling in me.
It's because I feel safe in the group, safe to say what I need and that it is ok to just be who I am.... and that is something that is rare. I wish it wasn't but it is' 

Being a part of the group  can help to cultivate meaningful real life connections with other adult women who are outside of the family or school context.
As well as strengthening community around our young people it also provides a wide variety of role models for teenage young women to relate to and with.

See our testimonies page for further info on what girls and young women say about their own experiences of being part of the groups and the camps.
see here for testimonials

Group mentoring is an effective way of creating mutually supportive environments  to help develop a stronger sense of self, emotional literacy , somatic intelligence and psychological resilience.
It can help to deepen and strengthen a young people's understanding of themselves both their gifts and challenges ( and everything in between!) Through the practice of group mentoring we support young women to cultivate healthy self-esteem, curiosity, self confidence, collaboration, self expression, connection to nature, deep listening skills, creative exprssion, somatic intelligence and self/ other -awareness.
We have lots of fun ( v important!)  and use a variety of creative activities and excercises as well as holding Summer Camps which prove to be very popular with both teenage young women and the mentors.

Why this approach works:

• We create environments where teenage girls feel heard, respected and accepted.
• We encourage and support children and young people to discover themselves, express themselves and relate to other young people and adults authentically  in a held, guided and safe manner. 
• Effective at developing self-confidence, self-referral skills, stress management and respect for self and others.
• This work aims to create an environment based on empathy and compassion which has been proven to be an effective way of supporting teenagers (based on evidence based neuroscience research) 
• We acknowledge everyone’s contribution as valuable.
• We work in an emergent way with what issues are present as this will inform our focus and themes.
•  Emerging themes that are common are i.e. resilience, stress management, family issues, relationships, self-esteem etc
• Young people, develop and  practice self discovery, awareness skills, listening skills, emotional intelligence, communication and personal development skills.
•  Taking it in turns to speak, listen and participate in guided group practices.
• We 'meet where the young people are at’ use a  young person driven and inclusive approach.
• Every person invited and encouraged to be actively involved.
• Everyone's contribution is valued.
• Issues of challenge and conflict worked with using  effective conflict resolution based approaches.
• We have developed these approaches through trainings from the Rose Circle and our significant experience of developing this work in community based settings as well as experience of working with young people in schools. 
• We aim to LAAMB (Listen, accept, admire, model, bless) and refrain from FRAPP (Fixing, rescuing, advising, projecting, processing.