I loved learning more about this educational workshop presented by The Wellness Studio. Watch the video and read below to learn more from Counselors, Dr. Mary Kathryn Rodrigue and Katie Fetzer!

Right before the academic school year came to a close on April 20th, Licensed Professional Counselors, Dr. Mary Kathryn Rodrigue and Katie Fetzer of The Wellness Studio, LLC, created and conducted an educational and interactive workshop along with 4 additional panelists for SSA senior girls in Covington, LA. The Wellness Studio, LLC teamed up with Gayle Reuling of AIR salon, Heidi Bowers of Heidi Bowers Photography, Laura Miles of Socy’all Media, and Jennifer Pallpalotoc, fashion blogger of Hautte off the Rack.

Titled by The Wellness Studio Counselors as, “Define your Selfie; A Girls Guide to Positive Body Image, Empowerment… and their Inner BEYONCE, “the workshop aimed to empower young girls to start defining themselves by things other than just their outer and physical appearance while also encouraging responsible social media usage.

“We wanted to collaborate with the professionals who could offer accurate and fresh perspectives regarding social media, fashion, and photography to make our workshop more credible and relevant for the girls; we are licensed mental health professionals, but we are not experts on social media, fashion, or photography.”—Rodrigue

“In practice we are too often seeing youth girls with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and somehow the topic of social media usage always comes up. Social media is used in so many great and inspirational ways, however as a counselor I have also seen how it can be easily used in a negative way if not used responsibly—such as cyber bullying, and sharing harmful content.”—Fetzer

“Having worked with so many young girls who struggle with body image and self esteem, it has motivated us as counselors to go beyond the counseling office to make a larger impact. Our goal with this workshop is not to bash social media but to encourage appropriate social media usage and most importantly to challenge the inner dialogue that a young girl might be having with herself as she scrolls through her social media news feed; is she feeling less than if she didn’t get as many likes as her peer? How does that make her feel? And so forth…”—Fetzer

“We also want the girls to know that counseling is a solution. If just one girl left feeling more positive and hopeful than this is a success, and if just one girl leaves here considering counseling as a possible solution when they are struggling then it’s a homerun.”—Rodrigue

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So informative and inspiring! Thank you for sharing Dr. Mary Kathryn Rodrigue and Katie Fetzer!

Cheers,
Liz

The Wellness Studio Radio Interview <– click here to listen!