Dated: 09/10/2015
Educational Psychologist and award winning author, Dr Aric Sigman with students (left to right) Helen Brown, Ellie Hind, Eva Parkin and Tallulah Stubbe at Newcastle High School for Girls where he launched the school’s new SELFIE programme. #NorthNewsAndPictures/2daymedia
Research surrounding Body Image in this country is disturbing. In a highly sexualised society where the female body is highly scrutinised, portrayed and commented on, girls and women of all ages are unhappier with their bodies than ever before.
Launching the campaign, dubbed SELFIE, is educational psychologist and award winning author, Dr Aric Sigman whose recent book Body Wars tackles the issue of self image and the epidemic of body dissatisfaction in the UK.
Dr Aric Sigman, eminent psychologist and award winning author, attended Newcastle High School for Girls yesterday where he launched the School’s new SELFIE programme.
The programme was launched in response to growing concerns about the pressures on all girls and young women in today’s society and will cover issues of Body Image, Self Esteem, Cyber Bullying, Eating Disorders and Mental Health, with the aim of building greater emotional resilience and strengthening emotional intelligence among girls attending Newcastle High as well as offering guidance and advice for parents.
Dated: 09/10/2015
Newcastle High School For Girls students (left to right) Pheobe Reed, Harriett Weir, Lexie Roberts, Jaspreet Puni, Alex Quinton and Maya Torres where Educational Psychologist and award winning author, Dr Aric Sigman launched the school’s new SELFIE programme. #NorthNewsAndPictures/2daymedia
The programme began with Dr Sigman delivering talks to all girls from age 11 – 18 at Newcastle High, followed by a parent-only talk in the evening. The focus of Dr Sigman’s talks was Body Image, why body dissatisfaction is at epidemic proportions and how as a society we can wage war against.
The School’s SELFIE theme will influence the delivery of the Personal Health and Social Education curriculum, as well as feed into other aspects of school life including talks, seminars and activities.
Coordinating the whole programme, Senior Deputy Head at Newcastle High School for Girls, Michael Tippett said “We launched the SELFIE programme to reflect mounting social pressures on girls. Our expertise in the education of girls allows us to offer exceptional support on a wide range of pastoral related matters and the SELFIE programme will tackle head on some of the bigger issues faced by girls. It aims to give them the confidence to be themselves and the resilience to resist the pressure to look or behave in a certain way. By offering advice to parents as well, we hope to develop a cohesive approach between school and home.”
The talks given by Dr Sigman are the first in a series and parents at Newcastle High will be surveyed to find out the topics on which they would like further support.
