Rachel Simmons

Although Rachel Simmons is certainly not the first to write about schoolgirl cruelty, she treats the subject in a thorough and illuminating manner. Rachel contends that incidents of bullying could be avoided if girls were encouraged to acknowledge their aggression. She believes this would empower them to negotiate conflicts and to define relationships in "new and healthier ways." In her presentation she illustrates that conflict-free relationships don't exist. Instead of thinking conflict ends relationships, girls can learn that they can't survive without it and should not let fear control them. She believes her task is to give every girl, every parent, and every teacher a shared, public language to address girls’ conflicts and relationships.

• Learn three types of psychological aggression
• Understand the root causes of female aggression
• Understand focus of girls' social power and structure of social conflict between girls
• Learn preventative and acute strategic interventions for girls

In this brand new, interactive workshop for girls and adults, Rachel teaches practical strategies to be “real” in relationships. Using exciting new technology that allows participants to send real-time text message responses to Rachel’s questions, Rachel teaches girls concrete tools to:

• Access and express a full range of emotions
• Communicate with confidence
• Understand how self-defeating thoughts and assumptions damage relationships
• Handle mistakes with grace

With her personable, fun, down-to-earth speaking style, Rachel keeps participants laughing, interacting, and learning. This is not just a workshop; it’s a conversation starter for adults and girls, offering families and teachers a new language to talk about communication, friendship and personal values.

Learn how the pressures girls face to be kind, selfless, and flawless install a glass ceiling on girls’ social, academic, and extra-curricular potential. In this lecture, discover girl-empowering strategies to manage interpersonal conflict, stay true to yourself in relationships, deal gracefully with constructive criticism, and increase emotional intelligence.

Sit back for this guided graphic tour through the online jungle with Rachel Simmons. From Facebook and MySpace to text messages, sexting and emails, you will study a series of real online interactions between girls while learning the three forces that drive girls’ obsession with social technology. We’ll explore how to respond to cyberbullying, parenting conversations that work, and realistic prevention strategies to keep your daughter safe online.

In this two-hour workshop for teachers, school counselors, and clinicians, participants will uncover the unwritten rules that guide girls’ day-to-day social struggles and undermine healthy relationships between girls. You will learn strategies to address destructive assumption-making among peers; the phrases no offense and just kidding; and dysfunctional responses to confrontation. Coping strategies for conflict will also be addressed.

Even the most academically accomplished girls may apologize before they speak in class and raise their hands only when they have the right answers. This workshop teaches participants methods to integrate three core “Real World” skills into instruction and curriculum: self-promotion, self-expression, and comfort with constructive criticism. These are areas where young women struggle after college and can be addressed in middle and high school classrooms. You will learn how to increase intellectual risk-taking and decrease self-defeating speech; make transparent the distorted thoughts that commonly arise for girls in the face of challenge; and create opportunities for girls to identify and embrace their talents.