#The Healthy Selfie |

The Chrysalis Girls Program is a counselling program with a difference – directed and guided adolescents themselves. On Tuesday November 24 they’re holding a free exhibition and forum at the Byron Bay Community Centre – if you’re the parent of a teenage girl this is a great idea!

Says Chrysalis spokesperson and counsellor Jane McGowen: “We are presenting a photographic exhibition/community forum that addresses the pressures and consequences often experienced by young people who are engaged in social media that many of us who are not ‘in the loop’ often know little about.”

What the counsellors at Chrysalis have discovered is that one of the most challenging things about working with teens is witnessing the pressure young people are under to post sexualised images of themselves via FB, Instagram, Snapchat and the subsequent consequences of those actions to themselves, their peers and the wider social culture. They are also concerned at the increase in the sending and receiving of sexually explicit material between children below the age of 16, the consequences of which last many years, and can include bullying, self-harm, anxiety and depression, shame and humility.

Over the past few months the Chrysalis program has been taking all 90 of their girls out in groups to the local rainforests and water holes in the Northern Rivers to eat and cook food, do yoga, meditate on the rocks, engage in nature therapy, play dress ups and have fun. “They also take photos of themselves that they feel are true to who they uniquely are,” says McGowen.

Their exhibition/conference hopes to educate and inform parents, healthcare professionals, teachers, young people and all interested about the impacts of social media in a creative and open forum.