🌼 Defined by Girls 🌼

Format: In-person, tree of life inspired group counselling for girls aged 8-17 guided by Chrissy Weber, Canadian Certified Counsellor,  and Alex D'Ambrosio, Clinical Social Worker

Length: 90 minutes

Location: The Vaudreuil-Soulanges Mental Health Clinic

Corner of Av. St-Jean-Baptiste and Blvd Harwood (Highway 20)*

Cost: $10 per participation

Age groups:

For girls 8 - 12 (primary school): Wednesdays from 4:30PM to 6PM

For girls 12 - 17 (high school): Thursdays from 4:30PM to 6PM

Registration Required: You must register for the group at least 24 hours before. Low enrollment could result in cancellation.

Capacity: Places are limited to 10, and you can register for as many as are available

Payment: Cash payments are accepted on site and a receipt will be sent to the email in the account. Payment by e-transfer or credit card is possible through the client account, you will be invoiced after every participation, payment is expected upon receipt.

A gentle, strengths‑based way to support girls and teens.

At Defined by Girls, we use the Tree of Life approach — a creative, narrative‑based method that helps young people explore who they are, what matters to them, and the strengths they already carry. Instead of focusing on problems or labels, the Tree of Life invites girls to “grow” a tree that represents their lives in a way that feels safe, empowering, and even fun.

It’s a counselling approach that feels more like self‑discovery than therapy.

Each part of the tree represents a different part of a girl’s story:

• Roots — where she comes from: her culture, family, traditions, and the people who shaped her

• Trunk — her strengths, skills, and the qualities she relies on

• Branches — her hopes, goals, and the things she’s reaching toward

• Leaves — the important people in her life

• Fruits — the gifts she gives to others: kindness, humour, creativity, leadership

• Storms — challenges she has faced, and the ways she has stayed grounded through them

This structure gives girls a way to talk about themselves without feeling exposed or judged. They can share as much or as little as they want, and the focus stays on their abilities, resilience, and identity.

The Tree of Life approach is especially powerful in group settings because it helps girls:

• see that they’re not alone

• recognize strengths in themselves and in each other

• build confidence through storytelling and creativity

• talk about challenges in a safe, non‑clinical way

• feel proud of who they are and where they come from

It creates a space where girls can connect, support each other, and feel understood — without pressure, without comparison, and without needing to “fix” anything