Puberty Girl

Puberty Girl is the result of over a decade of working with girls in their teens (9-12 year olds) and wanting to offer these girls something they could use as a resource. I deeply hope that Puberty Girl is a book that girls would want to pick up and read out of their own interest and curiosity, and not because their parents said they should. It is filled with fantastic pictures and illustrations, facts, practical information, stories and anecdotes celebrating diversity and exploring our individual strengths, creativity, power and wisdom as budding girl-women of the world!
I feel that menstruation is so intrinsically part of who we are as women. Whether we have babies or not. Understanding, accepting and loving this deep part of ourselves is a crucial part of accepting and loving ourselves as women. For many women, puberty and menarche has often been a scarey, painful or lonely experience where they have felt unable to speak to anyone. They've wanted their daughter's transition into womanhood to be easier, more informed and more positive than their own. Puberty Girl uses language that is straightforward and accessible. It is also cheeky, using upbeat humour around a subject that has long been kept in the area of delicate, embarrassing and even shameful. I describe in detail all the biological changes that girls may start to experience in the build up to their periods as well as what to do once their period arrives.
I provide easy, practical information on how girls can choose and use pads and tampons and take positive steps in caring for their menstrual health particularly cramps and pmt. One of the biggest fears girls have is a loss of control around their bodies at menstruation: e.g. fear of getting their period at school and the blood staining their clothes. This seems connected to girls feeling shame and fear around menstrual blood, that it is dirty and that they have somehow lost control of their bodily function. In my book and in my groups I make a point of acknowledging and normalising this concern since so many girls share it. Then I bring in practical solutions in addressing this based on discussions in my groups over the years. Equally I make a point of reassuring girls that menstrual blood is the cleanest of all since it is nutrient rich and was intended for a baby to grow in.
Puberty Girl is about a lot more than menstruation. It includes practical tools, stories and information on body image,eating disorders and self esteem, dealing with conflict, personal hygiene and awareness of body boundaries and safe touch. The book refers to and uses diverse images of girls and body shape and invites girls to question and deconstruct representations of beauty. It invites girls in a friendly way to consider the choices they have in life and this starts with their attitudes and relationship to their menarche and their own bodies. I have specifically chosen not to write about sex and I feel that for many girls getting their periods is already somewhat abstract and a lot of information to take in. I wanted to honour their menarche and keep the focus on their transition which is such a deeply internal process. I do include information on masturbation as part of this personal, inner process. My deepest wish for girls reading my book is that they feel comforted, empowered and well informed around their changing bodies and changing mental and emotional experiences.

Shushann Movsessian
Back to Library
At a glance
-
Healing after Betrayal
Is it Possible? -
Modern Marriage
When to leave a relationship -
How Depressed Are You?
Information about anti-depressants and the alternatives -
Emotional Intelligence
A harmonious balance -
Food for Thought
Reconnecting with your body. -
Surviving Postnatal Depression
You are not alone -
The Future of Marriage
Shining a light on intimate relationships -
Loss involves Change
and Change involves Loss -
Intimacy in Relationships
Have you lost hope? -
Living at the seam line
My struggle against separation. -
Gambling
It's been said that Australians will bet on anything -
Is it OK to use touch in psychotherapy?
Is it OK to work with clients who know each other? -
Borderline
Making the world safe again -
When Words Are Not Enough
Somatic Psychotherapy: a therapist's perspective -
If you are having suicidal thoughts...
It is important to ask for help. -
The Within, and the Between
The Art of Relationship Counselling -
The Good Fight
How taking your own side can minimise confusion and conflict -
Celebrate Success
The art of self congratulation -
Please Understand Me
Does personal temperament impact the therapeutic relationship? -
An Authentic Christmas
Give yourself and your loved ones the gift of choice this Christmas
- Temenos Journal (26)
- Time (15)
- Friendship (4)
- Dreams (3)
- Authenticity and Play (1)
- Progress and Process (1)
- Bliss and Awareness (1)
- Poetry (3)
- Conversations (2)
- Reviews (10)
- Books (3)
- Films (8)
- Music (1)
- Library (64)
- Anxiety and Depression (5)
- Burnout and Balance (4)
- Career and Calling (2)
- Communication (1)
- Culture and Society (7)
- Education and Ethics (2)
- Emotions (5)
- Family and Parenting (15)
- Grief and Loss (3)
- Human Condition (9)
- Personality and Identity (3)
- Health and Wellbeing (1)
- Relationships (13)
- Trauma (4)
- Therapy (21)
- Professional Training (3)
- Conferences (1)
- Good Therapy News (2)
- Philosophical Enquiry (14)
- Forum Questions (174)
- November 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- June 2017 (1)
- May 2017 (2)
- September 2016 (1)
- August 2015 (1)
- July 2015 (1)
- November 2014 (1)
- October 2014 (2)
- June 2014 (2)
- May 2014 (1)
- April 2014 (2)
- January 2014 (1)
- November 2013 (3)
- October 2013 (1)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (5)
- June 2013 (17)
- April 2013 (1)
- August 2012 (1)
- June 2012 (1)
- January 2012 (2)
- November 2011 (1)
- November 2010 (1)
- June 2010 (1)
- May 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (1)
- January 2010 (1)
- February 2009 (4)
- June 2008 (1)
- May 2008 (1)
- March 2007 (1)
- December 2006 (2)
- September 2006 (1)
- July 2006 (3)
- May 2006 (1)
- March 2006 (3)
- February 2006 (1)
- November 2005 (2)
- October 2005 (2)
- September 2005 (2)
- August 2005 (10)
- July 2005 (3)
- May 2005 (3)
- April 2005 (1)
- March 2005 (4)
- February 2005 (1)
- January 2005 (3)
- December 2004 (2)
- November 2004 (6)
- September 2004 (1)
- July 2004 (2)