Melissa Dunn, DRE Associates

Affirmations can be extremely useful and powerful in reinforcing concepts and ideas introduced during program sessions. Not only do affirmations introduce positive concepts and ideas, they also can begin to replace (or displace) negative and destructive thinking patterns over time. In the short term, they enable participants to interrupt negative and dysfunctional "self-talk" and creates opportunity for them to focus on positive, growth-oriented ideas that relate to the program lessons. There are many ways to use affirmations in program sessions.

• Affirmations may be introduced and repeated by the session facilitator throughout the lesson and group work.
  
  
• The group can be given a single affirmation to remind themselves (and each other) of between program sessions.
  
  
• Individual affirmations may be printed [on small slips of paper or business-type cards] and handed out to each participant at the end of each session to carry and contemplate between sessions. Each girl may have her own individual affirmation or the group may have one or two collective affirmations that tie into the program lesson for that day. This approach enables the participants to collect their affirmations and review/ reinforce the affirmations after the project lesson.
  
  
• Affirmations may be written in journals at the end of each session.

Sample Affirmations (PDF)

Note: Many of the affirmations listed in this section were quoted from the books listed in the references. Additional affirmations are available in each of those sources.