The Girl's Guide to Relationships, Sexuality, and Consent: Tools to Help Teens Stay Safe, Empowered, and Confident

by Leah Aguirre LCSW, Geraldine O'Sullivan LCSW

Overview

Are you looking for clear and reliable information about relationships, sexuality, safety, and consent? You can find it in this essential guide—just for teen girls.

As a teen girl, you probably have a ton of questions about sex and relationships. For example, what do you do if someone sends or asks you to send an explicit picture or text? How do you know if you are straight, bi, pan, or gay? What do you do if you are being pressured to do something you don’t want to do? This book has all the answers you seek.

Written by two experts in teen mental health, this go-to guide offers empowering tools to help you build self-esteem, clarify your values, understand your sexual identity and boundaries, decide what feels right for you, and know what to do when things go wrong. And by practicing the simple evidence-based skills in this book, you’ll learn how to handle any situation that you may encounter—whether online or IRL.

As a teen girl navigating the world of sex, dating, and relationships, you need to feel empowered and confident to make important decisions for yourself that are grounded in self-respect and safety. This book can help, every step of the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684039739
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	10/01/2022
Series:	Instant Help Solutions Series
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Leah Aguirre, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in San Diego, CA. She works primarily with individuals who have experienced complex trauma, including childhood abuse, domestic violence, and dating violence; and provides trauma-based treatment, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Aguirre contributes to Psychology Today, and has been featured in major media such as Bumble, GQ, Reader’s Digest, and Hello Giggles.

Geraldine O’Sullivan, LCSW, PPSC, is a licensed clinical social worker with a pupil personnel services credential in school social work and child welfare and attendance. She currently practices as a school social worker in San Diego County, CA, where she provides mental health counseling services and crisis intervention to teens using therapeutic modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and solution-focused therapy. In 2022, she was awarded High School Social Worker of the Year for San Diego County. O’Sullivan is coauthor of The Girl’s Guide to Relationships, Sexuality, and Consent. She is also known for her published research on the topic of eustress.

Table of Contents

A Note for Caring Adults ix

Welcome 1

Chapter 1 So, What's Important to You? 3

Chapter 2 Know Your Worth and Others Will Too 19

Chapter 3 Sexual "I"dentity Celebrates Who You Are 31

Chapter 4 Your Own Body Love Comes First 43

Chapter 5 Choosing Your Circle of Friends 57

Chapter 6 Loving When It's Healthy and Knowing When It's Not 73

Chapter 7 Online Love Doesn't Feel Virtual 91

Chapter 8 Sex, No Sex, or Something Else? Set Your Terms 105

Chapter 9 Staying Safe During Sex 121

Chapter 10 Breakups Are Tough-but So Are You 133

Chapter 11 Some News About Sexting and Nudes 151

Parting Gift Your Decisions Are the Power in Sexual Empowerment 163

Acknowledgments 165

Resources 167

References 175

Editorial Reviews

Teenaged girls today face many challenges, but they hesitate to initiate potentially awkward conversations with the adults in their lives. Often, they don’t know enough about their concerns to figure out what information or guidance they need, or how to get it. The Girl’s Guide to Relationships, Sexuality, and Consent precisely provides the content, support, wisdom, accessibility, and privacy girls want and need. Thank you, Leah and Geraldine!”
—Debra Gilbert Rosenberg, AM, LCSW, psychotherapist for more than thirty-five years, and author of The New Moms’ Companion and Motherhood without Guilt

Debra Gilbert Rosenberg

I am wholeheartedly recommending this book to my patients! A very thoughtful and inclusive resource, written by experienced therapists, to help teens and their families navigate the complex and challenging topics of relationships, identity formation, and much more!”
—Kali Hobson, MD, adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist

Kali Hobson

Leah and Geraldine have created an outstanding resource on a sensitive and significant topic. This book is a comprehensive and straightforward guide to all aspects of dating, from building self-esteem to navigating breakups to the legal and emotional ramifications of sex without consent. With the pervasive internet component in today’s social environment, teaching teens to stay physically and emotionally healthy in dating relationships is critical. Teen boys should read this, too!”
—Lisa M. Schab, LCSW, psychotherapist; and author of eighteen self-help books, including The Self-Esteem Workbook for Teens and the Put Your Worries Here journaling series

Lisa M. Schab

A handbook for teens engaged in the work of building healthy relationships—with themselves and with others—written by licensed clinical social workers with experience in this field. Short, digestible chapters build on one another in this accessible handbook for building empowered relationships.... The authors are never judgmental or dismissive of teen concerns and focus on providing a tool kit for safe passage, no matter the reader’s path.... Also discussed are body image, abuse, breakups, sexuality and gender identity, and safer sex practices. Each chapter includes illustrative anecdotes and exercises that invite positive action. The authors open with an informative and reassuring opening note for adults explaining the value and importance of sexuality education. Although the book references girls, there is much of value here for all readers. Compassionate, holistic, purposeful.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

The Girl’s Guide to Relationships, Sexuality, and Consent has the guidance, language, and specific tools for teens to explore some of the most challenging parts of navigating this period of their lives. Brilliantly written and with examples that are relatable and easy to read, teens and their parents will benefit greatly from this resource!”
—Jessica Yaffa,CPC, certified professional relationship coach, and president of NoSilence NoViolence

Jessica Yaffa

As a psychologist specializing in teen girls, I will certainly have this book prominently displayed in my office! It educates and clarifies one of the most timely and sensitive topics facing teens today. I am grateful to the authors for covering this massive topic so comprehensively, and in a way that leaves the reader with a greater sense of agency and empowerment. It’s a must-have resource for every teen.”
—Lucie Hemmen, PhD, clinical psychologist, and author of Parenting a Teen Girl

Lucie Hemmen

I wish I’d had this sex-positive, psychologically astute, nonjudgmental, kind, and inclusive guide when I was a teenager! Actually, it probably would have helped me in my twenties as well. This book respects the intelligence of young people to work through complex questions of desire, consent, and safety. A great gift for your daughter, niece, or any other young people in your life.”
—Rachel Krantz, award-winning journalist, and author of Open

Rachel Krantz

2022-08-17
A handbook for teens engaged in the work of building healthy relationships—with themselves and with others—written by licensed clinical social workers with experience in this field.

Short, digestible chapters build on one another in this accessible handbook for building empowered relationships. The opening chapters, “So, What’s Important to You?” and “Know Your Worth and Others Will Too,” deal with relationship to self, providing definitions and tools for determining values and cultivating self-esteem. From this core emphasis on self-knowledge and self-love, the book branches out to cover topics that range from friendship to sexual relationships in the age of the internet. The authors are never judgmental or dismissive of teen concerns and focus on providing a tool kit for safe passage, no matter the reader’s path. The chapter entitled “Online Love Doesn’t Feel Virtual” honors digitally forged relationships while highlighting the importance of caution, while “Sex, No Sex, or Something Else? Set Your Terms” explains consent and encourages teens to make their own decisions using the principles of self-knowledge established earlier. Also discussed are body image, abuse, breakups, sexuality and gender identity, and safer sex practices. Each chapter includes illustrative anecdotes and exercises that invite positive action. The authors open with an informative and reassuring opening note for adults explaining the value and importance of sexuality education. Although the book references girls, there is much of value here for all readers.

Compassionate, holistic, purposeful. (resources, references) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews