Body Image Support for Every Body
Body image pressures aren’t one-size-fits-all. Our workshops aren’t either.
Tailored Body Image Workshops
The pressures we feel to be attractive are different for each of us. Gender, age, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity and socio-cultural background are just a few factors that shape our “ideal” appearance. The Body Project was created for adolescent girls (age 14+) and young women. However, similar, adapted versions of the workshop tailor the curriculum to the needs of others.
The Workshops
Choose the workshop that best fits your needs
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The Body Project
For girls (age 14+) and young women.
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More than Muscles
For boys and young men.
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The EVERYbody Project
Gender-inclusive and diversity-focused.
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The Female Athlete Body Project
For varsity female athletes.
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The Pride Body Project
For gay and bisexual men (age 18+)
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Adult Women
For women age 25+.
KIND WORDS
“The Body Project was one of the most impactful experiences of my college career, both as a participant and then as a student facilitator. TBP was able to bring together young women from across all chapters in our Greek system. It led to deep connection and open, honest conversations about the impacts that the thin-ideal has on all of us.”
Stephanie, participant and peer-leader
The body project
This interactive workshop for girls (age 14+) and young women is facilitated in small groups to maximize engagement. Trained facilitators guide participants to identify the appearance “ideals” that impact their body-image (e.g., body size/shape, muscularity, complexion) and the costs they experience as they strive to reach these “ideals”. Participants engage in verbal, written and behavioral activities that challenge these “appearance ideals”, creating cognitive dissonance and thus motivation to change the attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate negative body-image. Workshop participants also practice concrete skills to challenge negative body talk, and choose homework exercises to challenge their own body-image concerns.
Workshops for girls ages 14-17 must be facilitated by trained, adult professionals (“professional-led”) such as teachers, school counselors, coaches, and health care providers. Workshops for women ages 18+ can be facilitated by trained peers (“peer-led”) or professional-led.
Workshop Formats:
Flexible Formats (4 Hours Total):
Two 2-hour sessions
Four 1-hour sessions
Six 45-minute sessions
8-15 participants
Facilitated by 1-2 trained professionals or 2-4 trained “peer leaders”
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
KIND WORDS
“My thinking has really shifted – I was exercising to the extreme to lose weight and exercising to exhaustion to look better, but now I’m just being more kind to myself. I didn’t expect to have such an amazing benefit from these exercises and I just think this is so awesome.”
Participant
More Than Muscles
The “appearance ideal” promoted for young men (age 18+) emphasizes an unrealistically lean and muscular body. Pressure to meet this standard is linked with body dissatisfaction, unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors, and increased risk for Eating Disorders and muscle dysmorphia. The Body Project: More Than Muscles addresses concerns related to both body fat and muscularity, targeting symptoms of traditional eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia. Adapted from the evidence-based Body Project, the workshop engages participants in structured, interactive activities that challenge unrealistic body ideals and promote more balanced perspectives on strength, fitness, and appearance.
It is recommended that if facilitators are not men, they are comfortable and familiar with discussing issues related to body image in this population
Workshop Format:
Two 2-hour sessions (4 hours total), either in person or (live) online
4-10 participants
Facilitated by 2-3 trained professionals or 2-3 trained “peer leaders”
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
KIND WORDS
“It’s definitely made an enormous difference in my mind.... what really unnerves me is how much body talk and thin-young-ideal talk there is. I was aware, but I’m so much more aware and made me realize how toxic that can be – this has been a very eye-opening experience and I’m very grateful for it”
Participant
The Pride Body Project
Appearance ideals promoted for gay and bisexual men (age 18+), both inside and outside the LGBTQ+ community, often emphasize narrow and unrealistic standards related to muscularity, leanness, and attractiveness. Pressure to conform to these ideals is associated with body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and exercise behaviors, and increased risk for Eating Disorders and muscle dysmorphia. The Pride Body Project addresses these concerns by targeting body fat and muscularity dissatisfaction for gay and bisexual men. Adapted from the evidence-based Body Project, this workshop engages participants in structured, interactive activities that examine appearance-related pressures within and outside of the LGBTQ+ community. Through verbal, written, and behavioral exercises, participants challenge unrealistic body ideals and develop more flexible, affirming, and self-compassionate perspectives on body image, identity, and well-being.
It is recommended that if leaders are not gay or bi+ men, they are comfortable and familiar with discussing issues related to body image in this population
Workshop Formats:
Two 2-hour sessions (4 hours total), either in person or (live) online
4-10 participants
Facilitated by 2-3 trained professionals or 2-3 trained “peer leaders”
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
KIND WORDS
“In my short journey with this program I was able to stop being a slave to the scale every day. I wear form fitting clothes more often. I stopped counting my calories and started to enjoy living life more.”
Participant
The EVERYbody Project
The EVERYbody Project is a gender inclusive, diversity-focused adaptation of The Body Project. This workshop uses the foundational exercises of The Body Project to explicitly guide participants to discuss diversity within cultural "appearance ideals", including race, gender identity, sexuality, ability and age. Participants engage in verbal and written exercises that discuss cultural appearance-related pressures, critique the individual and collective impact of pursuing exclusive appearance norms, learn strategies to improve individual body acceptance, and identify steps they can take toward body activism, body compassion, and body liberation.
It is recommended that peer leaders for The EVERYbody Project have advanced workshop facilitation skills and comfort discussing social justice topics, as the workshop's conversations and written activities are more challenging to lead when the group's participants have mixed identities and body-image experiences.
Workshop Formats:
Two 2-hour sessions (in-person workshops) or three 1.5-hour sessions (online workshops)
5-12 participants
Facilitated by 2-3 trained professionals or 2-3 trained peer-leaders
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
The Female Athlete Body Project
The Female Athlete Body Project is deployed through a college/university’s athletic department, utilizing existing structures and services provided to their varsity athletes. This interactive workshop for collegiate female athletes is delivered in small, team-based groups. Trained peer leaders guide participants to examine the unique socio-cultural and sport-specific appearance “ideals” that influence female athletes’ body image (e.g., traditional thin-ideal, sport-specific thin-ideal, and athlete-specific healthy-ideal) and the performance, health, and psychological costs associated with striving to meet them.
Through verbal, written, and behavioral activities, participants critically evaluate how these different “appearance ideals” shape their beliefs about food, training, and their bodies. Activities shift focus away from appearance and toward health and performance. Other activities emphasize the importance of energy balance, fueling for performance, and recognizing the signs and risks of low energy availability (e.g., Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport). Additionally, participants practice skills to challenge “fat talk,” dieting culture, and unhealthy training norms. Role-plays and group problem-solving activities equip athletes to support teammates, resist harmful messaging, and foster a team culture that prioritizes health, recovery, and sustainable performance.
Workshop Formats:
Three sessions, 60–90 minutes each (3–4.5 hours total)
6-15 participants (ideally from the same team or sport)
Facilitated by 2-3 trained peer leaders
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
For adult women (age 25+)
Body dissatisfaction affects women across the lifespan, with an increasing number of women experiencing disordered eating in the later years of life. The Women’s Body Initiative workshop is an adaption of The Body Project tailored to the experiences of adult women (age 25+). As women age, they move increasingly further away from society’s beauty "ideal" because the “ideal” is both thin and young.
This interactive workshop utilizes the foundational verbal, written, and behavior cognitive-dissonance based exercises from The Body Project to shift the way participants think about and talk about their bodies. Trained facilitators guide small groups of participants to identify and critique both the ultra-thin, cis-gender female "appearance ideal", as well as the perpetually-young "ideal" that is promoted in Western culture. Additionally, participants practice concrete skills to challenge negative body talk and "old talk", and choose homework exercises to challenge their specific body-image concerns.
Workshop Formats:
Four 1-hour sessions, occurring over 4-8 weeks (4 hours total)
6-10 participants, age 25 or older (no upper age limit)
Facilitated by 2-3 trained professionals or “peer leaders”
Note: Individuals with a current or recent Eating Disorder should not participate until reaching sustained recovery.
