SHEA FAQ
What does the SHEA app actually do? SHEA is a live, audio-only, community wellness app that gathers together teen girls to chat about and listen to the experiences of other teen girls.
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What does SHEA mean? Shea stands for social and emotional health (not exactly in that order!) Shea is also a substance from the shea tree of West Africa with anti-inflammatory and healing properties. You may even know a person named Shea. All together, Shea represents that best friend, big sister or confidante we all need or wished we had to give us perspective on life and reassure us that it's all going to be ok.
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How do SHEA chats work? Every SHEA chat is led by a moderator, who is typically an expert in the teen and/or mental health space. The moderator will guide a group of 3-4 sharers in a conversation about how they are handling or have coped with the particular topic being discussed, including lessons learned and helpful tips. All other chat participants are considered listeners or "ladlers", scooping up whatever morsels they need from the conversation. Ladlers also have the ability to text a question or comment for the sharers.
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How do I find out about which chats are happening when? Once you download the SHEA app, you will select the topics that interest you and receive notifications for what day and time those chats will happen.
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What topics will SHEA chats cover? To start, SHEA chats will cover issues like stress, anxiety, depression, peer pressure, puberty, body image, boyfriend/girlfriend issues, confidence, self-esteem, sexuality, etc. But SHEA is open to any topics if there is enough interest.
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Is SHEA considered therapy? No, SHEA is not therapy. The sole purpose of the chats is to normalize the social and emotional health experiences of teen girls through shared conversation. However, we do hope that as a result of SHEA chats teen girls feel less isolated and seek out additional help from a friend, family member or therapist if they need it.
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Why are SHEA participants anonymous? Teen girls are private by nature and we have found that they are most comfortable asking questions, making comments and even listening when others don't know about it. In addition, user anonymity provides a protective measure against bad actors.
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Why are SHEA chats live and not recorded? SHEA is not a podcast because teen girls feel more free to share when no one can look up what they said later on.
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Can SHEA participants contact one another? No, SHEA participants cannot contact one another. When teen girls register, they simply create an avatar but no private information is stored or exchanged by which others can contact them.
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What is a SHEA Day? SHEA Days are how we will first roll out the app, where all SHEA chats take place on a single day of the week.
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How much does SHEA cost? We want the SHEA app to be totally inclusive so it is free to all teen girls everywhere!
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What if I have a question or issue not covered here? If you have any additional questions, please send us an email at danielle@girl-onpurpose.com and we'll get back to you asap.
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