Bullying Resilience Coaching
for Kids, Teens, & Families
Hi! I’m Amy Jones Anichini
Bullying Resilience Coach & Youth Empowerment Mentor
Build Your Resilience.
Empower Yourself for Life!
Kids & Teens
Are you tired of people making fun of you, saying you’re weird, or bullying you into changing who you are? Sometimes it feels easier to give in and go along with the crowd just to make it through the day, but I promise you: there’s a better solution!
Parents & Caregivers
Do you suspect your child is being bullied? Have you tried everything to get it to stop, but nothing seems to work? I’ll help you discover the keys to helping your child strengthen their resilience and take back control of their life & happiness!
Helping You to Help Yourself
The KEY is building your resilience and self-esteem so that you deflect – rather than internalize – the negativity of others.
When people treat us poorly, it’s important to know that it’s not about us: it’s about them and their personal experiences. That’s why trying to change the words and actions of others doesn’t work! All it does is cause us frustration and leave us feeling powerless and hurt.
What we CAN do is is change how we feel about what they say by knowing and accepting ourselves and understanding that what they say is not only wrong, but it isn’t really about us at all. It’s about them and the damage someone has done to them. Remember: hurt (adjective) people … hurt (verb) people.
I'll Help You Discover/Rediscover:
How to remain true to yourself when it feels like everyone is trying to make you change
What makes you happy
What makes you unique
How to stay calm & not react when other treat you poorly
What to do instead of taking out your anger and frustration on someone else
How to not fall into the trap of thinking that bullying others is the way to get what you want
The power you might not realize you have
That the world needs you to be exactly who you are so you can contribute what you're meant to contribute
1st: Discovery Session
- 20 minute session via Zoom; Complimentary
- You’ll tell me what’s going on
- I’ll describe how I can help
- We’ll discover if we’re a good fit for each other!
- Limit 1 session per client
Next: Coaching Sessions with Amy
- 60 minute sessions via Zoom @ $100 each
- What we’ll work on each session will vary but may include:
- Building on what we began in the Discovery Session, so I fully understand the bullying behavior you’re experiencing
- Working on life skills, emotion regulation, and communication strategies to help you deflect negative encounters
- Reporting bullying to your school or other organization where it’s happening
Later: Peer Coaching Sessions
- 60 minute sessions via Zoom @ $150 each
- Offered on a case by case basis if I determine that you would benefit from speaking with youth anti-bullying advocates from Theatre of Peace (“TOP”)
- TOP Advocates will listen to you, validate you, and share what’s worked for them
- Sessions are scheduled privately to take into consideration both your and TOP Advocates’ availability
Anytime: Parent Sessions
- 30 (@ $55) or 60 (@ $100) minute sessions via Zoom
- I’ll update you about the progress we’ve made in the sessions with your student (while keeping confidential things the student has requested)
- I’ll suggest ways you can support your child/teen in further building their resilience
- I’ll answer any questions you may have (see above about confidentiality)
Please check out our FAQ’s below for answers some questions that might be popping into your mind right now!
About Me
Hi! I’m Amy. I started coaching kids in building their resilience so they could manage encounters with bullying behavior in 2010, when I discovered that my 2nd grade daughter was being bullied by several classmates. Since I founded Act Like You Matter in 2015, I’ve mentored nearly 100 kids and teens who’ve been part of Theatre of Peace: Youth Anti-Bullying Actors & Empowerment Advocates and over 11,500 students through the programs we run at K-12 schools in Southern California.
I’m passionate about connecting with others and making sure you know that you matter. You’re exactly who you’re meant to be, and the world needs you to BE YOURSELF and contribute what only you can.
My primary goal as your coach is to help you help yourself so that you no longer need me! I’ll empower you with tools to manage encounters with anyone who mistreats you and will guide and support you in taking back control of your life and happiness. Through the process, you’ll not only build your resilience but will strengthen your self-esteem through activities you’ll do between our sessions. When you’re solid in your worth and value, my work is done!
FAQ’s
Can parents be present during the coaching sessions?
The short answer is yes, but there’s a lot to consider, most importantly: will your presence help or hinder your student’s progress in (a) being honest about what they’re experiencing and (b) building their resilience? Each child and teen is unique, as is each parent/child relationship and each family’s dynamics. It is up to each family to decide whether a parent(s) will be present during the coaching sessions. I defer completely to your family’s preferences.
My only request is that you involve your child in this decision. Parents are an integral part of helping to strengthen their child’s resilience IF the parent and child have a loving, trusting relationship where the child feels supported unconditionally in being true to themselves. If you join the Coaching Sessions, and I feel like your student isn’t being honest or making progress, I’ll discuss with you privately whether it might make sense to allow some 1:1 sessions between your student and me.
If I choose not to attend the coaching session with my child, how will I know what progress they’re making?
(1) I will always encourage your child/teen to keep you updated about our sessions. Parents, guardians, and trusted adults are an important component to building a young person’s resilience. If you and your child have a good relationship, particularly one where you love and accept them unconditionally, your support will reinforce what we’ll do in the sessions.
(2) You can schedule a Parent Session where I can update you about everything except for things your students has asked me to keep confidential. These sessions can be scheduled the same way you schedule you student’s sessions.
What if I’m not present during the coaching session, and my child/teen says something extremely alarming?
I will notify you immediately if I have any indication or fear that your child is potentially a danger to themselves or others. This is one of the many reasons why I require contact info for parents before any sessions with your child.
Can you help me report the bullying or other negative behavior to my child’s school?
Absolutely. Part of the coaching process is figuring out who to report to at the school. If you haven’t already done so, I can review the school’s policy on bullying and harassment and guide you and your student in how to report and who to report to. These things can all be done during a typical coaching session with me.
If, upon reviewing the bullying and harassment documentation/policy your child’s school has, it seems ineffective, I can consult with the school to update their policy. More information about my Consulting Services for Schools is here.
Do you accept health insurance?
Unfortunately, no. Health insurance is reserved for appointments with doctors and licensed mental health therapists. The service I provide isn’t healthcare oriented; it’s goal oriented. The good news is that while therapy can last for years, which can be costly even with insurance, coaching can be quite short-term, which helps keep the cost down. We’ll be focused on solutions that will get your student where they want to be. Once they’re there, our work is done!
Do I have to commit to a specific number of sessions or pay a bunch of money up front?
Absolutely not! The Coaching Sessions are pay-as-you-go and can be scheduled whenever it works with your student’s busy life. There’s no commitment of any kind; you can stop the Coaching Sessions at any time, for any reason, and you don’t owe me any explanation.
Once a family realizes that the sessions are beneficial for their child/teen, they can save some money by choosing a package rather than purchasing one session at a time. Discounts are available for packages of 5 or 10 sessions. See the question below for more detail.
Do you offer package discount if I buy several sessions at once?
Yes. We offer a 10% discount for 5 hour packages (total cost: $450 ) and a 15% discount for 10 hour packages (total cost: $850).
We’re working on automating this right now! In the meantime please email me at amy@actlikeyoumatter.org for a private link to purchase packages.
Ready to get started building your resilience and taking back control of your life and happiness?
What is Resilience?
re-sil-ience (noun)
- the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
- an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
From American Psychological Association:
“The process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.”
Think about the elasticity of a rubber band: you can stretch it until it seems it might break, but then it returns to its original shape, completely unchanged and unharmed. That’s resilience!
What is Self-Esteem?
self-es-teem (noun)
From Oxford Languages:
confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect
“Self-esteem is your subjective sense of overall personal worth or value. Similar to self-respect, it describes your level of confidence in your abilities and attributes.”
So, basically, self-esteem is your overall feelings about how much you like and approve of yourself.
Bullying Resilience Resources
Resources for Kids and Teens
Resource page for kids and teens with links to important websites where you find help and feel validated and supported. Includes our new Discord community where you can connect with others who might be experiencing something similar to you and share ideas.
Rent the Video of Our Program for K-3rd
The video version of our most popular program Baffle Away Bullying! Interactive Workshop for K-3rd is now available for families, schools, and businesses to rent! Bring this empowering program to your home or school at a fraction of the cost to bring us live to your campus.
Bring Our Age-Appropriate Workshops to Your School
Act Like You Matter offers student-led, anti-bullying workshops for K-12th in person (San Diego County and nearby) and live-streamed (everywhere)! Our anti-bullying empowerment workshops and assemblies are custom-designed and solution-driven; all content is current, relevant, and age-appropriate.
Resources for Parents
Resource page for parents with link to important websites to help you support your child or teen. Includes: StopBullying.gov, Suicide & Crisis Hotline, Mindful.org, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, and more.