For many young people, self-compassion can feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar. This can be especially true for Asian youth who have grown up with high expectations or the belief that difficult emotions should simply be pushed through.
This is why HF Care is proud to announce that it’s partnering with the University of Toronto’s Multi-Faith Centre to bring Being With Me, a culturally responsive self-compassion program, to students across the university.
We spend more time with ourselves than with anyone else, and that relationship shapes how we experience life.
Grounded in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), the two-hour workshop invites students to explore their inner world and better understand the emotional systems influencing their thoughts and behaviours.
The program helps young people understand how stress affects the brain and body while developing a more supportive inner voice.
As HF Care clinician and program facilitator Linda Kwan explains:
“Our relationship with ourselves is really the foundation of everything we do. If my self-talk can be supportive, it becomes almost like a good friend. And it makes a real difference whenever I come across challenges myself.”
Rather than simply telling students to be kinder to themselves, this program helps them understand why difficult thoughts and emotions happen in the first place.
The program uses creative, interactive activities to turn self-compassion into a useful tool for calming the nervous system and recovering from setbacks.
In one recent exercise, participants wrote down difficult scenarios and moved around the room in a version of musical chairs. When they sat down, they wrote a compassionate response to someone else’s situation.
For Linda, seeing even the shyest participants engage was especially meaningful.
“You see them writing thoughtful responses and really putting a lot of care into it.”
When the Learning Comes Home
One parent shared that her daughter came home each day eager to talk about what she had learned, including the “tricky brain” — an activity that improved how she spoke with herself when confronted with difficult emotions.
The parent also described how hearing facilitators speak openly about their own experiences with anxiety and nervousness helped her daughter feel understood and connected.
Because the workshop reflected shared cultural experiences, many of its conversations felt especially relevant to her.
The impact extended beyond emotional skills. Her daughter made new friends through the program, planned to attend another HF Care group with them and began imagining a future in which she might work for a non-profit organization helping others.
“It has been truly helpful for teens who are still finding their way, dealing with anxiety and learning how to ask for help,” the parent shared.
Being With Me Workshop
(Please note: This workshop is available exclusively to University of Toronto students.)
Thursday, August 6, 4–6 p.m.
Koffler House, Multi-Faith Centre
Main Activity Hall, KP208
569 Spadina Crescent
