Learning Self-Love with Faith Enlightens

Self-love is more than just a buzzword—it’s the key to building resilience, setting healthy boundaries, and embracing life with confidence. When we cultivate self-compassion and recognize our own worth, we create a foundation for deeper connections, inner peace, and lasting well-being.

“Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity” -Katrina Meyer

At Cobb Collaborative, we love shining a light on organizations making a meaningful impact, especially when it comes to mental health. One such organization is Faith Enlightens Self-Love Academy, which is dedicated to empowering young women and girls through self-love and emotional resilience. Their programs use evidence-based mindfulness techniques to help participants develop confidence, inner strength, and well-being. In this Q&A, we spoke with Faith Beasley, Founder and Program Director, to learn more about their mission, the power of mindfulness, and how they’re helping young people cultivate a strong foundation of self-worth.

A Q&A with Faith Enlightens Self-Love Academy

With Cobb Collaborative’s Lesleigh Sanders & Faith Beasley of Faith Enlightens

1. What is Faith Enlightens and why was it created?

Faith Enlightens Self-Love Academy offers programs designed to foster self-love and build emotional resilience in young women and girls through evidence-based mindfulness techniques. 

In 2022, while working in behavioral health facilities with adolescent girls struggling with self-harm, anxiety, and depression, I often found myself wondering: what had led each of these promising young women to this same place? They came from very different cultures, traumas, and upbringings, yet they all found themselves on similar paths. 

As I got to know them, I recognized a central issue amongst them all: a deep-rooted lack of self-love. Somewhere along the way, whether through social media, peers, or their traumas, they had been conditioned to believe that they were unworthy. 

From that realization on, I made it my mission to pour into the next generation of young women and girls with self-love and emotional resilience through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques. I tried self-love exercises at work everyday, and saw first hand the positive changes that self-love can inspire. 

Faith Enlightens was born out of that purpose, ensuring that every girl has the tools to learn her worth and rewrite her story.

2. We’ve seen significant increases in certain mental health conditions and diseases among the youth population. Can you explain about the program and why self-love and self-care is so critical for young girls especially?

Absolutely. The rise in anxiety, depression, and self-harm among young girls is heartbreaking but not surprising. We live in a time where social comparison is constant, societal pressures are overwhelming, and many girls feel unseen or unheard. While comparison and societal pressures have always been an issue, they have significantly increased in today’s world, with young women now measuring themselves against carefully curated online influencers. 

Since this is fairly new territory, many guardians are not equipped with the tools to help their daughters navigate these specific challenges. Many weren’t taught how to deal with insecurity themselves. What does a young girl do when she sees an Instagram model and thinks, “I’ll never look as good as her”? How does she handle these feelings of insecurity in a way that contributes to her well-being?

Fostering self-love through mindfulness encourages girls to acknowledge these thoughts, label them, and then redirect their attention to confidence-boosting activities like journaling or self-care. The practice of building awareness of emotions and understanding how external influences affect mental well-being fosters emotional resilience. Recognizing that these negative emotions serve as a signal, guides her toward healthier coping strategies.

Faith Enlightens takes a science-backed and heart-centered approach to helping girls build a foundation of self-worth. Through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy inspired techniques, we guide them to:

• Recognize and reframe negative thought patterns through mindset shifts 
• Develop healthy coping skills for stress and anxiety 
• Cultivate self-compassion and self-love 
• Strengthen their confidence and identity empowering them to set + achieve goals 

3. What do you believe are the steps to breaking generational cycles of self-doubt and negative thought patterns?

Breaking generational cycles requires awareness of limiting beliefs, intentional healing, and a shift in mindset. To change something deeply rooted in one’s consciousness, awareness must come first. Many of the self-doubts young girls struggle with today are reflections of what has been unconsciously passed down. But cycles can be broken, and it starts with these steps:

• Recognizing the Patterns – They say awareness is the first step to change. At Faith Enlightens, we believe self-reflection is key. A girl must first identify the beliefs or behaviors that are not serving her but are instead harming her. What negative cycles has she inherited from generations before her? How did they affect them? Understanding that self-doubt and limiting beliefs are not personal failures but learned behaviors is crucial. 
• Rewriting Self-Talk – Shifting from self-criticism to self-compassion through mindful self-talk. It’s important to recognize that not every thought is a fact–it’s just a thought. By learning to detach from harmful narratives, she can begin to rewrite her internal dialogue and shift to a growth mindset. 
• Practicing Emotional Regulation – Teaching girls how to respond to their emotions rather than being controlled by them. Every negative experience or emotion can be a catalyst for growth and transformation rather than a source of self-defeat. 
• Building Safe & Supportive Spaces – Healing happens in relationships. Whether through mentors, parents, or peers, girls need nurturing environments where they feel seen, heard, and supported. Faith Enlightens aims to be a part of this support system and provide a safe space for transformation. 
• Encouraging Self-Reflection – Self-awareness is essential to mental well-being. When a girl learns to reflect on her behaviors and emotions, she can recognize areas for growth while also acknowledging her strengths. Many generational cycles are tied to victimhood and the belief that life happens to us rather than for us. By fostering self-reflection, we empower young women to reclaim their narrative and go from expecting lack to assuming abundance.

Guided journaling, therapeutic techniques, and mindfulness exercises help girls process and reshape their beliefs. The key is equipping young girls with the tools we wish we had growing up.

4. What should readers know about the program and how can they get involved or, if a parent, how can they reach out for support and what does that process look like for a young woman?

Faith Enlightens is designed to meet girls where they are whether through self-guided worksheets, structured programs, or interactive workshops. Our resources include:

• 1:1 or Group Self-Love Mentorship Programs 
• Digital Self-Love Worksheets, Journals, and E-Guides to help girls practice self-reflection and build confidence 
• Workshops and Online Content for Parents who want to support their daughters
• Coming Soon: We are in the process of securing a facility for our first Faith Enlightens Group Home for adolescent girls (ages 12–18) dealing with self-harm, anxiety, and depression.

If you’d like to learn more about our services or contribute to our group home initiative, visit faithenlightens.com and connect with us on social media at @feselfloveacademy or via Stan Store.

About the 1:1 Mentorship Program

In our 1:1 mentorship, we first assess where she is emotionally, learn about her interests and goals, and then create a personalized self-love action plan to help her build confidence through goal setting. 

This program provides a safe, supportive space where she can freely express herself, set personal goals, and develop healthy coping strategies to navigate life’s challenges. Through mindfulness-based practices, positive reinforcement, and tailored guidance, she’ll: 

• Strengthen confidence and self-worth 
• Develop emotional resilience and positive coping skills 
• Learn strategies to reframe negative thought patterns 
• Set and achieve personal goals that align with her growth 

With a customized action plan, ongoing encouragement, and a compassionate approach, she’ll learn to embrace her worth and become the best version of herself.

5. Any inspiring stories or quotes about this program? Or anything else you’d like to share?

One of the most memorable moments that shaped Faith Enlightens Self-Love Academy happened shortly after I realized the shared issue among the girls I worked with–their lack of self-love. I wanted to do something, even in a small way, to help them see themselves differently. 

The first self-love exercise I introduced was an affirmation wall. I found the exercise online, printed out worksheets on my own time, and brought them to the unit. Each girl wrote down “I am” affirmations: statements of self-worth and empowerment. 

At first, some hesitated. Speaking kindly to themselves felt unfamiliar, and a lot of them held a lot of self-doubting beliefs. But as they began to write, something shifted. The energy in the room changed. They encouraged one another, smiled as they read each other’s affirmations, and for the first time in a while on that unit, I saw genuine hope in their expressions.

What struck me most was how this simple exercise set the tone for the day. The girls were kinder, more compassionate–not just to themselves, but to each other. I even noticed them incorporating more positive self-talk throughout the week. Some of them taped the affirmations to their mirrors and read them every morning. It was a reminder that healing begins with the way we speak to ourselves. All positive change must start within.

One of my favorite affirmations from that day was: 

“I am capable of change. Even though I have made mistakes, I know how to learn from them and CHANGE.” 

That moment was the spark that led me to create Faith Enlightens Self-Love Academy, because if one simple exercise could shift a girl’s self-perception, imagine what an entire program dedicated to self-love could do.