Experiential Workshop · For Teens Ages 14 to 17 · Salt Lake City
anchored in yourselfa one-day workshop on relationships, pressure and self-trust
Saturday, November 21, 2026 · Hearten House, Salt Lake City · 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM · Lunch included
Your teen gets home, says the day was fine, and the bedroom door closes before you’ve finished asking.
A friendship that was everything in September went quiet in October, and nobody will say why. The group chat is still going at midnight. There’s a grade they haven’t mentioned. There’s a feed full of people their age who seem to have it all figured out. And underneath all of it, there’s a voice telling them they should be handling this better than they are.
They know a lot about what’s wrong. They could probably tell you exactly which friend is the problem, what their sibling keeps doing, and how things would be fine at home if everyone would just listen. They may have learned a breathing exercise or two at school. Then someone says that one thing, and every bit of it disappears.
What teens are short on is a place to practice something different, with people their age, where nobody is grading them.
Move beyond just coping skills to real-life skills.
Anchored in Yourself is a one-day experiential workshop built on something we see again and again: teens built their responses to the people around them through relationships and the examples they were given, and building new responses works the same way. So that’s how we teach it, in action and alongside each other.
The whole day is made of warm-ups, which are playful, active experiences that get everyone up out of their chairs. Within the first minute, teens are building their names on the floor with giant letter cards, Scrabble style, and finding out who they’re connected to, and over lunch they go track those connections down. They’ll map the relationships in their lives (the ones they enjoy, the ones with pressure, and the ones they already know how to fix), figure out what they need and the boundary that goes with it, and in the afternoon paint an anchor stone: a rock that holds a word they want to anchor in themselves, like courage or strength, to take home and hold when things get hard.
Relationships are where teens are learning who they are right now, with parents and siblings, with friends and dating partners, and at school, practice and work. How they show up in those relationships, and what becomes possible when they can trust themselves inside them. That’s the theme of the day.
Everything is an invitation, so teens can pass on sharing anything personal and still be fully part of the day. The group makes its own agreements together at the start, including confidentiality and what to do if they already know someone from school or another part of their life (eye-rolling is allowed; dabbing is not). Lunch is provided on site, so we stay together for the duration. There’s no worksheet and no recap at the end. Sometime the following week, they’ll respond to something differently than they used to, and they’ll think, “Well, that was weird.”
who this is for
Anchored in Yourself is for teens ages 14 to 17 who are carrying more than they’re saying. It’s a community-based educational and support workshop, so any teen can join without having a diagnosis or being in therapy.
Your teen will fit here if they:
- Are navigating stress with parents, siblings, friends or dating partners
- Compare themselves to everyone around them and rarely come out ahead
- Hold themselves to a standard that would wear anyone down
- Feel the pressure of other people’s expectations, and of their own
- Know what’s wrong in a relationship and want to know what they can actually do about it
- Are willing to come. A parent or guardian gives consent, and we ask that the teen want to be there too.
If your teen is in crisis, has an immediate safety concern, or needs individual clinical care right now, individual support is the right first step, and our team can talk with you about what would help.
Schedule
- 10:00 to about 11:30 AM
- Introductions, group agreements and warm-ups
- About 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
- Needs and boundaries
- 12:30 to 1:00 PM
- Lunch, provided on site
- 1:00 to about 2:30 PM
- Coming back together and the anchor stone
- About 2:30 to 3:00 PM
- Closing
Lunch and snacks are provided, and registration asks about dietary restrictions so everyone can eat. Hearten House is on the third floor of the historic Oquirrh School, 350 S 400 E, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, with visitor parking in the lot on the back (west) side of the building.
what teens leave with
By the end of the day, teens will:
- Better understand their relationships.
- Recognize how comparison, perfectionism and expectations feed everyday anxiety, and have practical ways to respond to that pressure.
- Trust themselves a little more.
- Leave with an anchor stone they painted themselves.
Your Facilitators
Laura BrownAdvanced Practicum Student Therapist
Laura works with people of all ages, with a focus on anxiety and stress, self-esteem and confidence, and depression, along with perfectionism, family dynamics, and parenting. She has graduate training in ACT, CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, IFS, solution-focused therapy, and family systems therapy.
Laura spent more than 15 years working with children and teens before returning to school for her MSW, and raising four children shaped how she understands people and their relationships. Her background in theatre drew her to Hearten House’s experiential approach. Outside of work she directs theatre productions, travels, and is always happy to get lost in a good book.
Drista RicordAdvanced Practicum Student Therapist
Drista works with preteens, teens, and young adults, especially those navigating identity, relationships, life transitions, anxiety, and self-worth, and she brings experience working with neurodivergent people. She has graduate training in ACT, DBT, CBT, solution-focused brief therapy, and Mind-Body Bridging.
Before Hearten House, Drista worked with children with autism, finding creative ways to help them understand their emotions in moments of overwhelm, and Hearten House’s somatic work felt like a natural next step. She believes no one should have to feel alone in what they’ve been through. Outside of work you’ll find her at concerts or on a drive with the music turned up, because the louder your worries, the louder the music should be.
investment
Cost shouldn’t be the reason your teen misses this.
If cost is the only thing in the way, please reach out before you talk yourself out of it. We mean that. Email team@heartenhouse.com or call or text 801-410-0760, and we’ll have a transparent conversation.
The group is capped at 16 teens, and registration is first-come, first-served.