Renewing Minds Mentoring & Counseling Services

Tonight the young men discussed conflict resolution skills. They role played and talked through scenarios typical to teen boys and conflict. Some of the young men who were usually more reserved were ask to practice more vulnerability tonight and they did great! Great job guys!

Tonight the young men began their first round of practicing vulnerability in a group setting. They discussed the importance of going deeper in group to get more from the experience and then were tested by Mr. John to open up. Several young men stepped up tonight and discussed impactful events in their life that led to them feeling significant anger. They also reflected back and shared with the group whether or not they managed their emotions appropriately. Great job tonight young men!

Tonight the young men began discussing the emotional cycle of anger & unforgiveness. They then discussed forgiveness the only way out of the cycle and what it meant to them! They shared different things that young men tend to hold onto and should forgive.

Tonight the young men discussed the process of self assessing for anger! They paired off into small groups to discuss symptoms of young men who are struggling with anger. They discussed the importance of successfully processing anger so that their lives are not negatively impacted by it.

Tonight we discussed Goal Setting on the road to becoming a Man. We touch on the importance of having pride in becoming a man and learning to be responsible for their lives by setting goals to work towards successful futures. Finally we discussed the consequences of not setting goals and reasons why young men fail to set goals for themselves!

Tonight the young men discussed the positive mental and emotional impacts of forgiveness. They discussed the many scenarios where young men face forgiveness or unforgiveness. They also discussed the negative mental and emotional impacts of unforgiveness.

A starter discussion tonight on hygiene for young men! We finished up the night with a discussion on values, what they were and how important they were. The young men came up with their top 5 values and Mr. John shared his with them as well!

Tonight we began discussing the importance of knowing and sticking to your morals. The young men discussed all the areas impacted by their morals in life. They discussed where we get our morals, how they are shaped and the role they play in helping us navigate through life. Great discussion tonight young men!

Tonight the young men discussed the importance of being self-disciplined. They discussed the necessity of discipline from other adults in their lives as young men, but the importance of obtaining self-discipline in order to become healthy men. Congratulations to you again Amiyah on your Graduation and thank you again for all the excitement you brought to us!!!

Tonight the young men began discussing the two different types of motivation. They discussed one being present in boys ages 5-11 (extrinsic) and the other being a required motivation to be successful in the young man stage ages 12-17(Intrinsic). Great job tonight young men!!!

Tonight our CCU Intern Amiyah spoke to the young men about he importance of Time management and showed them how to use a planner to help them. Mr. John continue discussing Fear and the attitude to overcome Anxiety! The young men were introduced to the 4 Fs of responding to fear.

The young men engaged in talk therapy with Mr. John discussing how to properly view failures in life. They discussed the negative self-talk that could come as a result of failure. They also discussed the temptation to avoid risk taking due to fear of failure!

“Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.”
-John C. Maxwell

Tonight the young men got their first life skill lesson in changing a flat tire! They continued discussion of obstacles during the teen years. Tonight’s session was anxiety revolving around growing up. They discussed the importance of having a sober view of growing up and a “I Can” attitude of facing fears.

Tonight’s Discussion…”Good Decision Making in The Pattern Building Years!” The young men talked through the importance of getting used to adaptive coping strategies during their teen years so that they create good habits for their lives and family. They discussed what the temptations are for using maladaptive coping strategies and the consequences of getting used to them instead.

Tonight we continued our discussion around emotional maturity. We discussed adaptive vs. maladaptive coping strategies. The young men engaged in discussions on strategies that seem okay but have consequences that create more problems in the long run. Great job guys!

Tonight the young men continued discussing emotional maturity and taking emotional timeouts. They discussed coping strategies and how they work to lower emotional distress! As a group they came up with a list of coping strategies they could use to help them deescalate!

Tonight’s topic encouraged the young men to grow in the area of accepting constructive criticism. They also discussed grounding tonight with Mr. John to help them grow in the area of emotion management. They discussed scenarios that would usually cause individuals to lose control of their emotions if they do not know how to ground themselves.

A discussion tonight on self-talk. The young men discussed what self talk was and how it could be negative or positive. They discussed the pros of positive self talk over the cons of negative. They role played scenarios where negative self-talk is likely to originate and how they could work through it! A few of the young men expressed that they really felt this topic was something they needed affirmation in.

Tonight the young men discussed the importance walking through life with a father, father figure or mentor to help with having a model, guide, and counselor in trying times. They discussed the different parenting, mentoring and counseling styles of these men in their lives to better understand them. They were able to conclude through a trust walk activity that it was more beneficial to allows a father, father figure or mentor to be very involved and hands on during their teen years than to try and tackle these years on their own!

Tonight the young men discussed the importance of learning to take the initiative in getting things done! They also rated themselves on their individual progress that they are making in achieving typical benchmarks goals of a young man! Great eye opener for the young men tonight. Good jobs guys!

Tonight the young men discussed the topic of substance abuse and addiction and the different forms it can take. They were also introduced to the idea of taking and inventure. This was introduced through a mirror exercise where the young men had to look at themselves for 3 minutes in the mirror without being distracted and provide feedback on their experience. Great job tonight guys!

Renewing Minds Mentoring & Counseling Services welcomes our 2nd Counselor Assistant Intern! Amiyah Bush is a Senior Psychology Major at Coastal Carolina University. Her hometown is Blythewood, SC. We are very happy to have her on board as we continue to positively impact the lives of teen boys in our area!

Welcome aboard Amiyah, we look forward to helping you grow & pursue your passion in the field of Mental Health!

Tonight the young men practice greeting etiquette & proper handshakes as a life skill! They discussed in talk therapy with Mr. John how their family dynamics including genetics and learned behavior impacts their present & future! They were encouraged to look at & learn from their nuclear family. Take all the good traits & improve on the weaknesses!

Tonight the guys completed the last night of Group Orientation for the year! We reviewed all consequences through Kahoot game play! The young men also discussed the personal development topic of having self-confidence! To help they engaged in a group exercise that allowed them to give affirmations to one other group member to help build their confidence!

Night 2 of Group Orientation for the New Year! We reviewed rules & expectations for the group & new comers through a scavenger hunt! The Mentoring Group welcomes one more mentee. Welcome Matthew it was a joy having you with us us tonight! The young men reviewed diagnosis that are likely to be prevalent in group & how to better relate to individuals with those diagnosis.

2024 & we are back for another Educational & Empowering Year! The guys kicked off their first night back with a review and important discussion on respect for diversity in group & in life. The guys discussed how they could maintain who they are while allowing others to be who they were at the same time. They did break out sessions to brainstorm ways to help future group members be more welcome this year! Great job guys!!!

Tonight we are grateful for our guest speakers, Military Veterans George & Sherri Pappas! They discussed persevering through obstacles and having the “I Can Do” attitude! They also showed us their really cool cars!!!

Tonight the young men continued discussing the road to manhood by sharing stereotypes and discussing how they shape perspective on what a man actually is. Mr. John ended by sharing his views of what is means to be a Man!

1. Reveres God
2. Provides
3. Protects
4. Educates
5. Visionary

Tonight we continued discussing “The Road to Manhood” (little boy, young man, man, husband, father) & the transition of caregivers. The young men discussed the role of mothers/mother figures during the little boy years and transitioning caregivers to fathers/father figures during the young man years. We discussed obstacles in this transition & the importance of the presence of a father/father figures during this stage of their lives. The guys also identified two men/father figures that they were willing to submit to for guidance on their road to manhood!