Trinity University

As a member of one of the Trinity sororities, you will have the opportunity to participate in a very special and unique program, the Reflections Body Image Program^TM (Reflections). Accomplishing something that no other sorority system in the nation, local or national, had ever done, Trinity sororities collectively took a leadership role in the area of body image by starting the first evidence-based, sustainable eating disorders prevention program in the country. Members of the Trinity sororities also have the distinction of designing a program that regularly contributes to the growing scientific literature on the prevention of eating disorders. As a result, Reflections truly embodies many sorority values by combining service, leadership, and academic achievement.

Reflections is overseen by psychology professor Dr. Carolyn Becker, and is completely staffed by sorority members. It will officially run for the 11th consecutive year in 2011-2012. This program discusses the pressures our society currently puts on young women to achieve an unattainable, extremely thin body figure, and how we as women can resist these pressures, adopt a healthy lifestyle, and feel comfortable in our own skin. In addition to providing the new sorority members with the chance to learn how to feel more positively about their bodies, Reflections also provides upperclass sorority members with the chance for leadership and service by becoming peer-facilitators of the program. Members who complete the program and peer-facilitator training gain valuable group leadership experience, and serve as mentors to younger sorority members. Select members whose academic interests coincide with the research component of Reflections also have the opportunity to oversee the program by becoming research assistants in the Department of Psychology. To date, ten Trinity sorority research assistants have co-authored papers published by or submitted to peer-reviewed journals and twenty-nine have earned co-authorship on papers or posters presented at national or international conferences. Of those twenty-nine research assistants, seven have pursued Master's programs in Psychology, five have pursued Doctorates in Psychology, one has gone to Medical School, and one has gone to Law School.

In 2005, this innovative program at Trinity came to the attention of the Tri Delta sorority and in 2008 Tri Delta officially launched Reflections throughout North America. The partnership between Tri Delta, Dr. Becker, and the Trinity sororities in co-developing Reflections has demonstrated that sororities have the power to tackle a problem that affects millions of women throughout their lives. As a Trinity sorority member, you have the opportunity to be a part of a truly unique, groundbreaking, and award winning program that has garnered international attention for the positive and effective message it delivers to college women regarding their bodies.

For questions regarding the SBIP for the 2011-2012 school year, please contact Demetra Keith or Paige Ottoson.