Learning through experience
Teenagers should be active participants rather than passive listeners.
ورش تنمية الشباب
Build Confidence. Develop Character. Find Your Direction.
An inclusive, nonreligious personal development experience for participants of all backgrounds.
التسجيل غير متاح بعد — انضم إلى قائمة الانتظار
نظرة عامة
Growing up isn’t always easy. Between school, friendships, social expectations, family responsibilities, and questions about the future, teenagers face pressures that can be difficult to navigate.
What does confidence actually mean? How do you build genuine friendships? How do you manage anger, stress, and difficult emotions? How do you develop discipline, responsibility, and a sense of purpose?
Built Different: Core Edition is a four-session, psychology-informed personal development program designed to help teenage boys explore these questions through meaningful conversations, interactive activities, practical skills, and real-life challenges.
Participants learn by doing—not by sitting through long lectures. The program provides opportunities to build self-awareness, practise communication, reflect on personal values, and develop skills they can use at school, at home, and in their relationships.
It does not include religious instruction.
أربع جلسات
أربع جلسات تفاعلية مدة كل منها نحو ساعتين. افتح أي جلسة لترى موضوعاتها وأنشطتها ونتائج التعلّم المقصودة.
Everyone wants to feel accepted, understood, and connected.
Yet many teenagers experience loneliness, social pressure, uncertainty about friendships, or difficulty finding a place where they feel they truly belong.
This session explores what belonging means, why meaningful relationships matter, and how young people can build healthier, more supportive connections.
Participants explore the difference between fitting in and genuinely belonging. They also examine the qualities of healthy friendships, including respect, trust, empathy, inclusion, and communication.
ستتاح للمشاركين فرص من أجل:
Adolescence is a period of discovering who we are and what matters to us.
Teenagers often face expectations from parents, friends, school, social media, and society.
This session helps participants explore their identities, values, strengths, interests, and future aspirations.
Instead of simply asking what they want to do when they grow up, participants are encouraged to ask who they want to become.
The session explores how personal values can guide decisions, relationships, goals, and daily behaviour.
ستتاح للمشاركين فرص من أجل:
Young boys receive many messages about masculinity.
Some suggest that being a man means being physically strong, emotionally unaffected, wealthy, dominant, or constantly successful.
This session encourages participants to critically examine these expectations and explore a healthier, more meaningful understanding of manhood.
Participants discuss how confidence differs from arrogance, how courage can coexist with vulnerability, and why responsibility, respect, compassion, and emotional maturity are important parts of character.
Through real-life scenarios, participants practise making decisions that reflect their values rather than simply responding to peer pressure.
ستتاح للمشاركين فرص من أجل:
Growing up means learning how to respond to difficult situations, manage emotions, develop healthy habits, and take responsibility for personal choices.
This session introduces practical psychological skills that can help participants understand their emotions, recognize unhelpful patterns, manage impulses, and work toward meaningful goals.
Participants explore the difference between experiencing an emotion and acting on it.
They learn that self-discipline is not about perfection or suppressing emotions. It is about developing awareness, flexibility, and the ability to make intentional decisions.
ستتاح للمشاركين فرص من أجل:
أسلوب التعلّم
Built Different is not a traditional classroom lecture.
It is designed as an active, engaging, supportive environment where participants learn through conversation, collaboration, games, challenges, role-playing, personal reflection, and practical exercises.
The goal is not to tell teenagers exactly who they should become. It is to help them develop the awareness, skills, values, and confidence to make thoughtful choices about the people they want to be.
The program does not promote rigid stereotypes about masculinity. It presents strength as something that can include kindness, emotional honesty, self-control, accountability, courage, and seeking support when needed.
Teenagers should be active participants rather than passive listeners.
Meaningful relationships and a supportive group environment create opportunities for learning.
The program encourages progress, reflection, and accountability rather than shame or unrealistic expectations.
Confidence, compassion, emotional expression, and responsibility are compatible qualities.
Every session should provide ideas or skills participants can apply outside the workshop.
Participants come from different backgrounds and have different personalities, beliefs, and experiences.
Participants should never be pressured to reveal private experiences, religious doubts, trauma, or personal family difficulties.
Activities and discussions must be suitable for the developmental stage of the group.
الشكل والأسعار
التسجيل غير متاح بعد — انضم إلى قائمة الانتظار
Approximately two hours. Available when individual-session registration is enabled.
before any applicable taxesFour sessions. Eight total hours of programming.
before any applicable taxesقائمة الانتظار Free. Joining the waitlist does not guarantee a place or create a payment obligation.

الميسّر
Built Different is developed and facilitated by Khaled Albanna, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) in Ontario with academic training in psychology and counselling.
His approach combines psychological education, practical skills, meaningful conversation, and experiential learning.
The workshops are designed to encourage young people to explore their identities, reflect on their values, develop emotional awareness, and strengthen their relationships.
His facilitation style emphasizes empathy, curiosity, respect, active participation, and a supportive environment where young people can learn without feeling judged.
أنا خالد البنا، معالج نفسي مسجل (قيد التأهيل). أعمل مع أشخاص يواجهون القلق، والإرهاق العاطفي، والشك في الذات، وعدم اليقين المصاحب للتغيير. هدفي أن أوفّر لك مساحة تشعر فيها بالفهم والاحترام والقدرة على أن تكون على طبيعتك.
تشمل خلفيتي السريرية تدريبًا عمليًا مجتمعيًا مع Camino Wellbeing وMuslim Social Services Waterloo Region، وخبرة إرشادية في Serene Heart Counselling and Psychotherapy. تشمل خبرتي دعم أشخاص يواجهون الإدمان والصعوبات العاطفية، والعمل مع اللاجئين والوافدين الجدد في التكيّف والتعامل مع الضغط والهوية والانتماء.
لأنني عشت بين ثقافات مختلفة، أقدّر التجارب والهويات التي تشكّل قصة كل شخص. أقدّم الإرشاد بالإنجليزية والعربية والإسبانية، وأرحّب بالحديث عن الروحانية والإيمان والمعنى والقيم عندما تكون مهمة لك.
أسلوبي دافئ وتعاوني ويرتكز على الإصغاء. يمكننا معًا استكشاف ما يحدث، وإفساح المجال للمشاعر الصعبة، وتطوير طرق عملية للتقدّم نحو الحياة التي تريدها.
بعض الأسئلة التي قد تدور في بالك
Built Different is an interactive, psychology-informed personal development workshop for teenage boys focused on confidence, identity, relationships, character, emotional awareness, and purpose.
The Core Edition is nonreligious and open to teens from all backgrounds. The Muslim Edition integrates Islamic values, teachings, and examples with the program’s developmental themes.
The program is designed for ages 14–19, with participants grouped by age and developmental stage.
Four sessions, approximately two hours each.
$50 CAD per session or $200 CAD for the complete four-session program, before any applicable taxes.
No. Built Different is a psychoeducational youth development workshop, not individual or group psychotherapy.
No. The workshop is intended for personal development and skill-building, not only for teens experiencing challenges.
No. The Core Edition is nonreligious.
Yes. Parents or guardians can register minors through the appropriate registration process.
Locations will be announced when cohorts are scheduled.
Individual-session registration may be available depending on the cohort. Some groups may require full-program enrolment.
Yes. The waitlist is free and does not guarantee a reserved place.
Yes. Organizations can submit an inquiry to discuss group workshops and customized delivery.
Built Different: Core Edition
للمدارس والمؤسسات
Built Different can be delivered in partnership with schools, community centres, mosques, Islamic schools, and youth organizations.
Whether you’re looking for a complete four-session series or a focused workshop on confidence, identity, character, emotional resilience, or purpose, the program can be adapted to the needs of your group.
Organization pricing is quoted separately.
اطلب ورشة جماعيةBuilt Different: Core Edition is a psychoeducational personal development program, not psychotherapy or a substitute for individual mental health treatment.