Working with Wired and Mired Gen-Z Women with Martha Straus and Margaret Wehrenberg

Led by Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD and Martha Straus, PhD

This is a 6 hour On Demand Webinar. Access information, resources and CEU information will be available immediately after successful registration and registrants will be given unlimited access to the recording for a full year.

This webinar was broadcasted live on September 30, 2022

If you came of age before social media and smartphones were ubiquitous… before polar icecaps started melting… before going to college resulted in piles of debt… before adequate housing became scarce and unaffordable… and before reproductive freedom was threatened… you might not even be able to imagine how extraordinarily challenging the transition to adulthood may be for gen-z girls and women. And of course, we are all living in a different world: how can any of us imagine the disruptive developmental impact of an unending global pandemic?

Young women face particular obstacles associated with their gender: they report unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression in the context of sexual and social injustice, peril in the present, and uncertainty about the future. At the same time, many have found remarkable opportunities for identity exploration and expression both online and in real life (IRL). Indeed, for some of our more privileged younger clients, it can be paralyzing to have so many possible paths to choose from. It seems clear that, for many young women, “adulting” is just harder than it’s ever been.

Counseling can be derailed by our mistaken assumptions about emerging adult identity and development at this time in history; we can be more effective when we try and understand more about their lives now—and give up the illusion that we can imagine how it will all turn out. As a general cohort, gen z girls enjoy being in therapy—they know that they want it and it’s evident that many need it. In this workshop, we’ll engage in lively dialogue, discuss cases, and talk about best strategies for supporting these wired and mired young women in therapy.

At the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will be better able to:

• Describe the problem of living with too much information—the “tyranny of choice:”
• Discuss strategies that demonstrate patience and curiosity about the process of therapy with mired young women
• Describe the React-Reflect-Respond model
• Discuss how to increase comfort with identity conversations to include the role of therapist power and privilege
• Identify the 3 causes of perfectionism in high functioning young adult clients and how to help them work through their challenges
• Discuss why clients get stuck in the cycle of perfectionism and how to finally break it.

This training offers 6 hours of direct contact (not counting breaks or lunch). It is the participant’s responsibility to check with their individual state boards/regulatory body to verify CE requirements for their license to practice.

For Attendees of On Demand/Recorded Version

If you cannot verify 100% attendance of the Live Broadcast or if you are watching the On Demand/recorded version of this webinar, you will need to complete a Post-Webinar Quiz with a pass of at least 80% in order to verify your attendance. 

For Canadian and International participants

Upon fulfillment of the above requirements, Canadian and international participants will be issued a Certificate of Participation which features:

• Name of Participant
• Title of Training
• Name of Presenter plus their credentials
• Number of hours of training
• Date of training
• Confirmation that you have passed a quiz with at least 80% grade to verify your attendance

Please check carefully with your regulating body/organization that this certificate is sufficient proof for you to claim CEUs.

For general information about Continuing Education for Canadians and International participants, please click here.  

This training is aimed at all mental health professionals including:

• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Clinical and Counselling Psychologists
• Psychiatric Social Workers
• Pastoral Counsellors
• Psychotherapists
• Psychiatrists
• Physicians
• Nurse Practitioners
• Occupational Therapists
• Counsellors
• Graduate Students in Accredited Programs in the Above Fields
• case managers
• licensed professional counsellors
• all other professionals who would like to develop, update or expand their skills and knowledge in mental health practices

What level of knowledge the attendee should have in this topic?
– Intermediate/Advanced