Behind the Mask: Working With Men in Psychotherapy with Gary Gross, LMFT

Presented by Gary Gross, LMFT

Working with boys and men in psychotherapy can be both frustrating and rewarding.  They have likely been struggling with unresolved issues for many years, and sometimes have made a bad situation worse in an effort to ease (or numb) their pain.  Instead of seeing therapy as a proactive and courageous step toward better mental health, entering treatment is more often a reaction to internal or external pressures and symbolically represents failure, weakness, or both. This means that we typically begin this work with a built in handicap.

Because of a variety of factors, how men cope with common life stressors creates significant problems that impact their ability to be vulnerable and intimate. This presentation will address the life issues that create problems for men, and the many ways they respond, often with self-destructive and shame-inducing behaviors.  Treatment is enhanced if we know how to help men navigate through their lives and we can create a working relationship that does not further contribute to their shame.  

10:30 - 11:00 Social networking and registration