hi everybody welcome back I hope you guys are doing well and had a good uh week Um I know that we are pre-recording this lecture This is not a live lecture today Um so I did want to kind of give you guys some information kind of do some housekeeping Um things are going well in the course You guys are doing really well Um and um really kind of glad to see and read kind of how you all are kind of approaching um individual and family life cycle especially from your own particular family experiences and challenges struggles um successes things like that So appreciate what you guys are all putting out to in your work and um especially in conversations that we've had individually as well for some of you Um so this week uh we are moving on We are talking this week about gender gender norms sexuality LGBTQIA2s plus throughout the lifespan and across the lifespan So when you have completed all your readings and assignments for this week um you will have completed the following Um all the learning objectives for this week will be tied into analyzing the role of gender gender norms sexuality and sexual orientation within the individual couple and family system or and individual couple family life cycle over time um where you're going to be able to examine gender sexuality sexual orientation and its influence on individuals couples and family within the life cycle You'll also be able to evaluate yourself the self of the therapist and how one's own background is relate can be related to the gender sexuality and sexual orientation that we that may influence therapy As you know you know self therapist things like that we always talk about in our courses as well as you know throughout other courses It's such an important piece of what we do and what we give our clients So um and recognizing kind of sometimes the space that is not okay where it's kind of tapping on our own boundaries and areas that maybe we need to kind of additionally get some support or um maybe you're bringing things into therapy that might not really be focused more towards the science and more um of your stuff So that's things that we'd have to look at as well So I really encourage you to continue to do the assignments also that are encouraging self of the therapist work as you're moving forward in our course and other courses as well because it's really going to challenge you especially with different topics and things that you're going to be approaching in all courses here at the lion So this week um there are a bunch of chapters to read Um some are a little shorter than others Um so you are going to be reading from the McGoldric book So only one book this week Um however it is four chapters It's chapters 2 3 6 and 7 And there's a video to watch You're going to click on it It's going to take you to the library access and make sure that you can you'll be able to access that link I did try it It does work Um so you should be able to work and um access that Um this week's assignment you're going to have a participation attestation assignment Basically you're going to be submit the attitation that you have um completed the readings and um watched the video for this week Um that is due by Sunday of um this week week three and it's due by before midnight You also have a reflection journal Okay again this is where you're going to come up with self therapist work looking into uh that and your own reactions So what you're going to do as you're preparing for this assignment you're going to make note of your reactions and thoughts during the week While you're reading watching the video kind of going through um some of the discussions things like that that you're doing As you read and watch the video I really want you to consider the following What part of the reading or class discussion triggered your reactions your reactions in you there may be something in the reading that might have trigger triggered something in you What kind of reaction did you experience and where do you think the reaction was coming from what is it about you your family or your life experiences that made you react in that way if you can think of anything what are your typical behaviors and thoughts when you have such strong emotional or maybe physical reactions where do you think you got that from have you thought about it maybe some of us may not have Um but as you're reading I really kind of want you to think about some of these points And maybe as you're kind of going through it and doing the readings you might want to kind of take some notes and just kind of just jot down some of your thoughts so that you can put it together You're going to do at least a 300word entry So it's 300 words in APA style um where you're going to examine the reactions um to the thoughts about concepts and issues that you talk about this week It should include outside material Okay so let's including like personal experiences is fine Movies if you can relate to anything like that or foreign events Um just to kind of show a deeper level of awareness and understanding and insight about um this It's again an exploration ass assignment self-exloration um but critical thinking and really kind of working on you know aspects of yourself as you're working through um different topics um in our course um you should also evaluate yourself self the therapist and how your family background may influence your approach towards therapy So this is due by Sunday of this week Um so please make sure that you click on the assignment upload it um and um by before midnight on Sunday So I'm going to take you through the different aspects of the different four chapters Um briefly talking about the video but more talking about the chapters because they're more lengthy Well some are more lengthy than others Um but I really want you to kind of have an understanding and a basis and kind of an outline um of some of the areas that are going to be discussed um in the different chapters So chapter two in this um in the moldric text um talks about the views women's develop um women's develop experience It talks about uh the intersect with family um and intersect with the family life Um the the authors of this chapter talked challenge us to think about the traditional models that often overlooked gender power and cultural dynamics that shape women's lives It this chapter also focuses on gender roles and the impact on women's development across the life cycle um the influence of social cultural and economic systems As we know we've talked about in previous uh weeks we the there is a great influence on social cultural and economic systems for each individual but the impact specifically on women's development is what this chapter will talk about Reclaiming women's voices in within the family systems theory oppression and empowerment through tra different transitions of life is going to be discussed Um it also talks about normative assumptions in the traditional life cycle that reflect male- centered or western more western biases and women's path paths and how it's kind of usually shaped by caregiving roles gender expectations and demands of needs of others and how when that happens there can be symptoms of distress and different inequalities and things that can also happen and happen each one of the week for women Now again some women may not go through some of these phases right in transitions They may be able to adapt to different you know transitions easier than other women It may be due to their coping strategies their understanding their awareness their cultures their social socioeconomic status different various reasons maybe So these are kind of typical but not always going to be concrete for everyone So if you look at the social expectations for women caregiving role right they're expected to nurture manage support right they are the ones that are able to carry children they're the nurturing side is what they're typically seeing the responsibility for emotional labor in families pressures around marriage motherhood sacrifices and limited knowledge about what they really want in terms of desires and ambitions Now this is generally speaking right again some some women may be different but this is generally speaking and society has unrealistic expectations And what happens is it can intensify during different life cycle transitions Uh depending on the different transition one can feel a certain way and exacerbate some symptoms in other ways We'll talk about that too Women are often discouraged from voicing their anger ambition and grief Now that can be in general but it also can be in different cultures Um it can be also in based on different socioeconomic statuses Um they talk about the good girl role inhibits individuation or they're not able to individuate and how mental health symptoms can reflect repressed or needs or trauma There may be a lack of validation for their stories and family and society and they can often lead all these things can really lead to depression anxiety and even sematics as symptoms A key task is to help in therapy for women help reclaim those narratives they talk about Basically being able to kind of capture that and really take charge of that rather than letting those experiences guide them into depression anxiety or you know spiraling into you know um really deep you know depression and um where they're having a lot of um symptoms as well So when you look at the life cycle transitions you know there's com leaving home it kind of goes from like if you look at the lifestyle cycle each each of the life cycle transitions have different meanings They challenge women in different ways and obviously it depends on cultures social supports internalized roles even their own individual experiences However if you look at the different trans different transitions you'll see kind of what is kind of gendered for them like what is considered a gendered abuse Leaving home can often lead to conflicts between independence and family loyalty Let's say one wants to leave home but then they're torn because they really want their independence Let's say in college right let's say they graduated high school They're ready to go off to school but they're debating whether to go to a 4-year college outside of the state let's say or even within you know um a school locally Um they may have conflicts between independents be trying to kind of do what they feel um versus what their family loyalty Maybe the family is of a different you know background where they're very family oriented and don't really um maybe value independence as much Um and maybe it's a collectivistic society where they all want to be together So those things can be impactful Marriage and shift in power identity and one's role motherhood can really kind of fuse to be very confusing sometimes and sometimes they become women can become socially invisible meaning it's hard for them to go out maybe you know motherhood can bring on a lot of different challenges maybe one is facing postpartum um you know there's different various levels midlife is where you know a lot of women can and you know we've heard of midlife crisis these midlife transitions midlife awakenings um you know when people are trying to reclaim the self face the losses but really kind of looking at okay I'm here in my life cycle I'm here in this part of my life 40s let's say and now I want to figure out what's left What do I want more to do for myself um and sometimes it can look like a crisis as well right sometimes it can be a really great awakening and direction and focus Sometimes it can be the opposite Later in life um females can take on the widow um role caretaking um legacy roles Each of the transitions have all different meanings for women and challenges um and some successes um in terms of some of their supports maybe they have great support Um but it all varies based on cultural background and within and their system knowing that they have their support systems in place and kind of really how they feel about the situation and where they are in their life cycle So it's really important for us as clinicians to really be there listen hear your client hear where they're at You know are some of these things factors into what they're bringing into therapy um as we talked about a minute ago the experiences that women can base can differ based on socioeconomic status ethnicity one's race immigration status sexual orientation religious and cultural beliefs Um so not one experience can be the same It's quite unique Yes there may be generalities and similarities in some regards but maybe not all the same So what are some clinical expectations we as therapists can do to support women excuse me Uh we can validate their emotional experiences explore dynamics ungendered expectations promote individuation and self-expression attend to their intergenerational patterns of female roles What does that look like create space um to look at what is their prescribed role and kind of look into that some things that are helpful for you as you're um maybe in practicum working with women maybe um you know and looking at transitions that maybe they're going through in their life Some things that can be helpful would be genogs looking at roles within their family um silences losses successes encouraging storytelling and narrative um construction reconstructions um supporting their boundaries and self-care practices How do they set boundaries with those around them because often a lot of women especially facing some really hard um life cycle transitions especially like you know the young mothers to you know caregivers and things like that the boundaries can be hard Um so you know you want to be able to explore that and addressing any systemic oppression and internalized beliefs that may be a problem Uh moving along um we're going to move into chapter three Now chapter three talks about masculine masculinity So we talked about the female perspective It talks about now the male experience shaped across the life cycle They talk about emotional development relational dynamics cultural and the need cultural expectations and the need for inclusive approaches therapeutically So this chapter also looks at gendered expectations cultural identity and their experiences So traditional masculinity restricts the emotional expression and relational openness They can create stress inhibit one's growth personal growth and healthy relationships It can impact their relationships in their family life cycle across their family um even with other individuals in their lives Men of color queer men and men in marginalized communities often face additional systemic stressors So we need to consider those stressors and cultural layers when we're working with individuals that are going through such experiences especially such life cycle challenges Um cuz you know early like in in earlier stages let's say that they restrict emotionally right Um because you know that's what they've seen that's what they've been taught You know they want to you know what's saying be a man you know they want to be told they're strong Um but it can come out as a depression aggression emotional distance Um but it can also lead to substance abuse and use things like that can occur So really helping men coming to therapy to really be able to re-engage emotionally um and really kind of look into their development and where they're at in their life cycle Um let's see It talks about uh the me the life cycle their traditional life cycle what it looks like just like women Um women can also like just like women had leaving home like the struggles with independence versus emotional disconnection though So it's they talk about the men how they emotionally can disconnect within the coupling marriage stage um navigating intimacy and power What does that look like for them now in the parenting role in phase it's provider verse nurturer and is there any generational shifts you know especially during co um times I always bring up co in a lot of my classes because it was a very impactful time for all of us I think each of us remember where exactly we were the minute the lockdown happened what was going on the whole world stopped you know um hence pandemic um but if you Look at that and that experience that is one thing that all of us and the clients that you will be seeing have all faced right they were all part of that um that was a huge you know marker in our society where everyone was in shutdown everyone was home and you know gender roles changed when things started to open up some role reversal happened in families right where let's say the men were maybe the ones breadwinners in the family and then the women ended up being bread lovers and then the men stayed home in some families right um if you look at couples some couples decided that they did not want to be married or together but they would live under the same roof because of the nature of the situation until things cleared up So you want to kind of really kind of look into that and if your clients start talking about that just recognize kind of where they were in that in that phase and what really probably happened that could make them feel what they're feeling at this time Um so parenting also in that phase they talk about the provider nurturer nurture and generational shifts as I mentioned Um in midlife they talked about identity re-evaluation like regret versus growth Um later in life they talk about aging loss Um uh sorry um they talk about aging and loss um redefining purpose So men in midlife may face quite challenges crisis that could be due to lack of emotional relational or even an unprocessed grief that can come up Um men often face challenges um talking about expressional vulnerability work family role conflicts shame and stick stigma um isolation loneliness societal expectations to fix or provide like they are told that by maybe by their cultures or family society that this is their role Um and it can lead to men you know maybe feeling withdrawal silenced frustration anger substance abuse Um so we really kind of as therapists really want to validate and listen really kind of hear those internal struggles and what they're feeling about themselves to be able to support them within the phase that they're at So and within their relationships they're going through right at that time So again um to reiterate how do we as clinicians help um work with men we want to be where they're at Meet them where they're at Building trust and respect That's really with any client right you want to be able to be where they're at Meet them where they're at Build that rapport you know be able to kind of um allow that space for them to feel comfortable to be able to talk to you Normalize emotional expression using culturally re relevant language and values Focusing on relational resilience and identity development exploring intergenerational patterns too Continue to use those genogs Those genogs are key You can find out so much wealth of information through the genogs whether it be immigration or you know health information It can be uh mental health information um you know relationship patterns Um definitely so much that you can do with a genog and it can really be a great road map to really understanding your clients and avoid stereotyping right um that this is what men should be like this is the way it should be It's not always the same right and so being able to understand that and avoid that when you can Um looking at chapter six and moving on Um this chapter talks about the role of sexuality in development across the family life cycle Looking at sexuality not as just a behavior but more as an identity expression and a lens through which social norms are reinforced or resisted So it's almost like sexuality is more intertwined is what we kind of described in our chapter Um it moves from more of a very narrow definitions of sexuality and it really kind of works on this chapter talks about how families navigate identity intimacy and you know messages about sex So if you look at sexuality across the lifespan sexual development is lifelong At each stage of the family life cycle sexuality presents very unique opportunities and challenges um but it's also culturally based and driven um and includes also power dynamics that can occur So if you look at different stages what can happen are in childhood and adolescence we're looking at gender roles they're really trying to find their identity sexual orientation awareness starts to happen it's when in young adult where you start they may start dating autonomy partnership formation start middle adulthood is when there's more stages of parenthood intimacy infidelity sexual satisfactions Um later in life sexual expressions can look like aging It can um there could be maybe health challenges physical challenges loss of partners and invisibility of older old older adults sexually Um sometimes it's can be a life cycle thing where you know there aren't many people in that area that you know age group or demographic Um and so it's more invisible [Music] Um this chapter also talks about you know families can really kind of dominate they can dominant um sexual norms and provide space for diverse entity identities to emerge Um the media reli can really influence religion can influence what families believe as being normal right or appropriate in sexual you know scenarios and situations Um the chapter also talks a lot about in the impacts of heterosexism um the system that defines what relationships are legitimate and it hasffect it has um serious effects in mental health and belonging talks about LGBTQ plus individuals and what they can often face rejection or invisibility from their families Some families may see them as invisible non-existent The pressure to conform stigmatization across the different life cycles of what one needs to do should do And they can really disrupt their development of attachments And those attachments can really moving forward if they you know were to procreate what not you know that can affect the next generation too As we know attachment styles are also very important So uh looking at sexual intimacy in couples as well Um sexual connection is vital to cut couple satisfaction Um and life transitions can really can disrupt intimacy aging illness infidelity things like that And also physical problems communication and flexibility aren't essential And cultural scripts may inhibit open discussion about sex So you know it could be culturally people are not open to being able to talk about sex in their family systems A lot of different cultures are like that um majority I think are um there are some that you know families have open discussion um about it but a lot of cultures um really cannot sex is a bad word it's taboo sexual identity is taboo um what's considered a sexual norm is not discussed you know um it's just kind of understood maybe All right we're really thinking about that this week Um moving on to the last chapter is chapter 7 This explores how social class shapes individuals through the life cycle So it talks about resources and healthcare and education and emotional support when they talk about social class and their access to resources and all Um so social class talks about income but also factors like educations social networks cultural capital things like that It's not very structural It's not always structural It can include emotionality and psychological impacts Um they talk about different class interactions with different identities Like an example could be like workingass immigrant woman may face different barriers than a working class be a white male Um and they can also be avenues of resistance resilience and disadvantage Um this chapter also kind of goes on to different families and talking about different class of families So for example families that have lower or fewer resources may delay or forego life cycle transitions uh like home ownership retirement We've kind of talked about that a couple week in the last week or two Um things like that can happen Um social cast also influence family roles like working families Children can work maybe young ages and support extended family Um working class and poor families operate on collectivistic views values Um and they emphasize how transition transitions are um shaped by what families can afford So the video just to talk briefly about the video um it follows a gay couple raising children and it talks about the definition of family in the 21st century of America and talks about the meaning of love social expectations and sound surrounding families and talks about different challenges that um gay couples can face we take a peek at that the weekend Just a few reminders Um the week of June 16th as we've talked about email and text is best Um I will have some limited access but I am around So um it's just you know certain times during our meeting times that we'll be impacted So I encourage you to email text is fine Um things like that Just reach out if you need anything Um June 17th uh Tuesday lecture is recorded and uploaded Obviously this is the lecture for that um and be sending it to you Uh Wednesday June 18 there'll be no office hours but what we'll do um and Thursday the university is closed Um but you know you're always you're always able to reach out to me So um you know whether it's formal office hours or indirect it's still okay cuz if you have a question I do encourage you to text or email Sometimes um I can get back to you quicker Um and it doesn't necessarily have to be a formal meeting It's just more about addressing what you need at that time right um June 24th we will not have live lecture but what we'll do is we'll have it on the 25th the next day and I'll do it right after um office hours So on the 25th we will have office hours from 9:00 to 11:00 and live lecture at noon Um so I know as I mentioned so many times you know June's a little wonky with the schedule but um you know I'm still available so send me something if you need anything And then um as a reminder also our lectures are typically Tuesdays at 1 but after July 1 as we all voted um we will move them to 2:00 p.m Now some of you are able to attend which is great Some of you can't and I understand due to schedules and things um because you have other classes and practicums and things Um but you'll always have the recordings so definitely know that you have those access Well I encourage you to have a good week ahead Take care of yourself your mind your body yourselves recognizing those spaces when you need those spaces and boundaries for yourself as well It's crit critical for our own self-care to be able to help support our clients We need to help support ourselves right um so be um very mindful of kind of what you need and where you're at And um you know I hope that you have a good week ahead and we'll see you back online next week Take care