Speaker: Dan Griffin, MA

 

For years, we have talked about the importance of gender in treating addictive disorders. However, the clear majority of that has been focused on the experience of girls and women. Finally, the conversation on gender and trauma has expanded to include the experiences of boys and men. This presentation explores the complexity of gender, gender relations, and addiction treatment through the primary constructs of the “Man Rules” and the “Woman Rules” and discusses how gender fluidity is a concept that clinicians will be experiencing more and more when working with teens and young adults. The presentation will also analyze how the gendered experience of trauma affects our lives individually, our relationships, and our experience of community. The rules have changed, and our evolving understanding of gender is transforming our experience of our humanity while presenting clinicians with challenges as gender roles and norms change, especially among the Millennial and Z Generations. This session will also focus on how to better approach the complexity of gender, sexuality, and intimacy with a new perspective.