Page 11 - March April 2017 FTM

HOW TO BUILD A THERAPEUTIC DIALOGUE
Millennials now seek therapy to face challenges which demand solutions different than those that were available to previous generations. They have recently overcome baby boomers as the largest living U.S. demographic and now make up 31% of all adults, and 34% of the workforce (Feeney, 2015). As Millennials grow into an increasing part of the clinical population, it is helpful to be aware of some of the common presenting issues that bring this generation to therapy and the socio-economic context in which they live to build a better therapeutic dialogue.
Rapport is built and relief can be found for the millennial client by discerning how the millennial generation differs from its predecessors and being sensitive to the common values of this generation, such as being socially conscious and wanting to make a difference with their choices.
At home, millennials are less likely to own a home
or have a child as soon as previous generations, and yet parenting is still viewed as a central part of the millennial identity, ranking above being married. At work, they prefer feedback and acknowledgement as primary motivators and they expect to have access to a wide range of technical communication ranging from email to social media.
Context is a great help to both the clinician and client. Both benefit from an appreciation of the forces that shape many of the choices this generation faces. Millennials came of age in a culture very different from those of previous generations. They have interacted with technology since they were infants, have the most highly educated mothers before them in history, and are the first generation for which Hispanics/Latinos will be the largest minority group, replacing African Americans as the biggest. Greatly impacted by both the Great Recession and a changing career landscape, many in this generation face a traditional career ladder that has not only narrowed, but is missing rungs.
Career ambiguity and
frequent transitions
Many millennials seek therapy to navigate career issues as they now compose the largest sector of our work force. Millennials were affected financially by the Great Recession, which made it harder to obtain a job and hold one, as well as decreasing wages. This shaped the years millennials would normally launch from their families of origin and begin their adult careers.
Although the economy has improved, millennials still experience greater career ambiguity than those before them because employment and educational paths are no longer the same. Careers are not as plentiful or as lucrative as they were for their parents’ generation and employment opportunities continue to rapidly change. Perhaps as a result, millennials are estimated to have six to eight different careers over their lifespan, whereas members of the previous Generation X were expected to have three to five, following the baby boomer generation that often expected and landed lifelong careers.
Historically longer interdependence on parents and extended family Millennials seek therapy to deal with the challenge of multigenerational households. They are the first generation since 1880 to more likely live in the parental home than in their own home with a romantic partner (Fry, 2016). Males are even more likely to stay in the parental home than females.
Millennials have higher student debt than previous generations and stricter mortgage requirements
than the Gen X’rs preceding them and so are less
likely to own a home. As a result, many millennials struggle with a historically longer interdependence
on parents and extended family. Millennials are less likely to move away, perhaps because the modest jobs available often do not warrant the expense and distance from family.
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