The Triple Bind: Saving Girls from Today's Pressures

TORONTO, Oct. 14 /CNW/ - Despite the unprecedented successes of girls and women in today's society, there are a number of alarming statistics demanding attention. The onset of depression among girls is manifesting at younger and younger ages, and rates of self-harm, binge eating, physical aggression and suicide have risen precipitously in the last decade.

Societal expectations and cultural trends are creating what noted psychologist and researcher Stephen Hinshaw calls "the triple bind", a set of mutually contradictory and conflicting pressures on girls that didn't exist in past decades.  Girls are now expected to excel at "girl skills," achieve "boy goals," and be models of female perfection 100 percent of the time. The triple bind is putting more and more girls at risk for mental health disorders.

JVS Toronto is proud to present this groundbreaking presentation by Dr. Hinshaw.  Based on his recent book, The Triple Bind: Saving Girls from Today's Pressures, Dr. Hinshaw will draw on current research and his professional experience to provide practical strategies and tools for teachers and parents to empower their girls to deal with today's pressures and to unlock the shackles of the Triple Bind.

Participants will understand:

• the rise in risk for mental health problems among teenage girls in recent years including depression, suicide, self-harm, eating problems, and physical aggression
• how environmental and cultural factors are increasing girls' risk for heritable mental health disorders
• the influence of sexual objectification, cyber-culture, media influence and early sexualization on girls in today's society
• why once considered protective factors of compliance, verbal skills and empathy may in fact be placing girls at more risk for mental health disorders
• how teachers and parents can foster girls' intrinsic motivation and a wider sense of commitment to combat the "triple bind".

WHO:	JVS Toronto presents Dr. Stephen Hinshaw
WHAT:	The 4^th Annual Ruth Borchiver Memorial School Psychology Conference
WHERE:	Columbus Centre, Columbus Centre, 40 Playfair Avenue, Toronto
WHEN:	Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 9:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
WHY:	Dr. Hinshaw will provide practical strategies and tools for teachers and parents to empower girls to deal with today's pressures in a healthy way.

Price is $130 per person, which includes lunch.  Student fee is $50.  For more information or tickets, please email [email protected] or call 416-787-1151 ext. 551.

Stephen Hinshaw is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is recognized as a leading authority on developmental psychopathology and has directed longitudinal studies on boys (and, more recently, on girls) with ADHD and associated disorders for over 25 years.  He has authored over 200 articles, chapters, and reviews on child psychopathology including Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity in Children, The Mark of Shame: Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change and most recently, The Triple Bind: The Hidden Crisis Among Teenage Girls.  Dr. Hinshaw is the editor of the journal Psychological Bulletin, the most cited journal in the field of general psychology. He is also Associate Editor of the journal Development and Psychopathology.  He is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award from University of California, Berkeley.

JVS Toronto is a non-profit organization that was founded over 60 years ago to assist Jewish immigrants in finding employment after World War II.  Today, the organization works with thousands of people from diverse backgrounds with diverse needs.  JVS Toronto helps clients identify their strengths and goals, and develop the necessary skills and knowledge they need to succeed in school, work and life.  Since 1947, this remarkable organization has enabled over 500,000 people to fulfill their potential.

For further information:

or to interview Dr. Hinshaw, please contact:
Abby Robins, Director of Communications and Marketing
JVS Toronto
416-787-1151, ext. 276 or 416-277-3340 (cell)
www.jvstoronto.org
[email protected]