You are here
Ozempic, Weight, & Identity — A Guide for Mental Health Providers
Title of Event: Ozempic, Weight, & Identity — A Guide for Mental Health Providers
Description of Event:
Ozempic and related drugs now help people lose up to 20% of their body weight with generally manageable side effects. As the price of these drugs drops, even more of our patients will take them.
How are these drugs (GLP-1 agonists) affecting couples and families? What about the self-image, decision-making, and sexual choices of individuals who finally lose weight after years of struggle and failure? How are the mates, children, friends, and co-workers responding to familiar people with suddenly unfamiliar bodies? And how are these slimmer people responding to others’ responses to them?
Not every newly-slim person will revel in the new attention they get at work. Not every couple will easily navigate the de-centering of food in one partner’s life. Not every lifelong-shy person will feel comfortable with the increased encouragement to socialize. Not every marriage will enjoy the melting away of one newly-slim partner’s sexual inhibitions. Not every newly-slim parent will know how to deal with their teenagers’ envy or insecurity. And not every newly-slim person will feel comfortable admitting how they’ve lost all that weight. And what about the loss of identity?
Therapists and healthcare professionals need to address the emotional and systemic effects of these new weight-loss drugs. Rather than waiting for patients to raise these issues, we must be prepared to ask lots of questions about their challenges.
Date of Event: April 18, 2025 and rest of 2025-2026
Time of Event: 11am PACIFIC time and on-demand
Location: Online synchronous AND asynchronous
Sex Therapy (ST) Training:
ST3. Theory and methods of approach to intervention in relationship systems experiencing sex and intimacy problems.
ST4. Theory and method of approach to medical intervention in the evaluation and treatment of psychosexual disorders.
ST6. Ethical decision-making and best practice.
Presenter/Speaker: Marty Klein, Ph.D
Company/Organization Sponsor: Zur Institute
Contact Name: Marty Klein
Contact Telephone Number: (650) 856-6533
Contact Email: Klein@SexEd.org
AASECT Approved CEs: 1