Retirement Anxiety
Practical Clinical Tools for Working with Ambivalence and Transition
- Speakers:
- Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD | Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 01 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
May 15, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS150827
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Retirement is not a single moment but a process—a developmental stage that can evoke both anticipation and anxiety.
Clients have spent decades building a meaningful career, developing skills and expertise, and creating a professional identity rooted in a sense of competence and connection – only to face the unsettling tasks of letting it all go.
Many therapists are challenged by not knowing how to guide clients as they contemplate this transition and may feel pressured to provide “the right answers” about when and how to retire.
In this session, Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD and Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC – renowned experts and co-authors of Letting Go of the Work You Love – offer a clear, clinically grounded, evidence-based roadmap that you can use immediately with your clients or for yourself. You’ll learn:
- Evidence-based approaches to ease retirement-related anxiety
- Strategies for gently expanding identity beyond professional roles
- Tools to help clients define and assess their legacy
Credit
Speaker
Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD Related seminars and products
Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist whose five decades of work in the mental health field have had a far-reaching impact on the understanding and treatment of anxiety. Her pioneering approach has influenced psychotherapists, business leaders, educators, elected officials, and legal professionals around the world. Dr. Wehrenberg was among the first to translate the emerging science of neurobiology into practical applications for psychotherapy, demonstrating how clinicians can “use the brain to change the brain” in the treatment of anxiety and depression.
Her twelve books have been translated into eight languages. The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques remains an international bestseller. Her newest book, Letting Go of the Work You Love (co-authored with Lynn Grodzki), is the first comprehensive retirement roadmap for healing professionals.
Dr. Wehrenberg’s expertise has been featured in numerous media outlets. She has a deep personal commitment to giving back to the community, providing pro bono consultation to community organizations, school personnel, and attorneys focused on reducing risks related to anxiety, depression, and suicide.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg maintains a private practice. She receives royalties as a published author. She is an international presenter and receives compensation. Dr. Wehrenberg receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg is a member of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America.
Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC Related seminars and products
Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC, is a psychotherapist in private practice, a master certified coach, and the author of Therapy with a Coaching Edge: Partnership, Action and Possibility in Every Session and Building Your Ideal Private Practice.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Lynn Grodzki maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. Lynn Grodzki receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Lynn Grodzki has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
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Additional CE Info
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Objectives
- Evaluate a client’s readiness for retirement based on the 4-Stage Readiness for Retirement Model.
- Interpret retirement with clients as a stage of life focused on meaning, contribution, and legacy rather than loss or decline.
- Utilize evidence-based tools to decrease anxiety and support identity transition related to retirement.
Outline
Retirement as a Developmental Stage
- Integrity vs. despair
- Components of retirement-related anxiety
- Ambivalence related to letting go of a career
- The Readiness for Retirement Model
Evidence-Based Tools for Anxiety Related to Retirement
- Reframe retirement as a life stage rather than loss or decline
- Push-pull dynamics for ambivalence
- Organize initial steps
- Work through emotions including uncertainty and guilt
- Shift into constructive retirement preparation
- Broaden identity to include personal values, character strengths, and community roles
- How to claim legacy – what is left behind and what is carried forward
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Other Mental Health Professionals
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