Jeanine Connor on exploring modern life through a Gen Z lens

By Zita Whalley

Jeanine Connor is a psychotherapist and author based in Westgate-on-Sea. 

Her latest book, ‘You’re not my f*cking mother’ and other things Gen Z say in therapy, is a collection of short stories that offer “therapeutic snapshots” of young people who have come of age in an area defined by Brexit, Covid-19, war in Europe, recession and social media. 

While characters are fictitious, the stories explore real life themes. They also inform and are informed by Jeanine’s psychotherapy practice.

She says: “Researching and writing about those themes helps me to explore them and that certainly feeds back into my work in the therapy room.” 

Jeanine says her writing practice is a “solitary experience” and one that’s not particularly influenced by her surrounding community.

“That’s one of the things I love about it,” she says. “Me, my thoughts and my keyboard, with no external distractions.”

That said, Jeanine adds that in a wider sense “community influences everything” including her psychotherapy practice and writing.  

"We are all influenced by the social, environmental and political communities in which we live and work," she says. 

"Our positions of privilege or under-privilege, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age and social class within those communities influence our biases and assumptions," she explains. 

"We live in a time of sensitive topics and strong opinions."

‘You’re not my f*cking mother’ and other things Gen Z say in therapy, is Jeanine’s third book, following on from Stop F*cking Nodding and other things 16 year olds say in therapy, and Reflective Practice in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. 

Jeanine will appear at Margate Bookie’s Local Writers Showcase on Tuesday, October 1, at 7pm, at The Margate School. Tickets £5. Book now.