1. Self Psychology and Homosexuality: Potentials and Liabilities in the Psychoanalysis of Gay Men Utilizing Self Psychology
Presenter: |
Henry J. Friedman, MD |
Chair: |
R. Dennis Shelby, PhD |
Self Psychology Page | 21th Conference
Program
Summary
This paper attempts to demonstrate some of the pitfalls that are apparent in the self psychological approach to gay men. It focuses upon these problems because they intrude upon the potential fresh start in working with gay patients that is provided by self psychology's freedom from drive theory. Basically, it assumes that the subjectivity of many, if not most, self psychologists has a fundamental bias against vigorous, relatively indiscriminate sex with a variety of rapidly changing partners. Like Kohut, who saw sexual promiscuity and aggression as based upon a fragmenting self, his followers are inclined to view the average expectable gay male sexual pattern as the product of disordered narcissism. While this may well be the case in some individuals, the gap between the gay world view and that of the self psychologists may defeat the development of a therapeutic alliance. Three clinical vignettes are included to illustrate some of the difficulties in analytic work with distinctly different gay analysands. While the difficulties in the analysis of these individuals are clear enough they, nonetheless represent the pathway to making psychoanalysis, a form of deep and transforming therapy, available to the gay population. Fundamental to this task is the recognition that the designation of one form of sexuality, namely, heterosexuality as normal has created an atmosphere in which homosexual individuals would be better served by avoiding psychoanalysis with a heterosexual psychoanalyst who adhered to such a viewpoint about normal sex as heterosexual.