Sexual Orientation and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

This book offers an interdisciplinary view of the development of male and female sexual orientation. The authors integrate research in genetics, psychoendocrinology, psychological development and sexology with psychoanalytical theory to formulate intricate and empirically supported paradigms of male and female development. Part I presents the scientific and theoretical underpinnings of sexual orientation and gender role behaviour. Part II constitutes the clinical section, which focuses upon social and internalized homophobia.

Author Biography

Richard C. Friedman, M.D., is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College, Cornell University, and a lecturer at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the author of Male Homosexuality: A Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspective. Jennifer I. Downey, M.D., is clinical professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is the editor, with Richard C. Friedman, of Masculinity and Sexuality: Selected Topics in the Psychology of Men. Friedman and Downey have coauthored numerous articles on psychoanalysis and sexuality. They are psychoanalysts in private practice in New York City.