Anti-Homosexuality, Shame, and Condemnation
Facilitated by Anne Taylor, LCSW, Psychoanalyst
Case Presenter: Zach Burck, LMHCA, Resident Psychotherapist
Cost to attend will be $32.50 (full-time student rate is $16.25 with discount code “STUDENT”). Price includes all credit card processing fees. 1.5 CEs are available.
Historically, psychoanalytic theory has often pathologized homosexuality, conceptualizing it through distorted developmental formulations. Following the 1973 decision by the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the DSM, psychoanalysis has continued to evolve in its understanding of sexual diversity.
This seminar examines the enduring impact of cultural, religious, and moral condemnation of homosexuality on the psychological development and clinical treatment of gay men. Using contemporary psychoanalytic theory and clinical case material, participants will explore the mechanisms through which anti-homosexual attitudes are internalized and enacted in the therapeutic setting. Special attention will be given to identifying therapeutic tasks that facilitate recognition and transformation of internalized shame and condemnation, and to understanding sociocultural factors—including heterosexism, religious beliefs, and social stigma—that shape the clinical encounter.
This seminar is designed for psychotherapists, psychoanalytic psychotherapists, and mental health professionals in training or in practice who wish to enhance their clinical competence in addressing issues of sexuality, identity, and internalized oppression within a psychoanalytic framework. Additionally, this seminar will be structured from the reading:
Psychoanalytic Therapy with Gay Men by Jack Dresher, MD. (1998).
Specifically we will be using Chapter 4: Therapeutic Meanings of Antihomosexuality. We will use theory and clinical examples to understand the clinical relevance of cultural attitudes that become internalized for gay men. This seminar is designed for psychotherapists in training and in clinical practice.
Learning Objectives
1) Identify two therapeutic tasks relevant to working with gay male patients affected by internalized homophobia.
2) Describe at lease three sociocultural or psychological factors contributing to anti-homosexual attitudes and homophobia.
3) Analyze ways in which gay men internalize or introject condemning or shaming cultural attitudes and how these dynamics affect the therapeutic process.