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Review Essay

Review Essay Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, Sexual Science and Clinical Practice, by Richard C. Friedman, M.D. and Jennifer I. Downey, M.D., Columbia University Press, New York, 2002, 307 pp. It is a privilege to review this extraordinary book. The authors, in my opinion, the two currently most distinguished psychoanalyst researchers/writers in the area of sexual orientation, continue their innovative, integrative, and theoretically and clinically brilliant studies in this area. Before considering the contents of this volume per se, I must comment on the authors' attitudes and styles, which are, to me, extraordinarily laudable and, unfortunately, frequently lacking in psychoanalytic writing in a general sense. Downey's and Friedman's warmth, kindness, empathy, and caring for gay people, and for the suffering of individuals, are manifest. Their modesty pervades this volume, whereas narcissism seems to have been a hallmark of much (in my opinion) psychoanalytic writing on this point. The authors show flexibility. Downey and Friedman throughout, and with their vast knowledge of biology, medicine, sociology and culture, psychoanalytic theory, clinical issues, and political factors, have a wonderful and highly unusual (in psychoanalytic texts) way of evidencing marvelous tentativeness. They always leave room for exceptions and eschew the either/or, black/white, good/bad split that http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry Guilford Press

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Publisher
Guilford Press
Copyright
© The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
Subject
REVIEW ESSAY
ISSN
1546-0371
DOI
10.1521/jaap.32.2.381.35274
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, Sexual Science and Clinical Practice, by Richard C. Friedman, M.D. and Jennifer I. Downey, M.D., Columbia University Press, New York, 2002, 307 pp. It is a privilege to review this extraordinary book. The authors, in my opinion, the two currently most distinguished psychoanalyst researchers/writers in the area of sexual orientation, continue their innovative, integrative, and theoretically and clinically brilliant studies in this area. Before considering the contents of this volume per se, I must comment on the authors' attitudes and styles, which are, to me, extraordinarily laudable and, unfortunately, frequently lacking in psychoanalytic writing in a general sense. Downey's and Friedman's warmth, kindness, empathy, and caring for gay people, and for the suffering of individuals, are manifest. Their modesty pervades this volume, whereas narcissism seems to have been a hallmark of much (in my opinion) psychoanalytic writing on this point. The authors show flexibility. Downey and Friedman throughout, and with their vast knowledge of biology, medicine, sociology and culture, psychoanalytic theory, clinical issues, and political factors, have a wonderful and highly unusual (in psychoanalytic texts) way of evidencing marvelous tentativeness. They always leave room for exceptions and eschew the either/or, black/white, good/bad split that

Journal

Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic PsychiatryGuilford Press

Published: Jun 1, 2004

There are no references for this article.