Customer Reviews

Contemporary Perspectives on Psychotherapy and Homosexualities

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Shelley is the editor of this collection of essays. The Introduction to the collection and the essay that is his contribution forms the basis of this review. Shelley is an Adlerian psychoanalyst who proposes a fresh methodological approach to understanding the homosexual person. He suggests that an individual is not characterized by one understanding of homosexuality but rather is understood through a varieties of homosexualities. He recommends an abandonment of the traditional definition of homosexuality which seems to be an impediment to understanding the homosexual person in his or her environment. This would allow for the individuated and special needs of homosexual persons to be recognized by therapists in their professional approaches. He takes a stand against "reparative practices" by therapists and against those social institutions which perpetuate unhealthy pressures on homosexual individuals by accepting the uncriticized social perspective as the norm. In an insightful comment he criticizes affirmative therapy as a reaction to the illness model of homosexuality and proposes that a thought-out response to the person-in-community replace it. To Shelley's way of thinking affirmative therapy as understood by many practitioners is not in keeping with proposed developments in Adlerian psychology. The seven articles selected represent a number of points of view and are intended to allow the reader to make dialectical comparisons and stimulate debate, he says (p. 8). Given my limited understanding of Adlerian psychology, and then only from a theological perspective, Shelley's suggested re-interpretation of Abler's thought concerning the homosexual person appears convincing. As I see it, his overall argument strives towards understanding the person in a natural order with the intent of constructing a healthy psyche.

If I wanted mental health advice, Christopher Shelley is the LAST person I would approach. He may be well-dressed and articulate but he's got some pretty serious issues.

Shelley is the editor of this collection of essays. The Introduction to the collection and the essay that is his contribution forms the basis of this review. Shelley is an Adlerian psychoanalyst who proposes a fresh methodological approach to understanding the homosexual person. He suggests that an individual is not characterized by one understanding of homosexuality but rather is understood through a varieties of homosexualities. He recommends an abandonment of the traditional definition of homosexuality which seems to be an impediment to understanding the homosexual person in his or her environment. This would allow for the individuated and special needs of homosexual persons to be recognized by therapists in their professional approaches. He takes a stand against "reparative practices" by therapists and against those social institutions which perpetuate unhealthy pressures on homosexual individuals by accepting the uncriticized social perspective as the norm. In an insightful comment he criticizes affirmative therapy as a reaction to the illness model of homosexuality and proposes that a thought-out response to the person-in-community replace it. To Shelley's way of thinking affirmative therapy as understood by many practitioners is not in keeping with proposed developments in Adlerian psychology. The seven articles selected represent a number of points of view and are intended to allow the reader to make dialectical comparisons and stimulate debate, he says (p. 8). Given my limited understanding of Adlerian psychology, and then only from a theological perspective, Shelley's suggested re-interpretation of Abler's thought concerning the homosexual person appears convincing. As I see it, his overall argument strives towards understanding the person in a natural order with the intent of constructing a healthy psyche.