Contemporary Perspectives on Psychotherapy and Homosexualities (Paperback)

by Christopher Shelley (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Most psychotherapy training programmes don't incorporate elements which examine the special needs of the gay and lesbian populations. It is therefore questionable whether practitioners possess the basic necessary skills for assessing and employing interventions based on sexually sensitive material. An unexamined and untrained approach to working with homosexual populations can no longer be tolerated. This book address some of the incoherence that exists in this field. The contributors address theories and models of practice that will be more beneficial to the therapeutic needs of homosexual clients. Their accounts represent a significant step towards a better understanding of the needs of this client group.

From the Publisher
Christopher Shelley is a Canadian, based in London. Formerly a psychotherapist at the Toronto Counselling Center for Lesbians and Gays, he is now coordinator of the Institute for Individual Psychology, London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 231 pages
• Publisher: Free Association Books (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853434043
• ISBN-13: 978-1853434044
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,490,835 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Thought-out Response, January 24, 2003

By	Allan M. Savage (Thunder Bay, Ontario) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Thought-out Response, January 9, 2002

By	Allan M. Savage (Thunder Bay, Ontario) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.