A Pioneer in American Psychoanalysis Dies: Richard Isay Fought Illness Tag for Gays.
Dr. Richard Isay, a faculty member at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, died on June 28th. He was 77. His writing and advocacy led the American Psychoanalytic Association to reverse their belief that homosexuality was an illness and needed to be treated. You will want to read the obituary in the New York Times on June 29th, which includes statements from Dr. Isay's wife, son, and colleagues. Here's a quote:
"Even though the American Psychiatric Association stopped classifying homosexuality as a disease in 1973, many members of the American Psychoanalytic Association continued to regard it as an illness. Dr. Isay tried reasoning, badgering and other forms of persuasion for about 15 years, but the analysts held firm."
The following message, which was posted to the APsaA members list, testifies to the contribution made by Dr. Isay.“Isay was the first gay psychoanalyst in the American Psychoanalytic Association to come out of the closet. He used his own life as an example that the prevailing psychoanalytic views about homosexuality were not only incorrect but damaging to gay and lesbian people. It is difficult to convey how much courage it took for him to stake out the high ground he stood on. He was willing to pay the price of rageful condemnation by the heterosexual majority who saw his behavior as an attack on an entire system of belief. We witnessed Dick standing up to outraged orthodoxy on a number of occasions. A generation of GLBT psychotherapists followed Dick Isay but for some time he stood alone. His stance as a moral leader benefited all patients, not just those who happened to not be heterosexual and was a proud moment in the history of psychoanalysis.We found Isay*s written work helpful and owe him a debt of gratitude for having put his ideas down on paper. It is not only his ideas that are expressed in his writings of course, but also his unique voice. Dick Isay helped change the prevailing psychoanalytic climate of belief.”We honor his memory.Richard C. Friedman MDJennifer I. Downey MD Finally, in 1992, Dr. Isay and the American Civil Liberties Union brought about the desired change, and the Institutes allied with the American Psychoanalytic Association had to stop discriminating against openly gay professionals.The Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center would like to remind our readers that our Program Committee (Colleen Coakley, incoming chair and Catherine Sullivan, outgoing chair) are bringing Gary Grossman, Ph.D. to Cleveland in October to give a talk at the Center. Dr. Grossman is part of Dr. Isay's legacy; making it acceptable for gay analysts to be open and articulate within the American Psychoanalytic Association.For further reading:Isay, R. (1991) “The Homosexual Analyst: Clinical Considerations.” PSC 46:199-216 (Available on PEP)Isay, R. (2006) Commitment and Healing: Gay Men and the Need for Romantic Love. Wiley & Sons, Inc.Isay, R. (1989). Being homosexual: Gay men and their development. New York: Farrar, Straus,Giroux.Isay, R. (1999). “Gender in homosexual boys: Some developmental and clinical considerations.” Psychiatry, 62(2), 187-194.Cohler, B. (2002) “Introduction.” Annual of Psychoanalysis, 30:1-5 (Available on PEP)Grossman, G. (2002). “Queering Psychoanalysis.” Annual of Psychoanalysis, 30:287-299 (Available on PEP)
