JANUARY 1976
the belief that simply because an overprotective mother produces an atypical male child, this cannot be labeled an illness, and subsequently, does not carry a necessarily negative connotation in itself.
High Gear: Did you vote in favor of the removal?
Dr. Levine: Yes.
High Gear: Philadelphia gay activist Mark Segal who recently spoke in Cleveland said that the APA still lists homosexuality as a "Sexual Orientation Disturbance". Do you care to comment on that?
Dr. Levine: "Sexual Orientation Disturbance" is reserved only for those who are actually disturbed about their sexual orientation. It does not refer to all homosexual people. In fact, the APA included the term in its nomenclature for the benefit of clients wishing to have their therapy bills footed by their insurance companies.
High Gear: Since psychiatry and psychology are not exact sciences, should they have the right to infringe on people's civil rights?
Dr. Levine: No.
High Gear: Do you feel you have to "change" a homosexual
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who comes to you for therapy into a heterosexual?
Dr. Levine: It is impossible to change either homosexuality or heterosexuality. Kinsey's scale of sexuality from 0 to 6 indicates very few people are either exclusively homosexual or heterosexual. We're dealing here with a very complex series of mental patterns and can't legitimately view homosexuality or heterosexuality as separate units. A gay person should not be concerned that if he/she seeks psychiatric help that a psychiatrist will deliberately attempt to change them into a heterosexual. An individual's pattern of sexual responses will not be wrested away from him/her. We cannot isolate problems and associate them directly to a sexual expression. We need to focus in on the interrelationships of all mental processes. In short, homosexuals can be treated for psychiatric problems without yielding their homosexuality.
High Gear: How do you personally feel about attempts to "change" homosexuals through means of aversion shock therapy? Dr. Levine: conditioning of the type you mention is nothing short of barbaric.
Negative
High Gear: Would you say that any neuroticism that might be displayed by gays is due to their difficulty in handling the continuous rejection of their lifestyles by society?
Dr. Levine: No. Neurotic individuals have problems apart from the society as a whole; however, they have internalized parts of society within them. To that extent their own derogation of homosexuality can them serious conflict which may be manifested by anxiety or neuroticism.
cause
HIGH GEAR
High Gear: A few months ago Psychology Today printed an article by psychologist Mark Friedman who said that gays who admit their homosexuality to themselves on the whole are healthier than their heterosexual counterparts. Do you agree?
Dr. Levine: I can't comment on that since I haven't seen the study.
High Gear: What general advice would you give gays who are uncomfortable with their sexual orientation?
Dr. Levine: It is important for such people to know that there are professionals in the community capable of helping them explore their discomfort with homosexuality. There are three possible outcomes from a meeting with the professional health worker: 1) nothing. 2) the individual may become more comfortable. with his homosexuality, or 3) the person may be able to develop any heterosexual component in his/her psyche.
High Gear: Many gays have been left with a bad taste psychology because of its past persistent efforts to equate gays with the mentally ill. As such, those gays who have problems which have nothing to do with their sexual preferences resist any contact with professionals in the mental health field. How can. their. confidence be regained? Dr. Levine: Almost everyone who
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Dr. Levine: Values transmitted in psychotherapy, and there are some psychiatrists whose values are hostile to the homosexual community. During the first session the patient and the psychiatrist are actually interviewing each other. If the psychiatrist fails his interview by being hostile to the homosexuality of the patient, the patient can discontinue the relationship and search for a more amenable therapist.
Page 7
THE HITCHHIKER
I see him standing
Far ahead, beside the road,
Radiating his youth So far, and through My windshield I see Him shift his weight Onto one foot, and
A car passes him by,
So he tosses his teen-age hair
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comes to see a mental health worker has some fears about his/her mental integrity, homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. The patient is initially reassured we all have problems. Then an examination of his/her personality, problems and the effects of certain behavior ensues. Individuals must have the courage to first try a psychologist or psychiatrist.
High Gear: Isn't it true that there are "bad" psychiatrists for gays?
Up and tugs on his Clinging jeans, Offering his out-stretched Thumb to the next car, But that one passes, too, So he pulls open his shirt For the sunlight to shine On the curly down of his Chest; he smiles and strokes Himself. (Out of habit or By design?) Out of innocent Habit, I decide, for when
I stop for him he hops in And grins at me with no Trace of guile, and greets me, As usual, "Hi, Dad!"
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