Part I: Developmental and Cultural Considerations
3 CE credits, Introductory (Type I)
Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon

Course Description:This presentation focuses on the experiences of boys who grow up to identify as gay. Drawing on the broad body of research on LGBT stigma, minority stress, societal and family rejections, and experiences with adult gay men and adolescents in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, the psychological consequences of empathic failures, rejections, and microaggressions during early childhood, especially the Oedipal stage, will be addressed. Links between these early disruptions and internalized homophobia in adolescence and adulthood will be highlighted. The unique challenges faced by gay adolescents in a society that does not fully recognize them will also be discussed. Video clips from television and film will be used to illustrate common experiences of gay youth, adolescents, and adults including experiences of shame, self-hatred, self-realization, coming-out and romance. Clinical examples will be used to demonstrate the relevance of these developmental theories to a psychoanalytic model. This presentation uses confidential clinical vignettes that may include references to familial rejection, bullying, risky sex, substance abuse, self-hatred, and anti-gay attitudes.

Part II: Clinical Considerations
3 CE credits, Introductory (Type I)
Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Course Description: Adolescent and adult gay men who seek psychotherapy have a unique opportunity to address the psychological impact of growing up in a culture that privileges heterosexuality. Drawing on a psychoanalytic model of development, this presentation reviews the psychological sequelae of childhood rejections, empathic failures, microaggressions and violence in the histories of gay men in therapy. Clinical examples will focus especially on the impact of homophobia, and its internalization, on adolescent and adult self-esteem and romantic relationships. Clips from television and film will be viewed to enhance our immersion into the experiences of gay youth and adults. After attending this presentation, clinicians will be better able to recognize and address the unique transferences and countertransferences that emerge in psychotherapy with gay men. This presentation uses confidential clinical vignettes that may include references to familial rejection, bullying, risky sex, substance abuse, self-hatred, and anti-gay attitudes.

This program is designed to meet Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology continuing education requirements for licensure renewal in the area of Cultural Diversity. Other programs may also meet these criteria, but TPA is designating this one. For further information, please refer to the Rules and Regulations of the TN Board of Examiners in Psychology.

Presenter: Gary Grossman, PhD, is a psychologist and psychoanalyst with more than 35 years’ experience working with gay men. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF and Training/Supervising Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, where he also chairs the Psychoanalytic Education Division. Dr. Grossman was the Chair of the Committee on LGBT Issues (now known as the Committee on Gender and Sexuality) of the American Psychoanalytic Association from 2000-2005, and served on that committee through 2016. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health and a Co-Editor of the Sex & Gender Section of Psychoanalytic Terms & Concepts (Auchincloss & Samberg, Eds.), published in 2012 by the American Psychoanalytic Association and Yale University Press. His paper, “Queering Psychoanalysis,” was published in the 2002 volume of The Annual of Psychoanalysis. He is in private practice of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and consultation in San Francisco.