Lesbian Identity and Contemporary Psychotherapy

Eda Goldstein, D.S.W., is professor at the New York University Shirley M. Ehrenkranz School of Social Work and consulting editor to various professional journals, including Clinical Social Work Journal and Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. Her publications include Ego Psychology and Social Work Practice (1984/1995) and Object Relations Theory and Self Psychology in Social Practice (2001).Lois C. Horowitz, Ph.D., is a psychoanalyst in private practice who specializes in individual and couples treatment and clinical supervision. She has written and lectured on lesbian identity and psychoanalytic theory.

"Goldstein and Horowitz have written a superb teaching text that will be useful to students and experienced clinicians, to straight and queer therapists alike. They not only provide a comprehensive introduction to psychotherapy with lesbian patients but offer richly detailed and moving clinical illustrations that include verbatim accounts of actual sessions. The reader not only learns about lesbian relationships and lesbian identity but, more importantly, learns to struggle with his or her own personal and subjective responses to lesbian patients."- Lewis Aron, Ph.D., Director, NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis"Goldstein and Horowitz ably provide the reader with a view of the psychosocial and relational matrices in which treatment with lesbian patients takes place. At the same time, responsiveness to the needs of the individual patient remains the central focus of their clinical work. Their approach to transference and countertransference admirably demonstrates how one goes about translating psychoanalytic theory into actual practice. All this makes Lesbian Identity and Contemporary Psychotherapy an extremely useful volume both for clinicians wishing to learn more about gay affirmative treatment and for those interested in psychotherapy in general." - Jack Drescher, M.D., Author, Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man (Analytic Press, 1998)"Lesbian Identity and Contemporary Psychotherapy is an indispensable resource for all psychotherapists. Goldstein and Horowitz provide a feast of clear, lively, and detailed clinical case examples. And their sophisticated, wise use of contemporary psychoanalytic thinking helps illustrate the diversity of lesbian experience as well as the clinical challenges and pleasures of working with lesbian patients."- Maggie Magee and Diana C. Miller, Authors, Lesbian Lives (Analytic Press, 1997)

• 1. Introduction 2. Psychoanalytic Theory and Lesbianism: The Changing Landscape 3. A Framework for Clinical Practice 4. Lesbian Narratives and the Treatment Process 5. Working with Transference 6. Working with Countertransference 7. The Initial Stage of Lesbian Relationships: Clinical Considerations 8. Issues in Midlife and Later Life: Clinical Considerations 9. Experiences of the Lesbian Therapist