Why Emotional Certainty Often Beats Intellectual Complexity This article comes from my work as a psychotherapist and coach specializing in gay men for more than three decades. Although my clinical practice focuses on the psychology of gay men, the emotional processes discussed here apply far beyond any single community. I have watched political movements, cultural … Read more
Gay Conversion Therapy Survivors: What Was Done to You—and How It Still Affects You For over 30 years, I have worked almost exclusively with gay men as a psychotherapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. Over that time, I have seen the long arc of how cultural stigma, bad science, and ideological pressure shape the inner … Read more
“Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true…” That line from Wicked’s Act II number, “Thank Goodness,” always carries an irony that cuts deep: happiness is supposed to arrive when dreams are fulfilled — but what happens when the world changes so much that the dreams themselves are denied? As the upcoming … Read more
The Progress Paradox: Did ‘Toxic Woke’ Culture Lose the Election for LGBT+ Americans? As a gay men’s specialist therapist for 32 years, a nationally certified sex therapist, and a lifelong LGBTQ+ activist, I have witnessed seismic changes in our rights and acceptance. From the Stonewall riots in 1969 to marriage equality, and now to parenting … Read more
Gay Men and the Lessons from ‘Wicked’ With the current (December, 2024) popularity of the new movie version of the hit Broadway musical, “Wicked,” (by long-understood bisexual composer, Stephen Schwartz), and based on the original novel by (gay author) Gregory McGuire, there are many parallels of that modern-classic story that can apply to gay men. … Read more
Gay Men and Trump 2.0: Coping with Anxiety In December, 2004, at the time of the re-election of President George W. Bush (the son of President George Bush, President from 1988-1992), I wrote an article for A&U, “America’s AIDS Magazine,” that was part of my monthly column for that publication for several years, advocating for … Read more
Gay Men, Activism, and Social Conscience While being a gay men’s specialist psychotherapist, sex therapist, and life/career/executive coach for over 30 years in 2023, I’ve also strongly identified within my graduate training and licensure/professional discipline category of being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of California. California has several licenses that allow … Read more
Gay Men and Coping with ‘Bad Luck’ This year, 2022, marks my thirtieth year as a gay men’s specialist psychotherapist. I’m also an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and life/career/relationship coach, for gay men in Los Angeles/West Hollywood, California, all over the United States, and the world. And one of the things I’ve noticed in working … Read more
The Needs of Gay Men in the Volatile “LGBT” Era A couple of years ago, I wrote about some concerns I had overall about the gradual adoption of “LGBT” (or its variants like LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, etc.) as the umbrella term for referring to all sexual and gender minority persons in society (that article is here … Read more
With the continued pressures from the COVID-19 global pandemic, it has come to my attention that in the gay “Mecca” where I live, West Hollywood, California, that some popular and even iconic/historical gay bars are closing for good (to date, these include Gym Bar, Flaming Saddles, Rage (my first gay bar in LA in 1985!) … Read more
