Richard Isay
| Richard A Isay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Alexander Isay December 13, 1934 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 28, 2012 (aged 77) New York, New York |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation | Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, Author, Gay Activist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Sephardic Jewish |
| Genre | Gay Male Psychology |
| Notable works | Being Homosexual: Gay Men and their Development, Becoming Gay: The Journey to Self-Acceptance, Commitment and Healing: Gay Men and the Need for Romantic Love |
| Spouse | Gordon Harrell |
| Children | David Isay, Joshua Isay |
Richard A. Isay (December 13, 1934 – June 28, 2012) was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, author and gay activist. He was a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and a faculty member of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. Isay is considered a pioneer who changed the way that psychoanalysts view homosexuality.
Richard Isay was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Isay graduated from Haverford College and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Soon after completing his psychiatry residency at Yale University, he completed his training at the Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute. Throughout his career, Isay maintained a private practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis and was an influential teacher and supervisor. He was the program chairman of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), the American Program Chairman of the International Psychoanalytical Association and chairman of the Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues of the American Psychiatric Association.
In 1983, as chair of the APsaA’s program committee, Isay organized a panel called "New Perspectives on Homosexuality". Isay argued that homosexuality is a normal variant of sexual identity, and that psychoanalysts should stop trying to change the sexual orientation of their patients, which he considered injurious, creating a firestorm of controversy. "Several analysts walked out", Isay later recalled. Isay soon became the first openly gay member of the association.
Isay wrote widely on the subjects of psychoanalysis and homosexuality, including texts such as Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development.Being Homosexual was one of the first books to argue that homosexuality is an inborn identity, and the first to describe a non-pathological developmental pathway that is specific to gay men. It is widely considered a breakthrough in psychoanalytic theory and an important, historical work.
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