The Gay Male Therapist as an Agent of Socialization

Abstract

All cultures have socialization processes by which adolescents learn to become adults. These processes are often specific rites of passage. In our culture, this socialization is intended for heterosexual adulthood, and for some heterosexuals, psychotherapy is part of the process. The same is not true for homosexuals, and the absence of such formal anticipatory socialization for adult homosexuality has definite psychological consequences for gay males. Individual and group psychotherapy with gay males can be a socialization process through which they become adults within the gay male community. The therapist can provide this socialization in four ways: through his self-disclosure, by serving as a role model, through power relationships, and through community activism. “Jack,” a client, was chosen as an example because he clearly demonstrates this transformative process.