Jack Drescher
Encyclopedia
Jack Drescher is an American
psychiatrist
and psychoanalyst best known for his work on sexual orientation
.
in Biology from Brooklyn College
in 1972 and his M.D.
from University of Michigan Medical School
in 1980. After completing his internship in psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Hospital & Medical Center
in 1981, he accepted a residency
at SUNY Downstate Medical Center
. In 1987 he became Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Downstate. From 1988 to 1992 Drescher trained in Psychoanalysis
at the William Alanson White Institute
where he is presently a Training and Supervising Analyst. Since 2006 he has been Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at New York University
and is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College
.
Drescher is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
and a member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, the American College of Psychiatrists
and the New York Academy of Medicine
. He is an elected member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
and the International Academy of Sex Research
, and he is President-Elect the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry
.
movement and conversion therapy, calling it "questionable in its efficacy" and citing potential harms of therapy to suppress or change sexual orientation. In addition to writing about the ethical concerns, Drescher has likened attempts to suggest there is a professional debate about this to creationism
: "You create the impression to the public as if there was a debate in the profession, which there is not." Drescher was one of the major critics of work by Robert Spitzer
claiming some gay people can alter their orientation.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
and psychoanalyst best known for his work on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
.
Education and affiliations
Drescher earned his B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Biology from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
in 1972 and his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from University of Michigan Medical School
University of Michigan Health System
The University of Michigan Health System is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. UMHS includes the U-M Medical School, with its Faculty Group Practice and many research laboratories; the U-M Hospitals and Health Centers, which includes University...
in 1980. After completing his internship in psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Hospital & Medical Center
Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers ' was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to as "St. Vincent's". St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and closed in 2010...
in 1981, he accepted a residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
at SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is a public university and medical center located in central Brooklyn, New York and the only academic center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn’s 2.5...
. In 1987 he became Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Downstate. From 1988 to 1992 Drescher trained in Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
at the William Alanson White Institute
William Alanson White Institute
The William Alanson White Institute, founded in 1946, is an institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists. It is located in New York City, USA, on the Upper West Side, in the Clara Thompson building....
where he is presently a Training and Supervising Analyst. Since 2006 he has been Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College
New York Medical College
New York Medical College, aka New York Med or NYMC, is a private graduate health sciences university based in Westchester County, New York, a suburb of New York City and a part of the New York Metropolitan Area...
.
Drescher is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
and a member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, the American College of Psychiatrists
American College of Psychiatrists
The American College of Psychiatrists is an association of psychiatrists based in Chicago. It operates annual meetings, publishes a newsletter, presents awards, and organizes the PRITE exam for psychiatric residents and the PIPE exam for practicing psychiatrists...
and the New York Academy of Medicine
New York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York City metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform...
. He is an elected member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality , formed in 1957, is a non-profit, professional membership organization that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly...
and the International Academy of Sex Research
International Academy of Sex Research
The International Academy of Sex Research is a scientific society for researchers in sexology. According to John Bancroft, retired director of the Kinsey Institute, IASR "can claim...most of the field's leading researchers." IASR is unique among sexology organizations in that individuals must...
, and he is President-Elect the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry
Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry
The Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry is an American professional organization of psychiatrists dedicated to shaping psychiatric thinking, public programs and clinical practice in mental health. Its 29 committees meet semi-annually and choose their own topics for exploration...
.
Ex-gays and conversion therapy
Drescher is an outspoken critic of the ex-gayEx-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
movement and conversion therapy, calling it "questionable in its efficacy" and citing potential harms of therapy to suppress or change sexual orientation. In addition to writing about the ethical concerns, Drescher has likened attempts to suggest there is a professional debate about this to creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
: "You create the impression to the public as if there was a debate in the profession, which there is not." Drescher was one of the major critics of work by Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist)
Robert L. Spitzer was a major architect of the modern classification of mental disorders. He is a retired professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City, United States and was on the research faculty of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. He...
claiming some gay people can alter their orientation.
Selected publications
- Queer Diagnoses: Parallels and Contrasts in the History of Homosexuality, Gender Variance, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Archives of Sexual BehaviorArchives of Sexual BehaviorThe Archives of Sexual Behavior is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.- History :...
(2010), 39:427–460. - Homosexuality, gay and lesbian identities, and homosexual behavior. Jack Drescher, William Byne. In Sadock BJ, Sadock VA, Ruiz P (Eds), Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, Ninth Edition (2009). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, pp. 2060–2090.
- When Politics Distorts Science: What Mental Health Professionals Can Do. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health (2009), 13(3):21-226
- Childhood Gender Nonconformity and the Development of Adult Homosexuality. Mathy, R. & Drescher, J., editors. (2009), New York: Routledge.
- A History of Homosexuality and Organized Psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry (2008), 36(3):443-460.
- From Bisexuality to Intersexuality: Rethinking Gender Categories. Contemporary Psychoanalysis (2007), 43(2):204-228.
- Transgender Subjectivities: A Clinician's Guide. Leli, U. & Drescher, J., editors. (2004), New York: Harrington Park Press.
- Addictions in the gay and lesbian community. Jeffrey R. Guss, Jack Drescher, editors. New York: Haworth Medical Press, c2000. ISBN 0789010380
- British lesbian, gay, and bisexual psychologies: theory, research, and practice. Elizabeth Peel, Victoria Clarke, Jack Drescher, editors Binghamton, NY : Haworth Medical Press, c2007. ISBN 0789032511
- Crystal meth and men who have sex with men: what mental health care professionals need to know. Milton L. Wainberg, Andrew J. Kolodny, Jack Drescher, editors. New York: Haworth Medical Press, c2006. ISBN 0789032473
- Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study And Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture. Jack Drescher, Kenneth J. Zucker (Editors). Harrington Park Press ISBN 1560235578
- Gay and lesbian parenting. Deborah F. Glazer, Jack Drescher, editors. New York: Haworth Medical Press, c2001. ISBN 0789013509
- A gay man's guide to prostate cancer. Gerald Perlman (Editor), Jack Drescher (Editor) Binghamton, NY: Haworth Medical Press, c2005. ISBN 1560235535
- Handbook of LGBT issues in community mental health. Ronald E. Hellman, Jack Drescher, Binghamton, NY: Haworth Medical Press, c2004. ISBN 0789023091
- Mental health professions and homosexuality: international perspectives. Vittorio Lingiardi, Jack Drescher, editors. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Medical Press, c2003. ISBN 0789020580
- Psychoanalytic therapy and the gay man. Jack Drescher. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1998. ISBN 0881632082
- Sexual and gender diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM): a reevaluation. Dan KarasicDan KarasicDan Halaban Karasic is an American psychiatrist specializing in transgender, gender dysphoric, and HIV-positive patients. He served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission from 1998 to 2002, and he served as President of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists from 2005 to 2007. In...
, Jack Drescher (Editor). New York: Haworth Press, c2005. ISBN 0789032139