Richard C. Friedman
Encyclopedia
Richard C. Friedman, MD, is an academic psychiatrist, currently the Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and a faculty member at Columbia University
. He has conducted research in the endocrinology
and the psychodynamics of homosexuality
, especially within the context of psychoanalysis
.
in the early 1960s, received his MD
from the University of Rochester
in 1966 and completed his psychiatric residency at Columbia University
in 1970, following which he spent two years with the United States Army Medical Corps working in the psychiatric department of William Beaumont Army Medical Center
in El Paso, Texas
, with the rank of Major. He later worked at a number of hospitals in New York
whilst teaching at Columbia University
and, from 1977, Cornell University
. He was appointed to the faculty at Columbia in 1978 and appointed Lecturer in Psychiatry in 1994; at Cornell, he was appointed the Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in 1996. He holds both posts concurrently with that of Research Professor of Psychology at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University
(appointed 1989).
; he was one of the coauthors of Sexuality: New Perspectives (1985), which addressed sex roles and sexual disorders in women.
He then studied the issues surrounding the way homosexuality was handled by conventional psychoanalysis
; his book Male Homosexuality (1988) was the first to combine recent findings in psychobiology, gender identity
, and family studies with psychoanalytic theory
. In it, Friedman challenged the way that the Freudian theory of the Oedipus complex
was used by psychoanalysts at that time. He noted that erotic desire for the opposite sexed parent was not universal and that homosexuality was not a symptomatic response to unconscious fears of heterosexuality. Friedman concluded that homosexuality was not pathological, and should not be treated as a condition to be cured. The book had a major impact on the field, and led to significant changes in the way psychoanalysts and psychotherapists understand and treat non-heterosexual patients.
He later wrote Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis (2002), co-authored with Jennifer I. Downey, which focuses on the role of psychoanalysis
in the understanding of sexual orientation
in both sexes. This book discusses in particular detail the role played by psychotherapy in ameliorating the long term effects of anti-homosexual prejudice
. More recently, Friedman and Downey were the first to study the relevance of sexual differentiation of behavior to psychoanalytic theory and practice, arguing that the psychoanalytic approach to psychological development and functioning needed widespread revision.
Friedman was a member of the American Psychiatric Association
DSM-III advisory committee for psychosexual disorders, and a consultant to the DSM-IV advisory board for gender identity disorder
s. He is currently on the editorial board of Archives of Sexual Behavior
, and is the incoming editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry. He received the Mary S. Sigourney Award in 2009 from the Sigourney Trust in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of psychoanalysis.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He has conducted research in the endocrinology
Endocrinology
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
and the psychodynamics of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, especially within the context of 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...
.
Medical career
Friedman studied at Bard CollegeBard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
in the early 1960s, received his MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
in 1966 and completed his psychiatric residency at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1970, following which he spent two years with the United States Army Medical Corps working in the psychiatric department of William Beaumont Army Medical Center
William Beaumont Army Medical Center
William Beaumont Army Medical Center is a Department of Defense medical facility located in El Paso, Texas. It provides comprehensive care to all beneficiaries including active duty military, their family members, and retirees...
in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, with the rank of Major. He later worked at a number of hospitals in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
whilst teaching at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and, from 1977, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He was appointed to the faculty at Columbia in 1978 and appointed Lecturer in Psychiatry in 1994; at Cornell, he was appointed the Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in 1996. He holds both posts concurrently with that of Research Professor of Psychology at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
(appointed 1989).
Research
Friedman's early research was on deprivation experienced by physicians in training. He was the first person to demonstrate that sleep deprivation impaired the capacity of medical doctors in hospitals to function adequately. His later psychiatric research looked at sexualityHuman sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
; he was one of the coauthors of Sexuality: New Perspectives (1985), which addressed sex roles and sexual disorders in women.
He then studied the issues surrounding the way homosexuality was handled by conventional 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...
; his book Male Homosexuality (1988) was the first to combine recent findings in psychobiology, gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
, and family studies with psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
. In it, Friedman challenged the way that the Freudian theory of the Oedipus complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
was used by psychoanalysts at that time. He noted that erotic desire for the opposite sexed parent was not universal and that homosexuality was not a symptomatic response to unconscious fears of heterosexuality. Friedman concluded that homosexuality was not pathological, and should not be treated as a condition to be cured. The book had a major impact on the field, and led to significant changes in the way psychoanalysts and psychotherapists understand and treat non-heterosexual patients.
He later wrote Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis (2002), co-authored with Jennifer I. Downey, which focuses on the role of 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...
in the understanding of 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,...
in both sexes. This book discusses in particular detail the role played by psychotherapy in ameliorating the long term effects of anti-homosexual prejudice
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. More recently, Friedman and Downey were the first to study the relevance of sexual differentiation of behavior to psychoanalytic theory and practice, arguing that the psychoanalytic approach to psychological development and functioning needed widespread revision.
Friedman was a member 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...
DSM-III advisory committee for psychosexual disorders, and a consultant to the DSM-IV advisory board for gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe persons who experience significant gender dysphoria . It describes the symptoms related to transsexualism, as well as less severe manifestations of gender dysphoria...
s. He is currently on the editorial board of Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The 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 :...
, and is the incoming editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry. He received the Mary S. Sigourney Award in 2009 from the Sigourney Trust in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of psychoanalysis.
Selected publications
- 2008 edition published as Sexual Orientation and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Sexual Science and Clinical Practice.