Female Homosexuality Choice Without Volition [Paperback]

Describing in detail her analytic treatment of eight female homosexuals with common symptoms of incomplete body image and unconscious denial of differences between the sexes, Siegel details the recurring treatment phases that typified their analyses and offers formulations based on both ego-developmental and object-relational perspectives. She candidly describes the countertransferential issues that entered into the treatment of these women and examines basic societal assumptions about sexuality that are imprinted on the analyst.Foreword, Dorpat  Introduction  1. Treatment Issues: Dealing with Preoedipal Phenomena  2. Transference Manifestatins and Regressions  3. Clinical Examples: I  4. Clinical Examples: II  5. Countertransferential Regressions and Empathy  6. Parental Profiles as They Emerged in the Daughters' Analyses

While the psychoanalytic literature on male homosexuality has been rather extensive, that on female homosexuality has been sparse.  This volume contains the most comprehensive clinical investigation of this subject and the largest sample of female homosexuals treated by a single psychoanalyst.  This is a thoughful, comprehensive contribution to the subject of female homosexuality.  The author's highly original formulations, practical applications, and case studies are of considerable interest and value.  This is a book that will not gather dust on the shelf.

- Theo L. Dorpat, M.D., Contemporary Psychiatry

The material is well organized and instructive, with many references.  The case studies, in particular, present an illuminating picture of the analytic process and the author's point of view.  This scholarly book is a welcome and timely addition to the limited clinical literature on female homosexuality.

- Frida G. Surawicz, M.D., Journal of l"