Charles W. Socarides, M.D.
Charles W. Socarides (January 24, 1922 - December 25, 2005), was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. He was a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, physician, educator, and author.
Charles Socarides determined at the age of 13, after reading a book on the life of Sigmund Freud, that he would become a physician and psychoanalyst. Charles Socarides graduated from Harvard College and went on to receive his certificate in Psychoanalytic Medicine from Columbia University in 1952. He was the author of sixteen books including his master work, Preoedipal Origin and Psychoanalytic Therapy of Sexual Perversions, and Work and Its Inhibitions: Psychoanalytic Essays as well as over 80 psychoanalytic articles. He appeared on numerous news programs to discuss his psychoanalytic work and findings including Dateline, 60 Minutes, and Larry King Live. Charles Socarides was the past president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which he co-founded in 1992. Charles Socarides was on the board of directors of the Margaret S. Mahler Psychiatric Research Foundation. He was a member of the International Advisory Committee, Second Delphi International Psychoanalytic Symposium, Delphi, Greece, 1988. He was also a member of the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine, and the International Psychoanalytical Association. Furthermore, he was a life member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, where he chaired a discussion group for many years, and an affiliate member of the Royal Society of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. A practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in New York City from 1954 until his death, Charles Socarides taught Psychiatry at Columbia University and the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, and was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, from 1978 to 1996. He lectured on his research findings in London, United Kingdom at the Anna Freud Centre, the Portman Clinic, the Tavistock Clinic, and before the British Psychoanalytical Society. His numerous awards include that of Distinguished Psychoanalyst, Association of Psychoanalytic Psychologists, British National Health Service, London, England, April 28, 1995; the first Sigmund Freud Lectureship Award, New York Center for Psychoanalytic Training, New York City; the 1987 Sigmund Freud Award given by the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians in recognition of distinguished service to psychiatry and psychoanalytic research; and the Physicians Recognition Award of the American Medical Association from 1970 to 1973.
Much of Dr. Socarides' career was devoted to studying how homosexuality develops and how it can be treated. Socarides claimed that homosexuality is a neurotic adaptation, and that it can be cured. According to Socarides, male homosexuality typically develops in the first two years of the boy's life, during the preoedipal stage of the boy's personality formation, and is caused by a domineering, controlling, castrating, and phallic mother who prevents her son from separating from her, and a distant, weak, abdicating, and rejecting father who does not serve as a role model for his son and does not support his son's effort to escape from the mother.
Dr. Socarides treated patients for homosexuality throughout his career. He reported that "about a third" [1] of his patients became heterosexual and led heterosexual lives after treatment. Socarides' views were not shaken by the 1973 decision of the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. In his book Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far, he explained that he kept treating patients because he believed that homosexual people who are unhappy with their homosexual orientation should have the same freedom to become heterosexual as those who are happy with their homosexual orientation and choose to stay homosexual.
The complete list of Charles Socarides' books follows:
- Socarides, Charles W. (1995). Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far. Roberkai. ISBN 0964664259.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1978). Homosexuality. Jason Aronson, Inc. ISBN 0876683553.
- Socarides, Charles W.; & Karasu, Toksoz B. (1979). On Sexuality: Psychoanalytic Observations. International Universities Press. ISBN 082363857X.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1975). Beyond Sexual Freedom. New York Times/Quadrangle Books. ISBN 0812905326.
- Socarides, Charles W.; & Kramer, Selma (1975). Work and Its Inhibitions: Psychoanalytic Essays. International Universities Press. ISBN 0823668665.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1977). The World of Emotions: Clinical Studies of Affects and Their Expression. International Universities Press. ISBN 0823668673.
- Volkan, Vamik D.; & Socarides, Charles W. (1990). The Homosexualities: Reality, Fantasy, and the Arts. International Universities Press. ISBN 0823623475.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1968). The Overt Homosexual. Jason Aronson, Inc. ISBN 0876681623.
- Loeb, Loretta L.; & Socarides, Charles W. (2004). The Mind of the Paedophile: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. Karnac. ISBN 1855759705.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1988). Preoedipal Origin and Psychoanalytic Therapy of Sexual Perversions. International Universities Press. ISBN 0823642879.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1989). Homosexuality: Psychoanalytic Therapy. Jason Aronson, Inc. ISBN 0876688148.
- Volkan, Vamik D.; & Socarides, Charles W. (1991). The Homosexualities and the Therapeutic Process. International Universities Press. ISBN 0823623483.
- Socarides, Charles W.; & Freedman, Abraham (2002). Objects of Desire: The Sexual Deviations. International Universities Press. ISBN 082363731X.
- Jennings, James; & Socarides, Charles W. (1994). A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People. Hazelden Foundation. ISBN 1568380488.
- Siegel, Elaine V.; & Socarides, Charles W. (1984). Dance-Movement Therapy: Mirror of Our Selves: A Psychoanalytic Approach. Human Sciences Press. ISBN 0898851939.
- Socarides, Charles W. (1992). Sexual politics and scientific logic: The Issue of Homosexuality. Association for Psychohistory. ASIN B0006RCH62.
Dr. Socarides died on Christmas Day, 2005, due to heart failure at the age of 83.
References
- How America Went Gay, by Charles W. Socarides, M.D., originally printed in America Magazine, November 18, 1995.
- Dr. Charles Socarides, Lover Of Humanity, by Dr. Benjamin Kaufman.
- Two Different Obituaries for Dr. Charles Socarides, by Frank York.
- Excerpt from the Book Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far, by Charles W. Socarides, M.D.
- A Tribute to Charles W. Socarides, by A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D., MBA, MPH.
- Charles William Socarides Death Notice, published by The New York Times on December 27, 2005.
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