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Coming Out Straight : Understanding and Healing Homosexuality

Coming Out Straight : Understanding and Healing Homosexuality

List Price: $12.95
Your Price: $10.36
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Needed Book
Review: Homosexual's first enemy is acceptance. Homosexuality is a psychological problem, as neurosis or schizophrenia, but nowadays we accept the first to be normal and the other two to be a problem. People with schizophrenia go with a psychologist to be cured. Gay people do not... Why? Because homosexuality is not supposed to be a mental problem, but it is. Deep in the unconscious the problem rests, and logic thought will never find it. This book analyzes some of the reasons that can make a man or woman feel atracted to the same sex (all of them psicological and hidden in the unconscious.)

The fist step for an alcoholic to stop drinking is to accept he is an alcoholic. The first step for the homosexual is to understand and ACCEPT that something in their past is causing their sexual preference.

As with all psychological problems, we are hessitant to accept them, to work with an expert to fix them... We don't want to stop acting as our unconsious tells us, it is difficult, psychological therapy is very difficult, but is the right thing to do, as right as taking medicine when you have the flu. Imagine to tell the doctor: "I am not taking my flu medicine because I feel great having the flu." "OK", the doctor may reply, "but you are sick, is not good to be sick". "I don't give a damn, doctor, I want acceptance, accept me with my flu, I feel great with my flu, leve me alone, accept me, don't tell me I'm sick."

It may sound as a joke, but the same applies with homosexuality. And, even when psycological proof exists and the so called "gay since birth" theory has been rejected (even by their creators), homosexuals will stay in this very confortable, pleasurable, but wrong psychological state.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Imagination and volition versus biology
Review: I know Richard. He is sincere and has accomplished a reorientation because he values family life deeply. This dimension should not be lost in the divisive nature vs. nurture arguments on the origin of homosexuality. I tend to think that some folks are biologically or genetically "set up" for same-sex attraction. So what? That means if you value heterosexual erotic bonds (both cognitively and socially) more than homosexual bonds then you will be in conflict with your own urges! While this is a miserable reality, there are two options: 1. Make homosexual erotic bonds = to heterosexual bonding (and the gay liberation movement in all its facets is trying to do this, both philosophically and socially); 2. Struggle against an inborn tendency, utilizing imagination, valuation, therapy, social modelling, and human volition to try to re-create and re-direct your self. The human "self" is incredibly open to suggestion and creative power. This particular path needs to be pioneered by some and then others can more easily follow. Cohen is a pioneer and an advocate, not a scientist. His passion comes from his lifelong struggle and I applaud him for his effort. Bravo.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: "Cured from gayness" author is the most effeminate man ever!
Review: I saw interviews with this man on television, and I have one question: If God was supposedly so helpful in getting him to overcome homosexualtiy, why didn't She take care of his extremely feminine mannerisms and his flowery expressive vocal tones while She was at it?

Even so, I thought this book might be good for laughs and somehow got a hold of a copy. Boy, was I wrong. It's not funny, it's sad. I feel more sorry for his wife. But she need not worry about him returning to "the lifestyle." After this book, no man would have him.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ABUSED CONFUSED ANXIETY RIDDEN AND SELF-DESTRUCTIVE
Review: I strongly recommend this book for anyone seeking to find help with mood disorders, feelings of emptiness or loneliness, self-esteem issues, identity issues, reoccurring unresolved anger, any type of addiction, troubling relationship, boundary or trust issues.

Excellent compliments to this book are: The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders by Joseph Santoro and Ronald Cohen; The Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment by Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman and Robert Pressman; Emotional Blackmail: When People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward and Donna Frazier; Understanding the Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable and Volatile Relationship by Christine Ann Lawson; Living with the Passive-Aggressive Man by Scott Wetzler; Why Is It Always About You?: The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism by Sandy Hotchkiss and James Masterson; Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited by Sam Vaknin and Lidija Rangelovska (Editor); Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents by Nina Brown; Treating Attachment Disorders: From Theory to Therapy by Karl Heinz Brisch and Kenneth Kronenberg; Toxic Coworkers: How to Deal with Dysfunctional People on the Job by Alan Cavaiola and Neil Lavender.

And if you want to pursue the subject even further, you may be interested in reading The Narcissistic / Borderline Couple: A Psychoanalytic Perspective On Marital Treatment

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I Did It So Can You
Review: It must be understood that a large percentage of homosexuals who seek change do have deficits in their relationship with their same sex parent, or siblings, friends, etc. However some have wonderful relationships with them. Sexual abuse is also a factor sometimes, this can turn someone down the path to homosexuality, but it is not addressed in this book. Cohen does a good job of providing therapy for broken relationships, but more needs to be said about sexual abuse. My personal cause for homosexuality was the lack of a relationship with my father, so when I applied the techniques in this book they worked, and I did not experience any stress because of it. It was the gay lifestyle that was stressful to me. I went from being 100% gay to 100% heterosexual. If you seek help with sexual abuse I suggest DNMS therapy - Developmental Needes Meeting Strategy. This form of therapy builds the brain of those who experienced negative environments to a brain that grew up in a loving evironment. You can then have the feelings, thoughts and behaviors of someone who grew up in a loving environment instead of abusive. As for the present medical position on homosexuality...The APA and the AMA are not God. Thus they are therefore not infallible. They have made a big mistake in not approving reparative therapy for broken relationships with your same sex parent. Neither I nor my dozens of friends who also are exgay found reparative therapy to be stressful. Quite the contrary it is a godsend. This book deserves to be out there. Our voice must not be silenced. As for those who did not benefit from this kind of therapy, there is no cure all. Some people do not qualify for therapy of any kind. Howbeit, there is nothing wrong with freedom of choice to choose your values and to have behavior that coincides.

I am editing this review to add that I gave this book 5 stars. Somehow it posted with less.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good NOT Great
Review: There was a lot of information that was very good, but I had gone through some of the "holding therapy", with a therapist several years ago, which is discribed in this book. This type of therapy proved to be extremely damaging to my healing and only solidified distrust in other people. This book is good, but not great. I would recommend this book, but would also recommend an open mind and other reading. I also found that telling of other men's sexual adventures was not congruant with the authors insistance that we not read about other men's sexual behaviors. I wanted more info about how to heal. I felt very confortable with some of the healing processes the book suggested and finally put it down in favor of other readings on the subject.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Aversion Therapy... righttt
Review: This book is a sham[.] ... Sure people can be confused about their sexuality and then decide they're not hetero, but not for most gay people.

Cohen is part of the reason many gay people aren't happy and feel shunned by society and church. He's doing a diservice to the community in general by publishing such blatently biased material. I wish there were an option for 0 stars. I would have picked it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An Atrocity
Review: This book is an absolute affront against logic and intellectual responsibility. It would be immature to suggest that this book ought to be burned, but regardless, I shall do so. An interested reader who is capable of seeing beyond this misinformed garbage will read Deleuze and Guattari's "Anti-Oedipus, Capitalism and Schizophrenia," which forms the theoretical basis of the post-Stonewall gay liberation movement. The amount of utter rubbish that pervades this book is beyond what I shall type here. The responsible intellectual will disregard this book and thoroughly peruse any queer theory library.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Extreme Makeovers
Review: This would be a great book if it eliminated the negativity about gayness and lesbianism. There is nothing wrong with an individual who is homosexual and decides not to live their life in an affirmative gay or lesbian way. However, the author makes global and generalized negative and patronizing judgments about gays and lesbians saying there is "nothing affirmative" about it. That is his judgment only. The truth is that millions of openly gay men and lesbians are leading out and proud lives in successful relationships and healthy self-esteem about their gender, sexuality and overall psychology. The author, and those doing the type of work, should stick to only those individuals who are of homosexual orientation and do not want to live as gays and lesbians. Leave those who are of homosexual orientation and DO want to be out of this work. This does not apply to them.
There is nothing wrong with an individual who decides not to "live" outwardly their inner orientation. They deserve a chance at living heterosexually if that is what they want. But to say that "all" of those with a homosexual orientation "should" not fulfill it is about hate, not about hope.
Most appalling is Dr. Laura Schlessinger's forward written during the same time she was denying her negativity about gays and lesbians in her attempts to keep her talk show on television. This book lacks integrity from the beginning.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a realistic and compassionate view into homosexuality
Review: Through reading this book I gained not only knowledge, but a deep sense of compassion for the incredible struggle for those who are experiencing the "same sex attraction disorder" or homosexuality. This book alone could help anyone who wants to come out of the homosexual lifestyle, but just as important, it helps give a deeper understanding for those who have a close friend or relative involved, and just want to be there for them in an nonjudgemental way. People fear what they don't understand. This book is generous to overflowing with insights and solutions on every level. Every clergyman, counselor, teacher, parent as well as anyone involved in the homosexual lifestyle should read this book. It's clearly written with true case histories highlighted throughout the book, including Richard Cohen's own story. The author offers a step by step process that can bring about change that any layman can understand. I don't see how anyone can afford not to read this book.


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