Richard Isay - Biography

Biography

Richard Isay was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Isay graduated from Haverford College and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Soon after completing his psychiatry residency at Yale University, he completed training at the Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute. Throughout his career, Isay maintained an active private practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis and was an influential teacher and supervisor. He was the program chairman of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA). He was also the chairman of the Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues of the American Psychiatric Association.

In 1983 Isay, as chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s program committee, organized a panel called "New Perspectives on Homosexuality". Isay argued that homosexuality is a normal variant of sexual identity, and that psychoanalysts should stop trying to change the sexual orientation of their patients, which he considered harmful, creating a firestorm of controversy. "Several analysts walked out", Isay later recalled. Isay soon became the first openly gay member of the association.

Isay wrote widely on the subjects of psychoanalysis and homosexuality, including texts such as Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development. Being Homosexual was one of the first books to argue that homosexuality is an inborn identity, and the first to describe a developmental pathway that is specific to gay men. It is widely considered a breakthrough in psychoanalytic theory and an important, historical work.

In an autobiographical chapter of his book, Becoming Gay: The Journey to Self-Acceptance, Isay tells the story of how he spent ten years trying to change his homosexual orientation. During his analysis, he married. When he completed his analysis, he found himself continuing to have homosexual desires. He lived as a closeted gay man for several years, during which time he became a prominent member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. He began to write and present about homosexuality in psychoanalytic journals and meetings shortly after meeting his life partner, in 1979.

In Becoming Gay, Isay recounts that with the help of the ACLU, he threatened to sue the APsaA, due to their discriminatory anti-gay policies. As a result, in 1991 the APsaA adopted a non-discrimination policy for the training of analytic candidates and changed its position statement on homosexuality. 1992 was also the year that psychoanalytic institutes agreed to promote teachers and supervisors without regard to sexual orientation. The ApsaA then became the first national mental health organization to support gay marriage, in 1997; a policy that was spearheaded by Isay.

In his 2006 book, Commitment and Healing: Gay Men and the Need for Romantic Love, Isay describes and explains the difficulty many gay men have sustaining romantic, loving relationships.

Isay appeared on Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, The Morning Show and others.

In 1993 Isay was featured in the documentary "America Undercover: Why am I Gay? Stories of Coming Out in America."

In 1995 Isay was profiled in the book, Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay Spirit and Nature, by Mark Thompson.

On August 13, 2011, Isay married Gordon Harrell, his partner of 31 years.

On November 12, 2011, Isay received the highly prestigious Hans W. Loewald award, from the International Forum on Psychoanalytic Education.

Richard Isay died on June 28th, 2012, of complications of adenocarcinoma. He was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.