Psychological Effects Being in the “Closet” Blindness Perpetuates Harm

Among the most harmful psychological effects of being in the “Closet” is blindness to the fact that one is in a “Closet” about one’s own homosexual orientation. A most striking telltale sign that one is in a “Closet” is the implicit or explicit contempt in varying degrees that this person has for all homosexuals, indiscriminately. Photo 

In, Clinical Studies in Psychiatry (1956) Harry Stack Sullivan, M.D., explains the concept of dissociation, how a person can be oblivious of one’s sexual identity.  Photo


Jack Drescher, M.D. has written several articles explaining the psychology of being in the “closet” and about ”coming out.” Below, are two links to articles that Dr. Drescher has written, however, he addresses this topic more thoroughly in Chapter 9 “The Closet” in his book Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man (1998) Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press. Photo 

Links to Jack Drescher, M.D. articles 

(click on titles)

The Closet: Psychological Issues of Being In and Coming Out by Jack Drescher, M.D. 10/1/04 Psychiatric Times. Vol. 21 No. 12

Dr. Drescher is chairperson of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Concerns and a founding member of the Committee on Sexual Minorities of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He is a training and supervising analyst at the William Alanson White Institute and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy.

The Psychology of the Closeted Individual and Coming Out by Jack Drescher, M.D. Paradigm • Fall 2007