Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality

Acknowledgments Introduction: For Parents: Words to the Wise\ 1. Masculinity is an Achievement\ 2. The Prehomosexual Boy: Why Should Parents Intervene?\ 3. Born This Way?\ 4. All in the Family\ 5. Friends and Feelings\ 6. Confronting Adolescence\ 7. From Tomboys to Lesbians\ 8. The Politics of Treatment\ 9. The Healing Process\ 10. A Mother's Journal Notes

\ George A. Rekers"Every concerned parent will benefit from this practical parenting advice on how to help a child develop a secure gender identity that leads to a normal heterosexual orientation in adulthood. Joseph Nicolosi is an internationally recognized professional expert on therapies that promote normal heterosexual adjustment. He is known for his long-standing leadership in a key professional association that applies scientific findings to psychosexual adjustment. But his breadth of technical scientific knowledge is combined with years of extensive clinical experience helping everyday people. This combination has enabled the authors to explain psychological research findings to parents in a very practical way. Their book provides clear guidance on what parents can do to promote their child's sexual adjustment."\ \ \ \ \ Charles W. Socarides"Utilizing an eclectic form of psychotherapy based on psychoanalytic principles, Nicolosi has shown how homosexual impulses and enactments can be modified or, in some instances, removed. This gives hope to parents of gender-disturbed children who have previously succumbed to despair. There are numerous clinical vignettes throughout the book presented in a highly readable and scientific manner. I most heartily recommend it."\ \ \ Doctor"To get to [the issue of sexual-identity disorder and what can be done to help], we will turn to the very best resource for parents and teachers I have found. It is provided in an outstanding book entitled A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, written by clinical psychologist Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D. Nicolosi is, I believe, the foremost authority on the prevention and treatment of homosexuality today. His book offers practical advice and a clear-eyed perspective on the antecedents of homosexuality. I wish every parent would read it, especially those who have reason to be concerned about their sons. Its purpose is not to condemn but to educate and encourage moms and dads."\ \ \ \ \ Toby B. BieberIn his latest book, A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, based on his many years of specialization, Joseph Nicolosi has translated the vocabulary of research science into plain English, easily understandable to the lay public. Though the book is primarily oriented to the needs of dads and moms concerned about a child's gender development, it is also a guide for good parenting in general. In well-described, clear accounts of his clinical sessions and discussions of the theories he does and does not support, Nicolosi has contributed a most valuable addition to the sexuality literature. More important, it should prove invaluable to all those concerned with child rearing, development and education."\ \ \ \ \ A. Dean Byrd"As a clinical professor of psychiatry, I heartily endorse the Nicolosis' effort at the prevention of homosexuality. Parents should be aware of the warning signs and the possibility of modifying their child's gender identity, thus making the choice, should they desire it, to maximize the child's likelihood of growing up heterosexual. Making this choice is not 'homophobic.' It is a commonsense approach to parenting that fits the value systems of many families. In writing this book, the authors have broken important ground."\ \ \ \ \ Natalie Shainess"Joseph and Linda Ames Nicolosi have written a wonderful, accurate book on homosexuality and the significance of the parental role. Human beings who are born with one type of sexual equipment do not attempt to change unless there are serious problems in their early experience, especially in relation to parents. I believe it is imperative that at the very first signs of deviance parents take themselves to a psychiatrist knowledgeable about this problem and make every effort to become aware of what may be damaging in their relationships with the child in question. I conclude with a 'bravo.' "\ \ \ \ \ Benjamin Kaufman"With such sagacity acquired over years and thousands of hours of working with gender-identity disorders, Joseph Nicolosi utilizes acumen with theory and practicality to present a most readable book explicit in its purpose in the prevention of gender-identity disorders. I commend it as a primer in infant and child rearing for all parents concerned with the appropriate sexual orientation of their growing children."\ \ \ \ \ John Paulk"Joseph Nicolosi's principles on the prevention of homosexuality would benefit any parent of a young son to raise him with a healthy sense of gender identity. I wish my parents had had this material when I was in my formative years. The practical knowledge and timeless—but often unknown—principles would have saved me from years of heartache when, as an adult, I began the tough road to overcome my homosexual struggle. Joseph and Linda Nicolosi's book should be required reading for all education classes on child development."\ \ \ \ \ Don Schmierer"A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality meets a great need of the hour for parents. It offers insights into the parent-child conflicts and personality mismatches that can set the stage for same-sex attractions. Nicolosi's use of parents' diaries in describing successes, struggles and even failure provides down-to-earth, practical advice for addressing prevention at the root level. The understanding that can be gained from this book will go a very long way toward eliminating pain and frustration in families while defining the healthy nurturing that is so essential to reinforcing every child's unique personality and sexual identity."\ \ \ \ \ Johanna Krout Tabin"This book meets a great need. It is sound scientifically, countering the abundant misinformation on the subject of homosexuality with which the public is currently inundated. What it provides that no parent can find in any library, however, is what to do when one's own child seems to be developing in a homosexual direction. Joseph Nicolosi draws upon many years of clinical experience to offer parents clear guidelines on evaluating and then reacting constructively to the situation. The authors' points are practical and down-to-earth but always respectful of parents in their struggle to help their children. I believe this book will become a classic in the literature that parents will consult far into the future. It may be an eye-opener to many in the mental health professions as well."\ \ \ \ \ Paul C. Vitz"The Nicolosis have written a groundbreaking book. The authors challenge the American Psychological Association, rightly, on their narrow, totalitarian attitude about homosexuality. The authors make an excellent case that a significant number of homosexuals develop their identity from defective parenting, and that many such homosexuals later wish to change their orientation. They also lay out useful strategies to help parents both prevent, and in some instances reverse, homosexual development. For parents concerned with this issue, their book is a must."\ \ \ \ \ Lynn D. Wardle"I am pleased to give my strong endorsement of the book A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality. Joseph Nicolosi is an experienced psychologist who is an expert in treatment of persons with gender-identity disorder, both children and youth, and also adults who seek to overcome unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction. He is the president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, the leading national association of professional psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists devoted to providing professional help and treatment to individuals struggling with undesired same-sex attraction, gender-identity disorders and other homosexual behavioral issues. Thus highly respected by his peers, Nicolosi is eminently qualified to write this book. To help children and youth today cope with the tremendous stresses that create ambiguities and confusion regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, parents need to have more understanding of the process of gender development than earlier generations had. A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph and Linda Nicolosi provides that kind of useful information for parents in the twenty-first century, not only for family and friends of children and adolescents who may be struggling with gender identity but also for lawmakers, policymakers, schoolteachers, lawyers and judges who need to understand the complex processes of gender-identity development that are challenged today as they have never been in the past. I highly recommend Nicolosi's extremely interesting and very readable guide."\ \