Professional Publications:

Books

Affirmative Dynamic Psychotherapy with Gay Men

Published in 1993 by Jason Aronson Press.

Publisher 's description:  Drawing on concepts from Freud to Kohut, the authors of this volume remove the pathological stigma of homosexuality per se, a theoretical bias that may have long prevented dynamic therapists from working more effectively with gay clients. The authors manage to weave sophisticated theory with specific, pragmatic advice that is readily applicable in the first session of therapeutic work. Traditional analytic topics such as resistance, interpretation, and countertransference are all thoughtfully discussed as they apply specifically to the gay client. Given the immense contemporary popularity of object relations theory, readers will particularly welcome such unique contributions as the chapter on borderline personality disorder and the gay client. Case vignettes appear throughout the book and these are immensely helpful in putting a client's sexual orientation within the context of total personality organization. The contributions strike a nice balance. On the one hand, the concerns of the gay client are "normalized," that is, placed within the general framework of issues all clients face, such as social sex roles, self-esteem, and identity cohesion. On the other hand, specialized issues such as the gay client's motivation for treatment, the effects of a patient's HIV status, and the relative merits of a gay client seeing a gay vs. a heterosexual therapist are all covered in depth...

Reclaiming the Authentic Self: Dynamic Psychotherapy with Gay Men

Published in 1995 by Jason Aronson Press.

Publisher 's description:  American culture is overwhelmingly heterosexual, filled with the symbolism, rites of passage, and rituals that affirm and strengthen heterosexual identity. Homosexuality is scorned, disparaged, and treated with contempt in myriad subtle and obvious ways. The homosexual boy who becomes the homosexual man is bombarded by assaults on his identity and self-esteem. In this milieu of rejection, the homosexual man cannot help but internalize some self-hatred. Taking in society's contempt for him leads the gay man to become alienated from who he essentially and authentically is. In an attempt to achieve some acknowledgment, he often adopts a false self more pleasing to his parents and the larger culture. However, hiding his personality behind a veneer completes his alienation from the true self underneath. As Carlton Cornett ably demonstrates in Reclaiming the Authentic Self, to be successful with the gay man, dynamic psychotherapy must focus on the creation of an environment that invites the patient to discover and create his authenticity. In addition to allowing this true self to be revealed, the work must involve the integration of feelings and values that previously were rejected in order to minimize narcissistic injury. The psychotherapeutic environment also must acknowledge the gay man's constant struggle to maintain his identity in a hostile world that continues to reject who he is.

The Soul of Psychotherapy: Recapturing the Spiritual Dimension in the Therapeutic Encounter

Published in 1998 by The Free Press, A Division of Simon & Schuster.

Publisher 's description:  Increasingly, psychotherapists of all professional disciplines and theoretical orientations are being confronted with dilemmas for which they are neither trained nor prepared: helping clients explore their confusion about religious and spiritual conflicts in the consulting room. The Soul of Psychotherapy addresses these dilemmas. In this concise, thoughtful, and practical book, clinician Carlton Cornett explores the relevance of religion and spirituality to the clinical process and describes how to integrate issues of spirituality into everyday professional practice.

The Soul of Psychotherapy is essential reading for professional psychotherapists of all disciplines, psychiatric nurses, pastoral counselors and other religious professionals, and students in mental health training programs. In this book, Carlton Cornett addresses the needs of therapists and counselors who treat clients committed to their spiritual beliefs as well as those who initially might not identify spirituality as an area of struggle, but for whom spiritual issues are real, if hidden, sources of distress...

Contributions to Books and Monographs

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R. (1984).  Psychodynamic theory and the gay client: The search for an affirmative stance.  In F. Schwaber and M. Shernoff, eds., Sourcebook on Lesbian/Gay Health Care.  New York: National Gay Health Education Foundation.

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R. (1987).  Three models of empathy within psychoanalytic psychotherapy and the formation of nonverbal, idiosyncratic empathic interventions in the treatment of disorders of the self.  In H. Strean, ed.  Psychoanalytic Technique.  New York: Haworth.

Cornett, C. (1993). Dynamic psychotherapy of gay men: a view from self psychology. In C. Cornett, ed.  Affirmative Dynamic Psychotherapy with Gay Men. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Press.

Cornett, C. (1993). "Resistance" in dynamic psychotherapy with gay men. In C. Cornett, ed.  Affirmative Dynamic Psychotherapy with Gay Men. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Press.

Hudson, R. & Cornett, C. (1993). The process of dynamic psychotherapy with gay men living with HIV. In C. Cornett, ed. Affirmative Dynamic Psychotherapy with Gay Men. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Press.

Cornett, C. (1997). Clinical social work practice with gay men. In J. Brandell, ed. Theory and Practice in Clinical Social Work: A Handbook for the 1990's and Beyond. New York: The Free Press.

Articles In Professional Journals

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R. (1984).  Social Work practice, homosexuality and the psychoanalytic approach.  Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality 3:39-50.

Cornett, C. (1985).  The cyclical pattern of child physical abuse from a psychoanalytic self-psychology perspective.  Child and Adolescent Social Work 2:83-92.

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R. (1985).  Psychoanalytic theory and affirmation of the gay lifestyle: Are they necessarily antithetical? Journal of Homosexuality 12:97-108.

Cornett, C. & Hudson R. (1987).  Middle adulthood and the theories of Erikson, Gould, and Vaillant: Where does the gay man fit? Journal of Gerontological Social Work 10:61-73.

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R. (1987).  Three models of empathy within psychoanalytic psychotherapy and the formation of nonverbal, idiosyncratic empathic interventions in the treatment of disorders of the self.  Current Issues in Psychoanalytic Practice 4:109-122.

Cornett, C. (1988).  The loyalty bind and sacrifice of the self: Family treatment of adolescent schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder from a psychodynamic-systemic perspective.  Child and Adolescent Social Work 5:41-53.

Cornett, C. (1989).  Schizoid adaptation in childhood: Symptomatology and treatment.  Child and Adolescent Social Work 6:99-113.

Cornett, C. (1991).  The 'risky' intervention: Twinship selfobject impasses and therapist self-disclosure in psychodynamic psychotherapy.  Clinical Social Work Journal 19:49-61.

Cornett, C. (1991).  Selfobject intervention in brief treatment with patients inappropriate for traditional brief psychotherapy models.  Clinical Social Work Journal 19:131-147.

Cornett, C. (1992).  Toward a more comprehensive personology: Integrating a spiritual perspective into social work practice.  Social Work 37:101-102.

Cornett, C. (1992).  Orthodoxy and heresy in self psychology: A heretic's perspective.  Clinical Social Work Journal 20:219-224.

Cornett, C. (1992).  Beyond words: A conception of self psychology.  Clinical Social Work Journal 20:337-341.

Cornett, C. (1992).  Psychotherapy of the multi-symptom patient: An integrated object relations/self psychology model.  Journal of Analytic Social Work 1:25-37.

Cornett, C. (1993). Gay ain't broke; no need to fix it. (Washington Times) Insight on the News, December 6, pp. 25-27.

Cornett, C. (1995).  Review of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities Over the Lifespan: Psychological Perspectives edited by Anthony R. D'Augelli and Charlotte J. Patterson.  Clinical Social Work Journal 23:471-473.

Cornett, C. (1996).  Review of Balancing Empathy and Interpretation: Relational Character Analysis by Lawrence Josephs.  Clinical Social Work Journal 24:469-470.

Cornett, C. (1999).  Ich und du, a "two person" therapeutic relationship: A discussion of Herbert Strean's 'Resolving some therapeutic impasses by disclosing countertransference.'  Clinical Social Work Journal, 27:305-317.

Cornett, C. (2000).  The wisdom of Erik H. Erikson: A review of two books exploring his life and vision of the human condition (Ideas and identities: The life and work of Erik Erikson, edited by Robert S. Wallerstein, 1998 and Identity’s architect: A biography of Erik H. Erikson, by Lawrence J. Friedman, 1999).  Clinical Social Work Journal, 28:123-128.

Cornett, C. (2003).  Diagnosis: “Us” and “Them” has ramifications.  Insitiute for Professional Development Newsletter, January 2003: 10-11.

PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP AND PAPER PRESENTATIONS:

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R.  Male homosexual couples and object relations theory:  A novel approach to the assessment of relationship health, dysfunction and intervention.  Paper presented at the First International (Sixth National) Lesbian/Gay Health Conference, New York, June, 1984.

Cornett, C. & Hudson, R.  Psychoanalytic theory and affirmation of the gay lifestyle: Are they necessarily antithetical? Paper presented at the First International (Sixth National) Lesbian/Gay Health Conference, New York, June, 1984.

Cornett, C.  Joining and engaging techniques for attorneys working with adolescents.  Training paper presented to the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers, Atlanta, November 1984.

Yarbrough, D. & Cornett, C.  Working with reactive adolescents and their families.  Full-Day training presented to mental health professionals, Atlanta, November, 1984.

Cornett, C.  Self psychology applications in community mental health.  Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Alabama Council for Community Mental Health, Birmingham, October, 1988.

Cornett, C.  Effective intervention with personality disorders.  Paper presented at the Clinical Issues Workshop of the Alabama Mental Health Counselors Association, Decatur, September, 1989.

Cornett, C.  Principles of time-limited dynamic psychotherapy.  Paper presented at the Spring Meeting of the Alabama Association for Counseling and Development, Florence, April, 1990.

Cornett, C.  Selfobject intervention in brief treatment with patients inappropriate for traditional brief psychotherapy models.  Paper presented for the thirtieth Annual Elizabeth Nairn Award of the Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Nashville, September, 1990.

Cornett, C.  Psychotherapy of the multi-symptom patient: An integrated object relations/self psychology model.  Paper presented for the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute Symposium on treatment of complex disorders, Nashville, January, 1991.

Cornett, C.  Self psychology, existentialism, and the gay man in the AIDS era.  Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Clinical Conference of The Institute for Human Identity, New York, February, 1992.

Cornett, C.  From psychotherapy to social policy.  Paper presented at the Fifteenth National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference and Eleventh Annual AIDS/HIV Forum, Houston, July, 1993.

Cornett, C. Fundamentals of affirmative dynamic psychotherapy with gay men from a self psychological perspective. Paper presented at the Sixteenth National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference and Twelfth Annual AIDS/HIV Forum, New York, June, 1994.

Cornett, C. Shame and the development of the authentic self. Paper presented at the Third Annual Tennessee Coalition for Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Youth Services Conference, Nashville, September, 1994.

Cornett, C. Existential dynamic psychotherapy with gay men. Grand Rounds Presentation for the Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, October, 1994.

Cornett, C. Sullivan, Kohut and the treatment of internalized homophobia in gay men. Grand Rounds Presentation for the Department of Psychiatry, Hillside Hospital, New York, March, 1997.

Cornett, C.  The stage is the play: Some necessary conditions for effective psychotherapy with gay men.  Paper presented for the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute, Nashville, December, 1997.

Cornett, C.  Relational psychotherapy with gay men and lesbians.  Presentation to staff and student interns of Vanderbilt University Psychological and Counseling Services Center, Nashville, April, 1998.

Cornett, C.  Creating chaos from order: Working with spiritual values in psychotherapy.  Paper presented at the Fourth National Clinical Social Work Conference, Washington, DC, May, 1999.

Cornett, C. (Moderator), Shernoff, M., & Northcut, T.  Keeping body and soul together: Perspectives on integrating spirituality into clinical practice.  Panel institute presented at the Fourth National Clinical Social Work Conference, Washington, DC, May, 1999.

Cornett, C.  The wholeness of being human: Lessons learned in twenty years of psychotherapy with gay men.  Featured presentation at the Seventh Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Psychotherapy Conference, Los Angeles, CA, June, 2001.

Cornett, C.  The Empathic Imagination: Psychotherapy, Romantic Poetry, and Human Experience.  Presentation at professional training workshop sponsored by The Institute for Professional Development, Nashville, TN, September, 2003.

[ Home ] [ Training ] [ Writings ] [ Who Goes to Therapy ] [ Christopher ]

Send mail to webmaster@carlton-cornett-lcsw.com with questions or comments about this web page.
Last modified: 07/18/04