"The Experiences of Gay Jewish Men in the Orthodox Community: Social Justice, Oppression, and Winnicott"
Jeremy Novich, Psy.D. Candidate 2014
Abstract
This study sought to examine the experiences of gay men in the Orthodox Jewish community. Twenty four gay, Jewish, cisgendered men, aged 18 to 66, living in the New York City metropolitan area, who considered themselves part of the Orthodox community, participated in semi-structured focus groups. The focus groups were transcribed and analyzed, according to the qualitative research method of Auerbach and Silverstein (2003), to extrapolate themes and theoretical constructs, and to create a narrative. Based on the analysis, the experience of this population can be understood as existing in the four domains of social, family, community, and self. The discussion contextualizes the data and proposed model in literature about social justice and oppression and psychoanalytic theory. Specific recommendations are made to facilitate change.
2015:
Subject: A proud moment
Dear Eva,
Today I helped facilitate break out sessions at a historic, first-ever mental health conference on sexuality and gender in the Orthodox community at Columbia University (see attached flyer). The conference had over 120 participants including prominent rabbis, educators, and mental health practitioners. One of the highlights of the day, however, was seeing that four current Orthodox students of my graduate program were in attendance. I was moved that the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Post was so well represented at this important event. LGBT Jews from Orthodox Jewish backgrounds are most certainly an underserved population, and the students who attended the conference today demonstrated their commitment to our program's mission of serving the underserved and promoting social justice. The students who attended are: Zvi Weiss, Donna Dilmanian, Aden Ratner-Stauber, and Yehoshua Polonsky. I'm sure you share in my pride of these of students.
Best,
Jeremy