Richard Isay went through conversion therapy. He helped turn psychoanalysis against it. - LGBTQ Nation

"Dr. Richard Isay is a modern hero who opened up the world of psychoanalysis to the LGBTQ+ community. He suffered through what we would call conversion therapy today, but after realizing it didn't help, Isay fought for psychoanalysis to better serve the queer community. Not only did he open the profession to gay people, but he also convinced psychoanalysts to stop treating queerness as a problem rather than an innate part of being human."

"In his book Becoming Gay, Isay describes an infatuation with a fellow student, "Bob," but felt it was just "a passing phase that would soon be replaced by an equally passionate interest in girls." He dated women "infrequently" due to a lack of attraction and threw himself into his studies, partially as a cover for not dating. "Although Bob and I engaged in casual sexual play, I did not label myself 'homosexual.'"

Richard Isay experienced conversion therapy and later worked to make psychoanalysis more accepting of queer people. He persuaded psychoanalysts to stop treating queerness as pathology and opened the profession to gay practitioners. He convinced a highly homophobic psychological professional society to change its stance and become the first mental health organization to support gay marriage. He was born in 1938 and attended college in the late 1950s. He described an early infatuation with a fellow student named Bob, dated women infrequently due to lack of attraction, and immersed himself in studies. He knew he wanted to be an analyst since college and feared he had a serious neurosis.

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