George Weinberg (psychologist)

George Weinberg (May 17, 1929 - March 20, 2017) was a Jewish-American psychologist, writer, and activist. He coined the term "homophobia" in the 1960s and discussed the phenomenon extensively in his 1972 book, Society and the Healthy Homosexual, to propose that those who harbor prejudice against homosexuals, and not homosexuals themselves, are suffering from a psychological malady, an irrational state of mind. Weinberg, though heterosexual himself, became a leader in the ultimately successful struggle to have homosexuality removed as a diagnostic category from the DSM, the professional therapeutic handbook. He has been instrumental in shifting public perception of homosexuality.

Career

George Weinberg was a Manhattan psychotherapist with a doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University, a Master's degree in English from New York University, and advanced training in mathematical statistics. He wrote twelve books and was published in twenty-three languages. He also wrote for popular and professional journals, and for television.

In January 2010, Weinberg's original "Hunger Illusion" intervention, as a way of discovering one's own true motives, was the subject of a Psychology Today blog by Ryan Howse. On the blog, Dr. Howse interviews Dr. Weinberg.

Weinberg is known for several major contributions to psychotherapy.

Weinberg began using the word in 1966 and soon the then minute "homophile movement" began using it. Weinberg next prevailed on a friend, Al Goldstein, who published the underground newspapers, Gay and Screw, to introduce the word. He wrote articles for the underground press himself. He then persuaded a young student, Ken Smith, to do a research study for his master's degree on homophobia, and they designed the questionnaire together. It was the first published scientific study of homophobia.

Weinberg's widely read, seminal 1984 book, The Heart of Psychotherapy, has described innovative therapeutic methods that de-emphasize traditional therapy's approach. He instead presented immediately practical tools that patients can use to help themselves.

Weinberg's extensive background in mathematics was reflected in his doctoral thesis, "Clinical versus Statistical Prediction in Psychology", and he later wrote the textbook, Statistics, An Intuitive Approach. Its emphasis on the use and misuse of statistics led to its being adopted in many universities and appearing in four editions.

As a research consultant and a leading critic of alleged quantitative measurement in psychology, Weinberg has questioned the relevancy of most psychological experimentation. He points out the disconnect between psychological research and what actually works in therapy.

Weinberg is currently concluding work on a book called, Lies Your Therapist Told You.

Bibliography

• The Action Approach. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1974.
• The Heart of Psychotherapy: A Journey into the Mind and Office of a Therapist at Work. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984, reprinted 1996.
• Invisible Masters: Compulsions and the Fear that Drives Them. New York: Grove/Atlantic Press, 1993.
• Nearer to the Heart's Desire. New York. Grove/Atlantic Press, 1992.
• Numberland. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
• The Pliant Animal: Understanding the Greatest Human Asset. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981.
• Self Creation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978.
• Shakespeare on Love. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
• Society and the Healthy Homosexual. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972, reprinted 1983.
• Statistics: An Intuitive Approach. Belmont, California: Brook's/Cole, fourth printing, 1981.
• The Taboo Scarf. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990.
• Why Men Won't Commit: Getting what you Both Want Without Playing Games. New York: Atria Books, 2003.

Collaborations with Dianne Rowe

• The Projection Principle. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
• Will Power! Using Shakespeare's Insights to Transform Your Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996.

References

George Weinberg's official website www.georgeweinberg.com

External links

• Cool Intervention #6: The Hunger Illusion – Tucked away in the pages of a George Weinberg book lies one of the most powerful and elegant techniques ever. From psychologytoday.com
• Pflagdetroit interview with Weinberg
• Society and The Healthy Homosexual at Amazon.com