Joe Kort

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Joe Kort (born 1963) is an American psychotherapist, clinical social worker, board-certified clinical sexologist, author, lecturer and facilitator of therapeutic workshops. He works as Clinical Director and founder of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Contents

Kort established his private practice in 1985, specializing in LGBTQIA Affirmative Therapy, mixed-orientation marriages and relationships, male sexual fluidity issues, sexual addiction, sexual abuse, and Imago Relationship Therapy.

His work also focuses on out-of-control sexual behaviors (OCSB)/sex addiction, Relationship Problems and Marital Conflict, Sex Therapy, and Sexual Identity Concerns, Depression, Anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He also is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing).

He is the author of four books and numerous journal and magazine articles. He is also the host of “Smart Sex, Smart Love,” a podcast series (www.smartsexsmartlove.com).

His practice is located in Royal Oak, Michigan. He works with clients from all over the Metro Detroit area. Kort also conducts long-distance coaching and consultation.

Education

Kort obtained his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, with a dual major in psychology and social work. He earned master’s degrees in social work and psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a doctorate (PhD) in Clinical Sexology from the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists. [1] [ better source needed ]

Career

Kort is the founder and clinical director of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health in Royal Oak, Michigan. [2] Kort specializes in marital problems and conflicts; mixed orientation marriages; male sexuality and sexual health concerns; “sex addiction,” out-of-control sexual behaviors; sexual identity issues; childhood sexual abuse; LGBTQIA Affirmative Therapy; and Imago Relationship Therapy.

Kort was a part of the teaching faculty at University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program on LGBT issues from 2014-2019. [2]

Media

Kort was a featured guest on The Montel Williams Show' [3] and The Tyra Banks Show [4] talk shows on the topic of mixed-orientation marriages. [5] Kort was also a guest on Oprah and Friends Radio "Better in Bed" with Laura Berman, discussing straight men who have sex with men. [6]

Activism

Kort's career focuses on advancing the social acceptance, and professional treatment of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. His first book, 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives (2003, Alyson Books) gave answers to the most common questions his clients brought to him. Kort came out with a second edition in 2016. This book has been updated and revised and includes a new chapter on the sexual health of gay men which replaces the chapter on sexual addiction. The old Chapter 5, "Avoid or Overcome Sexual Addiction," has been replaced by "Explore Erotic Turn-ons and Sexual Interests." It also reflects the contemporary culture of gay men in social media, marriage equality and updated information on HIV.

Kort advocates for men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly heterosexual men who engage in sexual behavior with other men and are not gay or bisexual. The term "down low" specifically addresses African-American males secretly engaging in sexual behavior with other men. Kort has expanded the awareness of down-low behavior to apply beyond men of color and writes about this sexual behavior crossing all ethnicities, races, religions and socioeconomics.[ citation needed ]

While many gay men consider themselves either top, bottom and versatile, the term side has been proposed and coined by Joe Kort for gay men who are not interested in anal sex. [7]

Personal life

Kort met his partner, Mike, in 1993, and they religiously married under Reform Judaism in 2000 and legally married in 2005 in Massachusetts.[ citation needed ] The New York Times quoted him as saying, "For many young gay men today, settling down in a relationship in their 20s—or getting married if they live in Massachusetts—will feel like a very natural thing to do." [8]

In addition to identifying as gay, Kort also identifies as "homoflexible", stating that "as I get older, I find myself noticing women in sexual ways more than I ever have before." [9] Kort is Jewish. [10]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romantic orientation</span> Classification of a persons romantic attraction towards others

Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.

Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have been used to this end include forms of brain surgery, surgical or hormonal castration, aversive treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and arousal reconditioning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual orientation</span> Pattern of romantic or sexual attraction

Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns are generally categorized under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality is sometimes identified as the fourth category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bi-curious</span> Person who is attracted to experiencing bisexuality

Bi-curious is a term for a person, usually someone who is a self-identified heterosexual, who is curious or open about engaging in sexual activity with a person whose sex differs from that of their usual sexual partners. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad continuum of sexual orientation between heterosexuality and bisexuality. Such continuums include mostly heterosexual or mostly homosexual, but these can be self-identified without identifying as bisexual. The terms heteroflexible and homoflexible are mainly applied to bi-curious people, though some authors distinguish heteroflexibility and homoflexibility as lacking the "wish to experiment with sexuality" implied by the bi-curious label. It is important when discussing this continuum to conclude that bisexuality is distinct from heterosexuality and homosexuality rather than simply an extension of said sexualities like the labels heteroflexibility and homoflexibility would imply, due to the prominent erasure and assimilation of bisexuality into other identity groups. To sum it up, the difference between bisexual and bicurious is that bisexual people know that they are sexually attracted to both genders based on personal experience. Bicurious people are still maneuvering their way through their sexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality and psychology</span> Homosexuality as studied by the field of psychology

The field of psychology has extensively studied homosexuality as a human sexual orientation. The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality in the DSM-I in 1952 as a "sociopathic personality disturbance," but that classification came under scrutiny in research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. That research and subsequent studies consistently failed to produce any empirical or scientific basis for regarding homosexuality as anything other than a natural and normal sexual orientation that is a healthy and positive expression of human sexuality. As a result of this scientific research, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM-II in 1973. Upon a thorough review of the scientific data, the American Psychological Association followed in 1975 and also called on all mental health professionals to take the lead in "removing the stigma of mental illness that has long been associated" with homosexuality. In 1993, the National Association of Social Workers adopted the same position as the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association, in recognition of scientific evidence. The World Health Organization, which listed homosexuality in the ICD-9 in 1977, removed homosexuality from the ICD-10 which was endorsed by the 43rd World Health Assembly on 17 May 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Freund</span> Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist (1914–1996)

Kurt Freund was a Czech-Canadian physician and sexologist best known for developing the penile plethysmograph, research studies in pedophilia, and for the "courtship disorder" hypothesis as a taxonomy of certain paraphilias. After unsuccessful attempts to change men's sexual orientation, he advocated against conversion therapy and in favor of the decriminalization of homosexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Societal attitudes toward homosexuality</span> How societies view, stigmatize or value homosexuality

Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly across different cultures and historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality, while others may disapprove of such activities in part. As with heterosexual behaviour, different sets of prescriptions and proscriptions may be given to individuals according to their gender, age, social status or social class.

Couples therapy attempts to improve romantic relationships and resolve interpersonal conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androphilia and gynephilia</span> Sexual orientation to men or women

Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation, as an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androphilia and gynephilia in a given individual, or bisexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality</span> Sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender

Homosexuality is sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exclusively to people of the same sex or gender. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ego-dystonic sexual orientation</span> Psychiatric diagnosis

Ego-dystonic sexual orientation is a highly controversial mental health diagnosis that was included in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) from 1980 to 1987 and in the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) from 1990 to 2019. Individuals could be diagnosed with ego-dystonic sexual orientation if their sexual orientation or attractions were at odds with their idealized self-image, causing anxiety and a desire to change their orientation or become more comfortable with it. It describes not innate sexual orientation itself, but a conflict between the sexual orientation a person wishes to have and their actual sexual orientation.

Human sexuality covers a broad range of topics, including the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, philosophical, ethical, moral, theological, legal and spiritual or religious aspects of sex and human sexual behavior.

Gay affirmative psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy for non-heterosexual people, specifically gay and lesbian clients, which focuses on client comfort in working towards authenticity and self-acceptance regarding sexual orientation, and does not attempt to "change" them to heterosexual, or to "eliminate or diminish" same-sex "desires and behaviors". The American Psychological Association (APA) offers guidelines and materials for gay affirmative psychotherapy. Affirmative psychotherapy affirms that homosexuality or bisexuality is not a mental disorder, in accordance with global scientific consensus. In fact, embracing and affirming gay identity can be a key component to recovery from other mental illnesses or substance abuse. Clients whose religious beliefs are interpreted as teaching against homosexual behavior may require some other method of integration of their possibly conflicting religious and sexual selves.

A mixed-orientation marriage is a marriage between partners of differing sexual orientations. The broader term is mixed-orientation relationship, sometimes shortened to MOR or MORE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment and sexual orientation</span> Field of sexual orientation research

The relationship between the environment and sexual orientation is a subject of research. In the study of sexual orientation, some researchers distinguish environmental influences from hormonal influences, while other researchers include biological influences such as prenatal hormones as part of environmental influences.

Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity. Sexual orientation is stable for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is slightly more likely for women than for men. There is no scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy. Sexual identity can change throughout an individual's life, and does not have to align with biological sex, sexual behavior, or actual sexual orientation.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human sexuality:

The International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) is one of the most well-known, for-profit organizations that provides training and certification for licensed and interned mental health professionals who want to treat sexual addiction, partner trauma/betrayal, and other compulsive behaviors in their clients. Despite the concept of sexual addiction being contentious in the fields of psychology, medicine, and neuroscience, and was not included in the DSM as of 2017, the need for this type of certification has been demonstrated over several decades.

LGBT psychology is a field of psychology of surrounding the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, in the particular the diverse range of psychological perspectives and experiences of these individuals. It covers different aspects such as identity development including the coming out process, parenting and family practices and support for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as issues of prejudice and discrimination involving the LGBT community.

Many health organizations around the world have denounced and criticized sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts. National health organizations in the United States have announced that there has been no scientific demonstration of conversion therapy's efficacy in the last forty years. They find that conversion therapy is ineffective, risky and can be harmful. Anecdotal claims of cures are counterbalanced by assertions of harm, and the American Psychiatric Association, for example, cautions ethical practitioners under the Hippocratic oath to do no harm and to refrain from attempts at conversion therapy.

References

  1. "ABOUT".
  2. 1 2 "Joseph H. Kort". Archived from the original on October 31, 2015.
  3. "Mixed Orientation Marriages," The Montel Williams Show , taped in December, 2005; aired Tuesday, April 11, 2006.
  4. "Women Who Love Gay Men," The Tyra Banks Show, Wednesday, April 19, 2009 (http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/2006/08/women_who_love_gay_men.php).
  5. Katy Butler, "Many Couples Must Negotiate Terms of 'Brokeback' Marriages," The New York Times , March 7, 2006.
  6. "Better in Bed" with Dr. Laura Berman, Oprah and Friends show, XM 156/SIRIUS 195 Radio, March 5, 2009. (http://www.oprah.com/media/20090305_oradio_lb).
  7. Guys on the 'Side': Looking Beyond Gay Tops and Bottoms Huffingtonpost.com, 2016
  8. Denizet-Lewis, Benoit (2008-04-27). "Young Gay Rites". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  9. "Are 'Heteroflexible' and 'Homoflexible' Shades of 'Bisexual'?". Huffington Post. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  10. "Whatever Form It Takes, Intolerance Hurts". www.joekort.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-20.