Quando la Psicoanalisi perde la bussola: Riflessioni sulle Teorie di Riorientamento Sessuale

In this article, the author intends to describe the change of direction in psychoanalytic thinking towards homosexuality in the period following Freud’s death. After a brief explanation of the cultural and political climate that led to pathologizing homosexuality, the main psychoanalytic contributions to the so-called “sexual reorientation therapies” are presented. Finally, space is given to the criticisms leveled at such therapies. In conclusion, a general overview of the main contemporary psychoanalytic theories concerning homosexuality is presented.