THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPY USAGE AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN LESBIANS

A survey of over 100 self-identified lesbians revealed no relationship between number of times in therapy or duration of therapy and amount of organized political activity. Contrary to theorizing by Kitzinger a nd Perkins (1993), lesbians who had been in therapy appeared to be som ewhat more politically oriented than lesbians who had not been in ther apy. Many lesbians who had been in therapy reported significant childh ood and adolescent problems that warrant use of individual therapies, including depression, eating disorders, childhood physical and sexual abuse, and parental mental illness. On the whole, self-esteem was high in this group, as was comfort level with sexual identity.