21.2001
| * | | 2 äs» T M I mM
I SU
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Ü**
New Years
Ere Bash!
Got the ho-ho-hums?
The holidays can be especially stressful for gay
and lesbian families. Help is available from
a variety of sources this season—and beyond.
R in g in 2 0 0 2 a t P o r tla n d ’s
N ew est, C lassiest, H ottest & Biggest
ALL WOMEN’S MONTHLY
NIGHT SPOT!!!
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON,
W HY NOT GIVE THE GIFT OF SM UT?
by
O
r ia n a
G
reen
<@ > The Male Nude Now. Artful yet torrid
erotica by 114 photographers and artists. $40.
< © ) 2002 Calendars: Colt Men. $15.95. Real
Naked Marines. $14.95. Naked Youth. $13.
< © Bidgood. Lush male photos by 60s film
maker. 5-star camp! Reg $40. Sale $19.99.
DOWNTOWN @ 9 2 7 SW OAK • 2 2 6 -8 1 4 1
F r e e H o r s d ’O e u v r e s
Door Prizes, Hot Music,
Full Bar & Hundreds of
W a ll- t o - W a ll W o m e n !
$10 Advanced /$14 At the Door
Get tix early before they sell out! We
haven’t had a class act party like this in
years! Arrive early to ensure entry.
Advanced Tickets
Qn gale at;
It’s My Pleasure
3106 NE 64th
In Other Words
3734 SE Hawthorne
or call our Info #
at 503-993-9920
a feminist antiwar satire performed by Radical Women.
Listen for
TH IS WAY OUT Tuesdays at 6pm.
i#ti
5 03 /2 31 -8 03 2 • 20 SE 8th St., Portland • www.kboo.org
92.7 COLUMBIA GORGE
100.7 WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Santa's
Best Helper
Available at Spartacus
Mon— Thurs 1 Oam— 11 pm
Fri— Sat 1 Oam— 12pm
Sunday 12noon— 9pm
COMMUNITY RADIO
90.7fm PORTLAND
iven the state of the world right now,
confronting gay men and lesbians, different
it’s no surprise one industry not suffer
approaches to treatment, how to choose a
ing an economic downturn is pharma
therapist and whether to medicate. The
ceuticals— especially the makers of
information is doled out with lots of exam
handy-dandy antidepressants. Factor in the ples and case studies, making this an accessi
prospect of finding ways to work yourself
ble book for a general audience.
into a holiday mood, and lots of us are suc
cumbing to full-blown, kick-the-cat,
Portland lesbian therapist, now with two
drown-in-mac ’n ’ cheese depression.
books to her credit, has a unique approach.
Now for the good news: Help is out
Marilyn Sorensen, Ph.D., specializes in
there— both low-tech and high-tech. One
treating low self-esteem.
of the easiest things to do is
Swimming against the
read a book.
A c u ti» TU
tide of the one and only offi
QSJE6R- A rFUíMAÍlVB PSVOtÓTKntU»Y
If you’re considering thera
cial
diagnostic manual, she
j;r:
v
py, a good place to start is It’s
believes low self-esteem is a
Your Hour: A Guide to Queer-
diagnosis all by itself, not just
Affirmative Psychotherapy by
a symptom or side effect of
Michael Bettinger, Ph.D. He
something else—depression,
starts out with this point: “It’s
for example. Because low
not easy being queer, being part
self-esteem is not yet recog
of one of the few groups that
nized as a diagnosis, insur
large parts of our society feel it
ance companies won’t pay for
is acceptable to legally and
treatment.
socially discriminate against.”
Even if your therapist
He says that we have unique
manages to get around that
issues and that if we are substan
with another diagnosis, man
tially bothered or hindered by
aged care policies often limit
M IC H A E L B E T T IN G E R
FH .D ., MKT
them, psychotherapy can help.
the number of visits to
Bettinger believes the basic iden
between 10 and 20 a year.
tity issue for gay men is that society often
And that, Sorensen says, probably isn’t
views them as fools throwing away their
enough to deal with such a deep-seated
birthright to heterosexual male dominance.
issue—especially one that can erode every
Lesbians, he notes, have a double problem,
area of your life.
because society devalues them first as women
She suggests patients think of long-term
and again as lesbians. The author also men
therapy as they would any other major pur
tions the paucity of positive role models for
chase: an investment that will pay long-term
either gender.
benefits. But if that kind of financial commit
Of course, given that there are still thera
ment just isn’t possible and you are wondering
pists out there who were taught homosexuality
whether low self-esteem is part of your pic
is a disease, choosing the right one is para
ture, you always could start with her first
mount. Bettinger has been practicing in San
book, Breaking the Chain of Low Self-Esteem.
Francisco for 20 years, working primarily with
Her follow-up, published this year, is Low
people who are gay, lesbian, bi or trans, so he
Self-Esteem: Misunderstood & Misdiagnosed,
seems well qualified to advise readers on the
which makes her case for changing the diag
ups and downs of therapy.
nostic manual as well as the thinking of an
His guide includes 20 pages of resources
entire profession. This book could be especially
and covers topics such as how to know
useful to someone who’s been in therapy but
whether you need therapy, special issues
hasn’t seen the expected results.
G
A
IT’S
YOUR
503.224.2604
300 SW 12 Ave Portland, OR 97205
HOUR