Joe Kort

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

Joe Kort

Dr. Kort established his private practice in 1985 (www.joekort.com), 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. Dr. Kort also conducts long-distance coaching and consultation.

Education

Dr. Kort graduated from Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, with dual majors in psychology and social work. At Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, he earned his master's degree in social work (MSW), then a master's (MA) in psychology. He received a doctorate (Ph.D.) in clinical sexology from the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists. He is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University's School of Social Work.   

Dr. Kort's credentials also include:

  • Teaching Faculty at University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program  
  • Certified Imago Relationship Therapist
  • Board Certified Sexologist
  • Member of the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health
  • Member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers
  • Member of American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)
  • Certified AASECT
  • Member of EMDRIA Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Basic Training
  • Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor (CSTS)

Career

Since 1985, Kort has provided psychotherapy and relationship counseling to individuals and couples, both LGBTQIA and heterosexual, and specializes in sexual addiction/compulsivity, depression, anxiety disorders, sexual orientation issues, mixed-orientation marriages/relationships as well as adult survivors of sexual abuse/incest.

Since 1999, he has been a member  the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). He is a Certified Sex Therapist (CST) and a Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor (CSTS).

Kort's website, (www.StraightGuise.com), is addressed to straight men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who are involved with them.

Since 2009 Kort has been the Founding Director at The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health in Royal Oak, MI. The staff's areas of expertise include individual and couple counseling; intimacy, communication & sexual relationships; sexual relationship issues; loss of sexual desire, painful intercourse; sexual & arousal difficulties; out-of-control sexual behaviors; LGBT issues; difficulties following childhood abuse; anxiety and depression; and more.

Kort was a part of the teaching faculty at University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program on LGBT issues from 2014-2019. (https://ssw.umich.edu/faculty/profiles/ce/42530-joseph-h-kort)

Media

Kort has appeared on various television and radio programs. He was a featured guest on 'The Montel Williams Show[1] and The Tyra Banks Show[2] talk shows on the topic of mixed-orientation marriages.[3] Kort was also a guest on Oprah and Friends Radio "Better in Bed" with Dr. Laura Berman, discussing straight men who have sex with men.[4]

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)[5] 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.

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.

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. 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."[6]

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."[7]

Publications
  • 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives (ISBN 1-55583782-4)
  • 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives; Second edition
  • 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Find Real Love (ISBN 1-55583898-7)
  • Gay Affirmative Psychotherapy for the Straight Clinician (ISBN 0393704971)
  • Is My Husband Straight, Gay, or Bi? (ISBN 1442223251: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.)
  • "Sexual aftereffects in male survivors of childhood sexual abuse: orientation confusion, compulsions, kinky sexual interests, and dysfunctions" a chapter in Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men: The Trauma of Sexual Abuse (ISBN 1138942227)
  • LGBTQ Clients in Therapy: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies(ISBN 1324000481: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (February 20, 2018))
  • Erotic Orientation: Helping Couples and Individuals Understand Their Sexual Lives (ISBN 0997389850)
  • Cracking the Erotic Code: Helping Gay Men Understand Their Sexual Fantasies (ISBN 0997389834)
  • LGBTQ Clients in Therapy: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies (ISBN 9781324000488)
  • Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men (Psychoanalysis in a New Key Book Series) (ISBN 1138942227)

References
  1. "Mixed Orientation Marriages," The Montel Williams Show, taped in December, 2005; aired Tuesday, April 11, 2006.
  2. "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).
  3. Katy Butler, "Many Couples Must Negotiate Terms of 'Brokeback' Marriages," The New York Times, March 7, 2006.
  4. "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).
  5. 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives (Los Angeles: Alyson Books, 2003).
  6. Benoit Denizet-Lewis, "Young Gay Rites," The New York Times, April 27, 2008. (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/magazine/27young-t.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=joe%20kort&st=cse).
  7. "Are 'Heteroflexible' and 'Homoflexible' Shades of 'Bisexual'?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
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