Charles Silverstein (April 23, 1935 – January 30, 2023) was an American writer, therapist, and LGBT rights advocate.

He was best known for his presentation as a graduate student before the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 that led to the removal of homosexuality as a mental illness from the organization's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

[9][10] Charles C. Silverstein was born at Beth-El Hospital to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, on April 23, 1935.

[12] In 1973, as a Rutgers University graduate student and member of the GAA, he provided a key testimony (in which he utilized satire) to the American Psychological Association opposing the classification of homosexuality as a mental illness.

[5][13][15] In a 2003 interview he said, "I threw back at them their diagnoses over the decades and how funny it all sounds now, and pointed out that their fun had hurt a lot of people.

[21] He was a frequent lecturer at conventions on both the state and national levels, author of eight books and many professional papers, and has received many awards from the American Psychological Association.

"[25] In 2012, he told The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide that the "amount of damage that has been done by the psychological and psychiatry professions to help people change — I see it every day at my practice...

[27][13] Silverstein received the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology from the American Psychological Association in 2011, for "his 40-year career challenging the criteria of social morality as the basis for diagnosing sexual disorders", "his presentation before the American Psychiatric Association to eliminate homosexuality as a mental disorder", "his founding two counseling centers for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in order to deliver unbiased treatment", and "his founding of the Journal of Homosexuality.