Richard Cohen, reparative therapy, and why I don't have a disorder

I don't know how true this is but, I think I read somewhere that some areas have outlawed reparative therapy saying that it causes far too much damage to the individual. After more and more research into homosexuality, reparative therapy is slowly dying off.

 

It needs to be outlawed! It is absolutely horrible. I stood outside the gates of a James Dobsons' Love Won Out ( we were handing out PFLAG brochures) and saw parents absolutely in hysterics after listening to that crap. It was very sad.

 

im seeing a christian therapist right now, and i know first hand what its like. If any of you need help, contact me

 

I've read up on this some, not a lot, though. I'm ashamed to say it, but it actually made me feel very panic-y about my orientation. I almost broke down and cried. I tend to blow things out of proportion, and think "What if" way too much. Thankfully, I had a supportive friend on MSN at the time. He dismissed it as BS, and I felt stupid for even talking about the stuff that these people were.

I was raised by a single mother and my aunt for the first seven years of my life. I feel horrible fitting into any molds these people throw out there, because it feels as if I'm contributing to those molds somehow.

But, it did actually manage to make me feel conflicted with myself. I felt absolutely terrible, one of the worst things I've felt for a long time. I feel horrible for anyone else who has read anything like this, and gone through those conflicting feelings. Even though I only felt it for a short while, it was horribly depressing. I considered suicide for the first time in about six years.

This kind of stuff is dangerous. I really hope they learn that.

 

Well of course some homosexual people have (unfortunately) been abused or neglected. So they always use those cases to validate their sorry speculations. But some heterosexuals have (unfortunately) been abused or neglected too.

Psychodynamic therapy. Pish posh I say.

 

I can quite happily disregard the theory because my parents have been as present in my life as they were in my straight brother's lives.

 

The problem with this crap is that it feeds on the fact that nobody has a perfect relationship with their parents. Whoever you are, you can look at thiose claims and think "Well, it's true, my Dad did make me feel inferior about this / I always clashed with my Mother over that". And that way they make everybody feel like it must be the cause. Dangerous stuff indeed - the few times I've looked in detail at it, it always starts making me feel terrible about myself.

 

remeber, alot of these reparative therapists either dont have degrees, or their licenses have been stripped for immoral practices. the only people who push reparative therapy tend to be fundementalist who feel the need to control every aspect of everyone elses lives.

 

All I really have to say about Cohen is that he's a quack job, I remember seeing two videos with him in it, and both times he's claimed that all one needs to do to convert to heterosexuality is "beat" it out. He's up high on my list, right along with "Dr." James Dobson.

 

You start reading into everything. Dad didn't come home until late from work, is he a bad parent?

Fortunately, my psychologist is pretty decent. He said to make my own decision based on my morality. He has helped me with a lot of other stuff though....

Reparative therapy is responsible for a disproportionate amount of suicides....we need to stop it!

 

I really hate all this sort of stuff - for years (and even now) I used to think that I had these feelings because of this or that experience... I used to think "I'm not gay, I only feel like this because...". It was actually really damaging, and didn't help at all.

These explanations and this sort of "therapy" does nothing but destroy and damage those who are already vulnerable.

 

A youth pastor I know wanted me to go to a Christian Theropist in my area, but I didn't. I was actually kind of shocked when my mom didn't try to make me go to one. She said she believes that it doesnt make me a bad person, and that she believes it wont affect whether or not I go to heaven...So I guess that was a really good responce, She was worried that It would make my life hell, and she worries about me, and doesnt want me to be active and LGBT Rights, but I cant help trying to be active, she just fears for my safety, but what parent doesnt. I'm just glad she didnt try to put me in repairitive theropy.

 

Reparative Therapy... You know.. I used to go for that. It was all this believing in demons and that it was an issue you needed to solve.

Now, I can link my orientation to my father. Not because he was an absent father. Far from it. Just that the way he displayed his affection and love was one which I found very hard to accept. Let's just say that it didn't fit the type of love I needed (and which I had from my mom plenty).

But then again... I just end up telling myself: Is it wrong? I ended up like this because of this/that. So? I am who I am. You are what you are made. Do I have to feel like there's something wrong because of that?

And anyway, if I had to find a need to fill that void in my soul with another man... So? It's just plain substitution. It doesn't affect who I am as a person.

Just my opinion on the subject, although I must admit that it is subject to fluctuations depending on mood and thought processes... *smiles slightly*