American Psychological Association (finally) condems reparative therapy

Chip · Aug 5, 2009

from the associated press:

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.

The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals who reject that option.

"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith over their sexuality."

In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions.

"Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.

"We have to challenge people to be creative," said Glassgold.
She suggested that devout clients could focus on overarching aspects of religion such as hope and forgiveness in order to transcend negative beliefs about homosexuality, and either remain part of their original faith within its limits — for example, by embracing celibacy — or find a faith that welcomes gays.

"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.'"

One of the largest organizations promoting the possibility of changing sexual orientation is Exodus International, a network of ministries whose core message is "Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

Its president, Alan Chambers, describes himself as someone who "overcame unwanted same-sex attraction." He and other evangelicals met with APA representatives after the task force formed in 2007, and he expressed satisfaction with parts of the report that emerged.

"It's a positive step — simply respecting someone's faith is a huge leap in the right direction," Chambers said. "But I'd go further. Don't deny the possibility that someone's feelings might change."

An evangelical psychologist, Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, praised the APA report for urging a creative approach to gay clients' religious beliefs but — like Chambers — disagreed with its skepticism about changing sexual orientation.

Yarhouse and a colleague, Professor Stanton Jones of Wheaton College, will be releasing findings at the APA meeting Friday from their six-year study of people who went through Exodus programs. More than half of 61 subjects either converted to heterosexuality or "disidentified" with homosexuality while embracing chastity, their study said.

To Jones and Yarhouse, their findings prove change is possible for some people, and on average the attempt to change will not be harmful.
The APA task force took as a starting point the belief that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, not a disorder, and that it nonetheless remains stigmatized in ways that can have negative consequences.
The report said the subgroup of gays interested in changing their sexual orientation has evolved over the decades and now is comprised mostly of well-educated white men whose religion is an important part of their lives and who participate in conservative faiths that frown on homosexuality.
"Religious faith and psychology do not have to be seen as being opposed to each other," the report says, endorsing approaches "that integrate concepts from the psychology of religion and the modern psychology of sexual orientation."

Perry Halkitis, a New York University psychologist who chairs the APA committee dealing with gay and lesbian issues, praised the report for its balance.

"Anyone who makes decisions based on good science will be satisfied," he said. "As a clinician, you have to deal with the whole person, and for some people, faith is a very important aspect of who they are."

The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.

Wayne Besen, a gay-rights activist who has sought to discredit the so-called "ex-gay" movement, welcomed the APA findings.

"Ex-gay therapy is a profound travesty that has led to pointless tragedies, and we are pleased that the APA has addressed this psychological scourge," Besen said.
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source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_us/us_psychologists_gays

I think the bolded part is probably the most important part of the report... not that it will keep wingnuts from forcing their kids into ex-gay brainwashing programs.

Greggers · Aug 5, 2009

125-to-4 vote?

Those 4 people are fucking retarded

*cough*

Yes, but other than that, this is great news. Too bad anytime you bring this up to a super-bigot they will dismiss it as "Left wing liberal brainwashing garbage"

Beachboi92 · Aug 5, 2009

(&&&) good news for some people here i know

71390S · Aug 5, 2009

Good!

I wrote a big paper on the history of ex gay therapy if anyone is interested.

Homosexuals Anonymous was founded by a pedo, and techniques used by him were watching gay porn, spanking, and mutual masturbation.

acorn7 · Aug 5, 2009

Certainly good to get this information confirmed by a credible, official source. Now, may God have mercy on those who think they've been "cured". At best they've accepted to be celibate, which is more like going from homosexual to asexual (or at least pretending too).

PJ James · Aug 6, 2009

Thank god we shipped practicly all the religious fundamentalists out of the country after the Civil War

Sorry to the people in the US that are actually, you know, sane, though

Mysterons · Aug 6, 2009

That's good news. Though these APA guys took their time to learn it...

George1 · Aug 6, 2009

Wow.. Took long enough didn't it?

BlakeHarmony · Aug 6, 2009

YAY!!! though it was a long time coming

jazzyspazzy · Aug 7, 2009

mental health professionals shouldn't tell gay clients anything except "being gay is normal, natural, and perfectly acceptable". telling them anything else isn't going to help their mental health, quite the opposite! it'll make them guilty for being who they are, and it will exacerbate depression.

i didn't even realise that reparative therapy was still being suggested by professionals!! i thought that would have been discarded years and years ago. if you're gay, you're gay, and there's nothing you can do about it except to accept it.

Chip · Aug 7, 2009

jazzyspazzy said: ↑

mental health professionals shouldn't tell gay clients anything except "being gay is normal, natural, and perfectly acceptable". telling them anything else isn't going to help their mental health, quite the opposite! it'll make them guilty for being who they are, and it will exacerbate depression.
Click to expand...

Ah but... as the APA statement itself indicates, it isn't nearly that cut-and-dried. The problem is that most people who come into therapy aren't sure they're gay. They may only identify as questioning, or confused, or they may even label themselves bisexual as a bridge to accepting themselves.

So while I agree that if a client is absolutely convinced he's gay, that the therapist should support and affirm that, I also think it is the role of a responsible therapist to help his or her client explore his or her feelings in more depth.

There are a small percentage of people who, for example, are sexually abused early in childhood and develop an aversion to people who are the same sex as the abuser. This happens more commonly with females being abused by male perpetrators, but it can happen the reverse way as well (female perpetrator, male survivor.) So these people may identify as gay when in fact they really aren't, and good therapy will help separate the negative feelings toward opposite-sex people.

Now... this group represents a very, very tiny percentage of people who seek (or are forced into) reparative therapy, but the dumbasses at Exodus and the other reparative therapy places don't differentiate between someone who is biologically heterosexual and behaving homosexually due to trauma and someone who is biologically homosexual and behaving normally. So they find the 10 people out of 500,000 that were never gay in the first place, help them understand their feelings and adust to their true nature, and call those people out as "cures for homosexuality."

It's pathetic, and it's more pathetic that people believe it. Hopefully the APA report will help to put the kibosh on that.

STK · Aug 8, 2009

It took them THAT long to come to that conclusion?

American Psychological Association (finally) condems reparative therapy

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American Psychological Association (finally) condems reparative therapy

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