Conversion Therapy
Here is information on Conversion, Corrective or Reparative Therapy. Conversion Therapy claims to be able to remove the inclination for same sex attraction for LGBT people through talking. Actually, it is the attempted brainwashing of LGBT people. Teens who say they
were sent away because they were gay * The book with
lots more info like this :) https://goo.gl/9zXFpw
The Free book at https://goo.gl/Gerie7 The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging a 2018 Washington state law banning conversion therapy for minors, an approach the American Medical Association said "is not based on medical and scientific evidence." 12/11/23 - NPR
Resoucres: Organizations to Watch Out For: American Anglican Council, Desert Stream Ministries, Exodus International, Focus on the Family, Life Ministries International, Love in Action International, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and Redeemed Lives Ministries (RLM).
The term "reparative therapy" has multiple definitions:
The term "conversion therapy" is sometimes used as a synonym for reparative therapy. A person's "sexual orientation" is normally defined by the gender of those to whom the person is sexually attracted; homosexuals are attracted only to members of the same sex; bisexuals are attracted to both men and women, but not necessarily to an equal degree. However, promoters of these therapies often define "sexual orientation" in terms of sexual behavior. The effectiveness of these therapies has yet to be properly evaluated. They may be found to be helpful; it may turn out to be useless; they may be eventually recognized as ineffective and potentially harmful. Many information sources do agree that:
Although there have been a few studies, all have serious deficiencies. Some anecdotal evidence is available -- both negative and positive. Therapists who engage in these therapies are exposing their clients to an unproven, experimental treatment. Clients should realize that little is known about the potential benefits or dangers of these therapies. Dr. Jack Drescher, a medical doctor who works extensively with homosexuals stated: "It is not clear...if reparative therapists ever provide informed consent to explain these substantial risks to the patients they treat, or even if they are fully aware of the costs to the unrepaired." Many recent, experimental forms of therapy have proven disastrous to the quality of life of the client-victims. Recovered memory therapy was one; another is multiple personality disorder therapy (a.k.a. dissociative identity disorder). Both triggered many suicides and caused a great deal of pain, at both the personal and family level. Therapies which attempt to change sexual orientation may be similarly dangerous. There are two "solitudes" within society dealing with homosexual issues:
Each of these groups assigns different meanings to common English words and phrases. This is not unique. The same phenomenon occurs in the field of abortion, corporal punishment and other areas of social debate. It makes dialog and communication very difficult. Homosexuality is a
behavior. Homosexuality is an
orientation Homosexuality is what one
does. Homosexuality is what one
is. Sexual preference Sexual orientation "I am cured of homosexuality"
OR "I am an ex-gay." "I was a sexually active
homosexual; I am now homosexual who has chosen to
be celibate." "I was once in the homosexual
lifestyle, but I am a heterosexual now." "I was a bisexual who engaged
in same-sex relationships. My orientation is still
bisexual, but, I now choose to have only
relationships with the opposite gender." A person involved in the
homosexual lifestyle A person with a bisexual or
homosexual orientation who is sexually active with
members of the same gender. In the past, researchers attempted to change sexual orientation through psychotherapy, aversion therapy, nausea producing drugs, castration, electric shock, brain surgery, breast amputations, etc. All failed. These methods were largely abandoned by the mid-1970's. Reparative therapy and transformational ministries emerged in the early 1970's. The source of modern-day secular reparative therapy can be traced back many decades to the research of Irving Bieber, Lawrence Hatterer and Sigmond Freud. Their conclusions about homosexuality had long been abandoned by almost all mental health professionals. However, Elizabeth Moberly, a British, conservative, Christian theologian studied those works and developed a new theory of the cause of homosexuality. She believes that it is solely caused by environmental factors -- incompetence on the part of the parent of the same gender. She also developed a technique in the early 1980's which attempts to change the sexual orientation of homosexual adults. She has done no clinical work to support the validity of her theory or the effectiveness of her therapeutic technique. She is a theologian, not a trained mental health professional. Her book "Homosexuality: A new Christian ethic" is still in print and is widely circulated among conservative Christians. 1 She abandoned "Freud's emphasis on the domineering mother and focused on the effect of the 'passive' or 'distant' father. Moberly determined...that the homosexual men in the studies were suffering from what she termed 'defensive detachment' and 'same sex ambivalence.' The theory presumes that the young boy, for any of a variety of reasons, did not bond with his father in a meaningful way." 2 Lacking a positive relationship with his father, the boy "defensively detaches" from any potential friendships with other boys his own age. After puberty, he redirects his longing for a close relationship with his father and other males into a search for love. He sexualizes the longing, feels attraction to other men, and becomes an active homosexual. (We have used a male example here because almost all reparative therapy is done on men). During therapy, the gay client is encouraged to enter into an emotionally close, non-sexual, non-erotic relationship with another male adult. Once he achieves this, heterosexual feelings are expected to emerge over time and homosexual feelings are expected to fade. As mentioned above, no peer-reviewed study has been published on reparative therapy. No longitudinal study has ever been conducted into its long-term effectiveness and hazards. However, many of the larger conservative Christian organizations, like Coral Ridge Ministries and Focus on the Family claim that this and other therapies have a high cure rate. Meanwhile many psychiatrists who do not support this therapy report anecdotal evidence of gays and lesbians who have become seriously depressed after the inevitable failure of their therapy; some have committed suicide. Is a change in sexual orientation possible? These conversion therapies are based on the belief that the "cause(s)" of homosexuality are found in the environment -- specifically from the parenting incompetence of the father while the boy is young. We have found six types of studies into the nature of homosexuality that appear to indicate that this is not true: The first type appears to show that inadequate or non-existent fathering is not a factor in sexual orientation:
Five other studies appear to indicate that sexual orientation (at least for males) is largely genetically determined:
Acceptance
of conversion therapies Many hundreds of conservative Christian therapists and ministries promote them as effective and safe. These therapies mesh well with their fundamental religious beliefs: Starting with three fundamental religious beliefs common to most conservative Christians, that:
Then it would appear irrational for God to create about 5% of the embryos as homosexual. Thus, sexual orientation cannot be genetically predetermined. Starting with another two fundamental religious beliefs:
Then, sexual orientation must be changeable, at least for born-again believers, through effort, counseling, and prayer. Almost all of the hundreds of thousands of remaining mental health professionals feel that therapy is:
Within medicine, there are strong governmental controls that govern the introduction of new medications and treatment regimens. But mental and physical therapies are largely unregulated. Anybody can introduce and promote a new, totally unproven, form of experimental therapy. If it catches on, thousands of therapists may adopt the concept and start treating their patients. Over the last two decades we have seen treatments based on therapists' beliefs in: abuse of patients during former lifetimes, abuse during UFO visitations, facilitated communication for autistic children, indwelling demonic spirits, mind control within religious Cults, multiple personality disorder/dissociative identity disorder, recovered memory therapy, ritual abuse in day care centers, Satanic ritual abuse, and therapeutic touch. All of these treatment methods have a few points in common:
Most of these have been shown to be frauds; all might eventually prove to be ineffective. Many generate a trail of devastated lives; some have been shown to trigger deep depression and suicide. No consensus exists on the safety, effectiveness, and possible adverse consequences of conversion therapies at this time. We urge extreme caution. Effectiveness of these therapies: From our study of reparative therapy, we suspect that:
When it proves unsuccessful:
We have been able to find a few documented case of individuals with a homosexual orientation who report having changed to a heterosexual orientation. Almost all of the cases that we have located turned out to be false leads: the individual later admitted that he/she had not changed their orientation. Many have left the "ex-gay" movement to become an "ex-ex-gays." Unfortunately, these suspicions are based on inadequate evidence. Certainty awaits a meaningful, credible study by mental health professionals. Unfortunately, the studies that have been made to date are seriously flawed. Related essays
References: 1. Elizabeth Moberly, "Homosexuality: A new Christian ethic," (originally published in the early 1980's; reprinted 1997). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store 2. Jeffry Ford, "What is Reparative Therapy?," at: http://jgford.homestead.com/Fordessay.html 3. Mel White, Stranger at the Gate: To
be Gay and Christian in America", Simon & Schuster, New
York, NY, (1994) Read reviews or order this book safely from
Amazon.com online book store 20,000
LGBTQ Teens will Undergo Conversion Therapy by the Age of
18: These Practices Need to End An estimated 20,000 LGBTQ adolescents will be subjected to conversion therapy with a licensed health care professional by the time they reach the age of 18, according to physicians writing in the New England Journal of Medicine. The "debunked" practice is underpinned by "patently false science," the authors wrote, and can involve behavioral and talk therapies, marketed as methods to change a person from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) to heterosexual or cisgender. In rarer cases, it can involve aversion therapy such as electroshock, chemical, and deprivation treatments which proponents say can cause "heterosexual adjustment," the doctors said. Anyone can undergo the practice, but it is most common among young men from conservative religious backgrounds, whose families reject their LGBTQ identity. "Conversion therapy is rooted in the notion that any nonheterosexual inclination is a pathology in need of a 'cure,'" they wrote. The authors drew attention to the fact the therapy is currently only banned for minors in 18 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., while adults can legally be offered the service in all states and jurisdictions. Co-author Dr. Carl Streed, a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), commented in a statement: "Put simply, these practices need to end. We need to work across sectors to focus on ensuring that all individuals of all ages receive appropriate, comprehensive care by trained medical professionals in a supportive environment." Streed said: "As a result of the lack of regulation on these 'therapies' many adults and children continue to be defrauded, harmed, and traumatized in the U.S. every day." Those who have the fake treatments are more likely to suffer depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts, and may need treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and post-religious trauma. Their incomes and levels of educational attainment are also lower than the average person. Same-sex attraction was viewed as abnormal in the mid-19th century, and homosexuality was listed as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association in 1952. Some wrongly said parenting style, such as overbearing mothers, or sexual abuse could cause a person to be gay. In the late 1960s, doctors would advise gay people to marry opposite-sex partners, and prescribe encounters with sex workers as well as orgasmic reconditioning. This treatment, currently used on sex offenders, involves masturbating to materials considered "deviant" before swapping to "nondeviant" material in an attempt to retrain their brains. But in the mid-20th century, the ideas behind these methods were questioned, including by Alfred Kinsey, who developed the sexuality rating scale which took his name. Clinicians eventually came to the consensus that a range of variations in sexual orientation and gender identity is normal in humans. Gay conversion therapy is now rejected by the medical community, with The American Psychiatric Association (APA) opposing it since 1998. Organizations including the American Medical Association, the APA, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other professional organizations have backed a primer on sexual orientation, stating "the idea that homosexuality is a mental disorder or that the emergence of same-sex attraction and orientation among some adolescents is in any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy has no support among any mainstream health and mental health professional organizations." Former advocates of the therapy, such as Alan Chambers, John Paulk, John Smid, and David Matheson, have also denounced the practice, the authors wrote. Sam Brinton, head of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for young LGBTQ people, told Newsweek: "Conversion therapy has no place in our country." A survey by the organization found that 5 percent of the 34,000 respondents had reported having experienced conversion therapy. "That number is conservative, especially considering many conversion therapy survivors might not have the language to understand that they've experienced conversion therapy," Brinton said. Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, who was not involved in the NEJM article, echoed the concerns of the authors in an interview with Newsweek last month. RELATED STORIES Bishop Sparks Outrage by Saying Homosexuality 'Transmitted by Parents' "Gay conversion therapy involves behavioral and psychological abuse," she said. "Conversion therapy can literally be fatal and has resulted in the suicide of numerous youth and adults. As a medical community, it's our responsibility to protect people who are LGBTQ, as they are already subject to systemic discrimination in society," Bhuyan said. If you have suicidal
thoughts, confidential help is available for free at the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or
text SOS to 741741 both available 24 hours, every day. Policy
Statements Denouncing Reparative
Therapy
Source: Columbia University
mathematics professor, Peter Woit's
blog: www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/archives/000083.html
Fighting
right wing lies and the "Ex-Gay" Fraud
NEWSROOM
OPINION
Source: www.anythingbutstraight.com
Gay
Conversion Therapy Made Me Suicidal: The Powerful True Story
Behind the Film Boy Erased Conley, then 19, had been subjected to intensely brutal all-day sessions as part of conversion therapy, a pseudoscientific practice employing techniques including therapy and physical punishment with the goal of changing a person’s sexual orientation. “You feel like it’s life and death at every moment,” he recalls. He turned his experience into a 2016 memoir, Boy Erased, which has been adapted into a powerful new movie starring Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Lucas Hedges, and directed by Joel Edgerton. Roughly 700,000 people in the U.S. have been subjected to the controversial practice, which, though discredited by the medical community, is still promoted within a number of fundamentalist Christian churches. “The idea that homosexuality needs to be cured or fixed in the first place is misrepresentation,” says Scott McCoy of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He added that groups including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association say “conversion therapy is nonsense and psychologically harmful.” For Conley, now 33, going to conversion therapy meant trying to reverse something he’d known to be true since he was very young. “I had known since third grade that I had an attraction to men,” he says. “But I think because we were raised in the church (his father, Hershel, is a Baptist minister), you believe that life is full of temptation. So just having that thought or that feeling is just another temptation, and you ignore it.” Things changed when Conley was at Lyon College, where he says a student raped him. “I told some of my friends,” he says. “When he found out I did that, he called my mom, and attempted to basically cover up what he’d done by telling her that I was gay.” Martha picked up her son from school, and brought him home, where he knew he would have to face his father. “My dad took me inside his bedroom and asked me if I was gay, or what was going on,” he recalls. “He said, ‘Do you swear to god?'” Conley, who says, “I was terrified I would lose my family, faith, and the God I’d prayed to every day of my life,” told his father, “‘I can’t do that… I am having these feelings.'” That night, Hershel consulted other ministers he respected, and they recommended a Memphis, Tennessee-based program called Love in Action, which was about 5-6 hours from their house in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Before beginning the two-week introduction to the program, called The Source, Conley underwent therapy with an affiliated therapist. “He would ask me to tell him my sexual fantasies, and I would tell him everything. And then he would say, ‘Well, you know, that’s disgusting.’ And, ‘God doesn’t love that.'” All three agreed Conley should give Love in Action a try. “I really thought this was a godsend at first,” says Martha. Her son adds, “These were leaders in the church, that my dad looked up to. It just felt like an inevitable step.” Now, he says, “It was complete snake oil, but because it was under this guise of a religious organization, and they were using the right Bible verses, we bought it.” Once there, Conley says, “It was a lot of shaming. It was lots of fear. You had to really express things that you’d never expressed before. And then you were told, after you expressed them, ‘This is disgusting, this is vile.’ In the movie, patients are subjected to physical abuse, which Conley says is accurate, though it didn’t happen to him. “It felt like complete hopelessness.” Adding to that, the program was actually angling for a lengthy stay. Participants are generally enrolled for three months, then a year, in order to be “cured.” And the cost is prohibitive, as Conley recalls his parents paying $1,500 per week in 2004. The final straw came when Conley was ordered to yell at an empty chair that was supposed to represent his dad, and tell him he hated him. He refused. “They were just so angry that I wouldn’t do it. I was thinking to myself, ‘This is a Christian institution, and they want me to say that I hate someone, in order to be cured.’ That seems like the opposite of what Christianity is supposed to be.” Conley quit the exercise, fled to the room where they had his belongings, including his cell phone, and called his mother. Once she arrived, she says, “I was horrified when I found out what was actually going on. I needed to get my son away from this.” On the way out, Martha furiously questioned, “What are your qualifications? Why are you doing this?” After talking to her son, she says, “I remember calling Hershel and saying, ‘We’re coming home.’ He said, ‘It’s not over yet.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s over for Garrard.'” While his relationship with his father “is always going to be a little bit complicated… We’ve found ways around it through the years,” says Conley, he remains very close to his mother. “My mom saved my life,” says Conley, who lives in New York City with his husband Shahab, a software engineer. “If she’d hesitated, if she’d said, ‘Maybe you should try it, stick it out,’ I think I would have gone back. But she decided to take us home.” If you or someone you know is
considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text
“SOS” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to
suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Organizations to Watch Out For: American Anglican Council, Desert Stream Ministries, Exodus International, Focus on the Family, Life Ministries International, Love in Action International, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and Redeemed Lives Ministries (RLM).
The term "reparative therapy" has multiple definitions:
The term "conversion therapy" is sometimes used as a synonym for reparative therapy. A person's "sexual orientation" is normally defined by the gender of those to whom the person is sexually attracted; homosexuals are attracted only to members of the same sex; bisexuals are attracted to both men and women, but not necessarily to an equal degree. However, promoters of these therapies often define "sexual orientation" in terms of sexual behavior. The effectiveness of these therapies has yet to be properly evaluated. They may be found to be helpful; it may turn out to be useless; they may be eventually recognized as ineffective and potentially harmful. Many information sources do agree that:
Although there have been a few studies, all have serious deficiencies. Some anecdotal evidence is available -- both negative and positive. Therapists who engage in these therapies are exposing their clients to an unproven, experimental treatment. Clients should realize that little is known about the potential benefits or dangers of these therapies. Dr. Jack Drescher, a medical doctor who works extensively with homosexuals stated: "It is not clear...if reparative therapists ever provide informed consent to explain these substantial risks to the patients they treat, or even if they are fully aware of the costs to the unrepaired." Many recent, experimental forms of therapy have proven disastrous to the quality of life of the client-victims. Recovered memory therapy was one; another is multiple personality disorder therapy (a.k.a. dissociative identity disorder). Both triggered many suicides and caused a great deal of pain, at both the personal and family level. Therapies which attempt to change sexual orientation may be similarly dangerous. There are two "solitudes" within society dealing with homosexual issues:
Each of these groups assigns different meanings to common English words and phrases. This is not unique. The same phenomenon occurs in the field of abortion, corporal punishment and other areas of social debate. It makes dialog and communication very difficult. Homosexuality is a
behavior. Homosexuality is an
orientation Homosexuality is what one
does. Homosexuality is what one
is. Sexual preference Sexual orientation "I am cured of homosexuality"
OR "I am an ex-gay." "I was a sexually active
homosexual; I am now homosexual who has chosen to
be celibate." "I was once in the homosexual
lifestyle, but I am a heterosexual now." "I was a bisexual who engaged
in same-sex relationships. My orientation is still
bisexual, but, I now choose to have only
relationships with the opposite gender." A person involved in the
homosexual lifestyle A person with a bisexual or
homosexual orientation who is sexually active with
members of the same gender. In the past, researchers attempted to change sexual orientation through psychotherapy, aversion therapy, nausea producing drugs, castration, electric shock, brain surgery, breast amputations, etc. All failed. These methods were largely abandoned by the mid-1970's. Reparative therapy and transformational ministries emerged in the early 1970's. The source of modern-day secular reparative therapy can be traced back many decades to the research of Irving Bieber, Lawrence Hatterer and Sigmond Freud. Their conclusions about homosexuality had long been abandoned by almost all mental health professionals. However, Elizabeth Moberly, a British, conservative, Christian theologian studied those works and developed a new theory of the cause of homosexuality. She believes that it is solely caused by environmental factors -- incompetence on the part of the parent of the same gender. She also developed a technique in the early 1980's which attempts to change the sexual orientation of homosexual adults. She has done no clinical work to support the validity of her theory or the effectiveness of her therapeutic technique. She is a theologian, not a trained mental health professional. Her book "Homosexuality: A new Christian ethic" is still in print and is widely circulated among conservative Christians. 1 She abandoned "Freud's emphasis on the domineering mother and focused on the effect of the 'passive' or 'distant' father. Moberly determined...that the homosexual men in the studies were suffering from what she termed 'defensive detachment' and 'same sex ambivalence.' The theory presumes that the young boy, for any of a variety of reasons, did not bond with his father in a meaningful way." 2 Lacking a positive relationship with his father, the boy "defensively detaches" from any potential friendships with other boys his own age. After puberty, he redirects his longing for a close relationship with his father and other males into a search for love. He sexualizes the longing, feels attraction to other men, and becomes an active homosexual. (We have used a male example here because almost all reparative therapy is done on men). During therapy, the gay client is encouraged to enter into an emotionally close, non-sexual, non-erotic relationship with another male adult. Once he achieves this, heterosexual feelings are expected to emerge over time and homosexual feelings are expected to fade. As mentioned above, no peer-reviewed study has been published on reparative therapy. No longitudinal study has ever been conducted into its long-term effectiveness and hazards. However, many of the larger conservative Christian organizations, like Coral Ridge Ministries and Focus on the Family claim that this and other therapies have a high cure rate. Meanwhile many psychiatrists who do not support this therapy report anecdotal evidence of gays and lesbians who have become seriously depressed after the inevitable failure of their therapy; some have committed suicide. Is a change in sexual orientation possible? These conversion therapies are based on the belief that the "cause(s)" of homosexuality are found in the environment -- specifically from the parenting incompetence of the father while the boy is young. We have found six types of studies into the nature of homosexuality that appear to indicate that this is not true: The first type appears to show that inadequate or non-existent fathering is not a factor in sexual orientation:
Five other studies appear to indicate that sexual orientation (at least for males) is largely genetically determined:
Acceptance of conversion therapies: Within the mental health community there are two schools of thought about these therapies: Many hundreds of conservative Christian therapists and ministries promote them as effective and safe. These therapies mesh well with their fundamental religious beliefs: Starting with three fundamental religious beliefs common to most conservative Christians, that:
Then it would appear irrational for God to create about 5% of the embryos as homosexual. Thus, sexual orientation cannot be genetically predetermined. Starting with another two fundamental religious beliefs:
Then, sexual orientation must be changeable, at least for born-again believers, through effort, counseling, and prayer. Almost all of the hundreds of thousands of remaining mental health professionals feel that therapy is:
Within medicine, there are strong governmental controls that govern the introduction of new medications and treatment regimens. But mental and physical therapies are largely unregulated. Anybody can introduce and promote a new, totally unproven, form of experimental therapy. If it catches on, thousands of therapists may adopt the concept and start treating their patients. Over the last two decades we have seen treatments based on therapists' beliefs in: abuse of patients during former lifetimes, abuse during UFO visitations, facilitated communication for autistic children, indwelling demonic spirits, mind control within religious Cults, multiple personality disorder/dissociative identity disorder, recovered memory therapy, ritual abuse in day care centers, Satanic ritual abuse, and therapeutic touch. All of these treatment methods have a few points in common:
Most of these have been shown to be frauds; all might eventually prove to be ineffective. Many generate a trail of devastated lives; some have been shown to trigger deep depression and suicide. No consensus exists on the safety, effectiveness, and possible adverse consequences of conversion therapies at this time. We urge extreme caution. Effectiveness of these therapies: From our study of reparative therapy, we suspect that:
When it proves unsuccessful:
We have been able to find a few documented case of individuals with a homosexual orientation who report having changed to a heterosexual orientation. Almost all of the cases that we have located turned out to be false leads: the individual later admitted that he/she had not changed their orientation. Many have left the "ex-gay" movement to become an "ex-ex-gays." Unfortunately, these suspicions are based on inadequate evidence. Certainty awaits a meaningful, credible study by mental health professionals. Unfortunately, the studies that have been made to date are seriously flawed. Related essays
References: 1. Elizabeth Moberly, "Homosexuality: A new Christian ethic," (originally published in the early 1980's; reprinted 1997). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store 2. Jeffry Ford, "What is Reparative Therapy?," at: http://jgford.homestead.com/Fordessay.html 3. Mel White, Stranger at the Gate: To
be Gay and Christian in America", Simon & Schuster, New
York, NY, (1994) Read reviews or order this book safely from
Amazon.com online book store Dangerous
Theapy In 2009, after a review of 83 studies published between 1960 and 2007, an American Psychological Association task force (140 page PDF) concluded that no evidence existed to prove that conversion therapy works and it “poses critical health risks.” The American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the American Medical Association all oppose conversion therapy on the basis that it is not evidence-based and potentially harmful to the patient’s mental health. The practice also contributes to social stigma by characterizing homosexuality as a mental illness, a view that has been discredited for decades. The American Psychological Association advises mental health professionals to avoid telling patients that they can change their sexual orientation because evidence doesn’t exist that such a change is possible and it’s the potentially harmful to the patient’s mental health. California Law In 2012 in California, SB 1172, by then Sen. Ted Lieu, was signed into law and prohibits licensed mental health providers from performing conversion therapy with a patient under 18 years of age. Anyone who violates this law is subject to discipline by the provider’s licensing entity. American
Medical Association
American
Psychological Association
Assembly
Bill 2943 California
California
Assembly California
Bills Conversion
Therapy Equality
California Evan
Low Jerry
Brown Mental
Health National
Center for Lesbian Rights
The
Trevor Project Policy
Statements Denouncing Reparative
Therapy
Source: Columbia University
mathematics professor, Peter Woit's
blog: www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/archives/000083.html
Fighting
right wing lies and the "Ex-Gay" Fraud
NEWSROOM
OPINION
Source: www.anythingbutstraight.com
Psychologists to
review stance on gays Such efforts — often called reparative therapy or conversion therapy — are considered futile and harmful by many gay-rights activists. Conservative groups defend the right to offer such treatment, and say people with their viewpoint have been excluded from the review panel. A six-member task force set up by the APA has its first meeting beginning next Tuesday. Already, scores of conservative religious leaders and counselors, representing such groups as the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family, have written a joint letter to the APA, expressing concern that the task force's proposals would not properly accommodate gays and lesbians whose religious beliefs condemn gay sex. "We believe that psychologists should assist clients to develop lives that they value, even if that means they decline to identify as homosexual," said the letter, which requested a meeting between APA leaders and some of the signatories. APA spokeswoman Rhea Farberman said a decision on when and how to reply to the letter had not yet been made. The current APA policy, adopted in 1997, opposes any counseling that treats homosexuality as a mental illness, but does not explicitly denounce reparative therapy. The APA has decided to review the policy at a time when gay-rights groups are increasingly critical of such treatment and groups that support it. Conservatives contend that the review's outcome is preordained because the task force is dominated by gay-rights supporters. "We're concerned," said Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family. "The APA does not have a good track record of listening to other views." Joseph Nicolosi, a leading proponent of reparative therapy, predicted the task force would propose a ban of the practice — and he vowed to resist such a move. Nicolosi, who was rejected as a task force nominee, is president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Clinton Anderson, director of the APA's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Office, insisted the panel would base its findings on scientific research, not ideology. He defended the decision to reject certain conservative applicants to the task force. "We cannot take into account what are fundamentally negative religious perceptions of homosexuality — they don't fit into our world view," Anderson said. One of the counselors denied a seat on the task force was Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College near Pittsburgh. Though Throckmorton doesn't advocate a specific form of reparative therapy, he argues that psychologists should respect gay clients' religious beliefs in cases where the faith teaches that homosexual behavior is wrong. "We work with clients to pursue their chosen values," he said. "If they are core, unwavering commitments to their religious belief, therapists should not try to persuade them differently under the guise of science." However, one of the task force members, New York City psychiatrist Jack Drescher, said the conservatives don't acknowledge the harm that might be caused when a gay patient — even voluntarily — undergoes therapy to suppress or change sexual orientation. "They want a rubber stamp of approval for a form of therapy that's questionable in its efficacy and they don't want to deal with the issue of harmful side effects," said Drescher, who is editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy. As the APA planned the policy review, it received input from gay-rights groups, including Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. PFLAG's executive director, Jody Huckaby, said reparative therapy had been particularly harmful for young gays whose parents insisted on trying to change their sexual orientation. His group contends these efforts can cause depression and suicidal behavior. Current APA policy stipulates that no therapy should occur without "informed consent" of a gay or lesbian client. Jason Cianciotto of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said he hoped the APA would declare that no young person could ever be deemed to have given informed consent, and thus no reparative therapy would be approved for minors. The largest ministry that does counsel gays to change their sexual orientation is Exodus International. Its president, Alan Chambers — who says prayer and therapy enabled him to move away from homosexuality — is among those apprehensive of the APA review. "I had hoped for more diversity on that panel," Chambers said. "I see a lot of people who represent the other side — who don't believe that people like me have a right to self-determination." The task force may submit a
preliminary report to the APA's directors in December.
Anderson said a final report might be completed by next
March.
 At end of story Gay Conversion
Therapy Law Temporarily Blocked By Federal Judge U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller on Tuesday refused to block the law after concluding that opponents who have sued in her Sacramento court to overturn it were unlikely to prove the ban on "conversion" therapy unfairly tramples on their civil rights. The opponents argued the law would make them liable for discipline if they merely recommended the therapy to patients or discuss it with them. Mueller said they didn't demonstrate that they were likely to win, so she wouldn't block the law. Mueller issued her decision in a lawsuit filed by four counselors, two families, a professional organization for practitioners and a Christian therapists group. It came half a day after her colleague, U.S. District Judge William Shubb, handed down a somewhat competing ruling in a similar, but separate lawsuit. Saying he found the First Amendment issues presented by the ban to be compelling, Shubb late Monday ordered the state to temporarily exempt three people named in the case before him – two mental health providers and a former patient who is studying to practice sexual orientation change therapy. The judge said during a hearing earlier Monday that he would have considered keeping the law from taking effect for all licensed therapists, but that the case before him had not been filed as a class action that could be applied to unnamed plaintiffs. Sen. Ted Lieu, who sponsored the law, said Tuesday that because Shubb limited the scope of his decision, Mueller ruling means the law may be applied statewide at the beginning of the new year – except for the three individuals mentioned. The future of the statute remains unclear, however. Mathew Staver, chairman of the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, appealed Mueller's decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and said he would seek an emergency injunction to keep the law on hold until its constitutionality is determined. "I'm really stunned by this decision," Staver said. "I think Judge Shubb's decision was really on the money." The law, which was passed by the
Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October,
states that therapists and counselors who use "sexual
orientation change efforts" on clients under 18 would be
engaging in unprofessional conduct and subject to discipline
by state licensing boards. Gov. Shumlin
Signs Law to Ban Conversion Therapy in Vermont "It's absurd to think that being gay or transgender is something to be cured of," Gov. Shumlin said. "Our country has come a long way in a short period of time in recognizing the civil rights of members of the LGBT community, and I am so proud that Vermont has taken a leadership role at every step of the way. At a time when the rights of LGBT individuals are under attack in other parts of the country, Vermont will continue to stand up to hatred and bigotry and show the rest of the country what tolerance, understanding, and common humanity look like." Conversion therapy has been widely discredited by the scientific community. A 2015 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) "found that variations in sexual orientation and gender identity are normal, and that conversion therapies or other efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity are not effective, are harmful, and are not appropriate therapeutic practices." Vermont joins California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. in enacting a law to ban conversion therapy. Earlier this year, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced regulations to ban public and private insurers from covering the practice. The ban on conversion therapy takes
effect July 1, 2016. Youth Mental
Health Preservation Act Introduced in Missouri for First
Time Rep. McCreery added, “Conversion therapy is a dangerous practice that needs to be stopped. Lawmakers should be doing everything in our power to protect all children.” Missouri makes the fourth state (Arizona, Virginia, Washington) that has introduced legislation banning conversion therapy practices for minors by licensed therapists in 2018. According to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBT youth who are highly rejected by their parents are more than eight times as likely to attempt suicide compared to LGBT youth who were not rejected or even a little rejected.* What is conversion therapy? Conversion therapy, also referred to as "reparative therapy,” “ex-gay therapy,” and “sexual orientation change efforts,” is a widely discredited practice that attempts to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Practices to “cure” individuals of their same-sex sexual orientations and transgender identities include a number of techniques ranging from shaming to hypnosis to inducing vomiting to electric shocks. These practices have been condemned by the American Counseling Association, American Medical Association, and American Psychiatric Association. In 2009, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued a report** enumerating the direct risks of conversion therapy to include, among others: depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social withdrawal, and a distinct rise in suicidality. There are no cities in Missouri in which conversion therapy is banned for minors. Nine states plus D.C. have passed similar legislation, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Several cities in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania have also banned conversion therapy practices for minors. What would the Youth Mental Health Preservation Act do? These laws prohibit licensed mental health practitioners from subjecting minors to harmful "conversion therapy" practices that attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. *www.hrc.org/resources/the-lies-and-dangers-of-reparative-therapy
**www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/therapeutic-response.pdf
In need of help? Please contact the
Trevor
Project. Lastly, do you have a
story to share? Please contact us at 314-862-4900. Washington state
passes ban on gay ‘cure’ therapy for minors The US state could become the latest to outlaw the use of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ to attempt to change the sexuality of minors. ? Performing gay cure therapy on minors is already is illegal in nine US states and counting, as well as Switzerland, Malta, Taiwan, two Canadian provinces, and the Australian state of Victoria. The practice is still technically legal in the UK. Experts overwhelmingly agree that attempts to cure sexuality are futile, misguided, and often extremely harmful. Attempts to force teens to repress their sexuality has been linked to depression, self-harm and even suicide. Washington state has this week become the latest to give the green light to a bill to outlaw the treatment. Lawmakers in the state’s House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 66-32, after it cleared the Senate earlier this month. Although the vote was broadly along party lines, more than a dozen Republicans joined the state’s Democratic majority in voting for the ban. The bill will now go back to the Senate for concurrence heading to the desk of the state’s Governor, Democrat Jay Inslee, who has previously vowed to sign the bill into law. Human Rights Campaign National Field Director Marty Rouse said: “No child should be put through the abusive practice of so-called conversion therapy. “This outdated and dangerous practice has been rejected by medical professionals and has resulted in life-threatening consequences for countless LGBTQ youth. “We thank the state legislators who voted to protect young Washingtonians from this inhumane practice.” A bill was introduced in California last month which would see practitioners of debunked gay ‘cure’ therapies prosecuted for consumer fraud. Out lawmaker Evan Low, who sits on the state’s Legislative Assembly, drew up AB-2943, known as the Unlawful business practices: sexual orientation change efforts bill. The bill would build on the existing consumer protection law to introduce a possible conviction under state law for gay ‘cure’ practitioners. The UK government recently said it would consider banning gay ‘cure’ therapy. British health minister Jackie Doyle-Price said: “This is an issue the Government is keeping under review and we are constantly working towards improving the evidence base.” She added: “The Government rejects utterly the notion that sexuality is something to be cured, and condemns gay conversion therapy. “The evidence base is clear that conversion therapy is not only ineffective but is potentially harmful to participants. “That is why officials have
worked with the main registration and accreditation bodies
for psychotherapy and counselling practitioners, including
the UK Council for Psychotherapy, to develop a Memorandum of
Understanding to help put a stop to this bogus
treatment.” Conversion
Therapy Bans by U.S. State The answer is simple. Conversion therapy professes to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to change or overcome their sexual orientation or gender identity. But this family of therapies has the opposite effect: reinforcing depression, low self-esteem, shame, addictive and compulsive behavior, loss of religious faith, self-harm, and suicidal tendencies. Conversion therapy also tears families apart, as it demands that youths erroneously blame their parents for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapy is inherently harmful, unprofessional, unscientific, and fraudulent. Consequently, regional efforts to ban conversion therapy focus upon professional mental-health providers and their license to provide constructive, responsible, and professional care that is accepted and regulated by the mental-health science community. As of now, conversion therapy has been banned in 20 states and more than 70 municipalities within the United States.
Eight states you want to totally avoid: Alabama For information about
municipalities that have banned conversion therapy, or about
pending state legislation, please contact Mathew
Shurka at Born
Perfect. some false notions about her, that is all the more reason she needs and deserve my support. - R. Bernstein * * * My daughter is lesbian. She is also the light of my life...If society has some false notions about her, that is all the more reason she needs and deserve my support. - R. Bernstein |
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