[Vision2020] Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy

[Scott Dredge]

Check out the movie 'Bruno'.  His attempted conversion from gay to straight was also unsuccessful even after - among a multitude of other techniques - meeting with 1st stage and 2nd stage pastors supposedly skilled with gay to straight conversions.

-Scott

From: deco at moscow.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:00:40 -0700
Subject: [Vision2020] Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy











Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy
By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer David Crary, Ap National Writer 24 mins ago 

 
NEW YORK – 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. 

___ 

On the Net: 

http://www.apa.org/

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