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<H1>Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy</H1>
<DIV class=byline><CITE class=vcard>By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer <SPAN
class="fn org">David Crary, Ap National Writer</SPAN> </CITE><ABBR
class=recenttimedate title=2009-08-05T15:34:37-0700>24 mins ago</ABBR>
</DIV><!-- end .byline -->
<DIV id=darla-ad__LREC class="mod ad darla_ad"> </DIV>
<P>NEW YORK – The <SPAN id=lw_1249511692_0 class=yshortcuts>American
Psychological Association</SPAN> declared Wednesday that <SPAN
id=lw_1249511692_1 class=yshortcuts>mental health professionals</SPAN> should
not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other
treatments.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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 "<SPAN
id=lw_1249511692_2 class=yshortcuts>reparative therapy</SPAN>" which seeks to
change sexual orientation.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>"We have to challenge people to be creative," said Glassgold.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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.'"</P>
<P>One of the largest organizations promoting the possibility of changing sexual
orientation is <SPAN id=lw_1249511692_3 class=yshortcuts>Exodus
International</SPAN>, a network of ministries whose core message is "Freedom
from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."</P>
<P>Its president, <SPAN id=lw_1249511692_4 class=yshortcuts>Alan
Chambers</SPAN>, 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.</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>To Jones and Yarhouse, their findings prove change is possible for some
people, and on average the attempt to change will not be harmful. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>"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 <SPAN id=lw_1249511692_5 class=yshortcuts>psychology of religion</SPAN> and
the modern psychology of sexual orientation." </P>
<P>Perry Halkitis, a New York University psychologist who chairs the APA
committee dealing with gay and lesbian issues, praised the report for its
balance. </P>
<P>"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." </P>
<P>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. </P>
<P><SPAN id=lw_1249511692_6 class=yshortcuts>Wayne Besen</SPAN>, a gay-rights
activist who has sought to discredit the so-called "ex-gay" movement, welcomed
the APA findings. </P>
<P>"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. </P>
<P>___ </P>
<P>On the Net: </P>
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