Bravo for the APA - gay “repairative” therapy is ineffective
The news that “repairative” therapy is ineffective (and possibly incredibly damaging) is hardly news, but the fact that the American Psychological Association came out and said so (as reported in today’s New York Times, below) is new and fantastic. I personally know at least two people who underwent this therapy and both of them ended up — to put it nicely — severely fucked up from the experience. It’s shameful and disgusting what happened to them, in the name of attempting to “cure” something that isn’t even an illness.
Psychologists Reject Gay ‘Therapy’
(New York Times, August 6, 2009)
The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.
In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.
Instead of seeking such change, the association urged therapists to consider multiple options, which could include celibacy and switching churches, for helping clients live spiritually rewarding lives in instances where their sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.
The association has criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member panel added weight to that position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its report was endorsed by the association’s governing council in Toronto, where the association’s annual meeting is being held this weekend.
(more here)
