Even the American Psychological Association Says that Ex-Gay Therapy Causes Harm
Ex-gay therapy has been roundly condemned by rights-based organizations and activists for decades as nothing more than a sham psychological practice that can have indefinite and considerable consequences on those that are forced to go through it. Now the American Psychological Association (APA) is on the record with their agreement.
Meeting in Toronto this week, the APA released a report that said ex-gay therapy is harmful, and that there's no credible scientific evidence to suggest that people can change their sexual orientation, regardless of what organizations like Exodus International or Love Won Out think. Here's the skinny, hot off the Associated Press:
The American Psychological Association has declared that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients that they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.
Instead, the APA is urging 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 by the APA's governing council and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the association puts 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 should have the report up on their Web site within a few hours (UPDATE: It's here!). And not that we needed official confirmation from the APA that ex-gay therapy has devastating consequences. That's a fact that organizations like Truth Wins Out have been saying for years. And today they applauded the APA for taking ex-gay therapy promoters to task.
It was encouraging to see the APA question the ex-gay tactic of teaching vulnerable clients to live in a fantasy world. Groups like Exodus and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), regularly encourage clients to say they have converted, even though they are still gay. The idea is that by proclaiming a false heterosexual identity in advance of any legitimate change, the desired transformation will eventually come.
This idea is equivalent to me wanting to play professional basketball, so I begin to identify as a member of the New York Knicks. Never mind that I am too short, too old and not good enough to make the roster. If I embrace this surreal existence long enough, I will one-day be dunking the ball under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
It is imperative that clients are honest about who they are and not prodded to make claims that are not true. Such a gap between fantasy and reality, according to the APA report, can create “cognitive dissonance” and does not resolve “identity conflicts.”
Woot woot for the APA.
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
COMMENTS (36)