Gay ‘cure’ still sought by some therapists
A sixth of British therapists said they had tried to help gay, bisexual and lesbian patients become heterosexual, even though evidence suggests such therapies can be harmful, according to a survey released today.
Michael King of University College London, who published his findings in the journal BMC Pyschiatry, said the number of therapists who said they had tried to help a person change their sexual orientation was surprising.
"There is very little evidence to show that attempting to treat a person's homosexual feelings is effective and in fact it can actually be harmful," King said in a telephone interview. Such an approach could provoke greater anxiety and confusion.
The survey showed that 17 percent of therapists and psychiatrists working in Britain had sought to help their patients reduce "gay or lesbian feelings" through therapy, the researchers said.
King's study showed that some therapists now use more subtle strategies than the tactics used in the 70s and 80s such as pairing homosexual imagery with electric shocks to induce feelings of revulsion. Today's therapists aim at getting patients to "control" their homosexual feelings and eventually change their sexual orientation.
(Via MSNBC)
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"APA's New Pamphlet on Homosexuality De-emphasizes the Biological Argument, Supports a Client's Right to Self-Determination - The APA has now begun to acknowledge what most scientists have long known: that a bio-psycho-social model of causation best fits the data."
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http://narth.com/docs/deemphasizes.html
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Homosexuals who choose, are able to successfully restore their heterosexuality. Organizations like www.narth.org are there to support their decision. The notion that it's impossible or harmful is base on ideology and not science. The fact that the culture is in denial of this fact shows the hypocrisy of "tolerance" and "acceptance" of an individual’s sexual preference.
It's ideas like these that lead homosexuals into the kind of self-loathing and depression that drives them to see therapists who are cnvinced they can de-gay them.