Tag Archives: Topic: Reparative Therapy

Robert McNamara and Paul Sherman at the National Law Journal: As if the facts of these cases weren’t provocative enough, the challenges to California’s law are complicated by the fact that the plaintiffs, practicing psychologists who are licensed in California, simply engage in “talk therapy” with their patients. As a result, these cases raise an important, unresolved constitutional question: Is the kind of one-on-one counseling and advice at issue in talk therapy “free speech” protected by the First Amendment?

Christian Post: The openly gay son of a conservative Republican Congressman has stated that he benefitted from undergoing the controversial practice of reparative therapy as a teenager.

How Appealing links to the audio and several reports.

LifeSiteNews: New Jersey is the latest state to legislatively attack the right of people with unwanted same-sex attraction to choose reparative therapy. State lawmakers are debating a bill that would ban the therapy.  It’s likely that the bill will pass the Democrat-controlled legislature, but it is unclear whether Republican Governor Chris Christie will sign it.

The Recorder: Next month, five SOCE counselors will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking to enjoin the law as an unconstitutional intrusion on the doctor-patient relationship. Although associated with conservative Christian causes, their attorneys come armed with a powerful liberal precedent: a 2002 Ninth Circuit ruling that forbade the government from cracking down on doctors for recommending medical marijuana.

Liberty Counsel: Late last night, Liberty Counsel filed a request for an emergency appeal and declarations in support of our appeal, asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block California law SB 1172 which goes into effect on January 1, 2013. The law will ban any counsel that seeks to reduce or eliminate same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, or identity.

Sacramento Bee: On Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller ruled that the law prohibiting licensed mental health providers from steering patients under 18 away from gay and lesbian lifestyles does not infringe on the suing providers’ constitutional guarantee …

AP: A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked California from enforcing a first-of-its-kind law that bars licensed psychotherapists from working to change the sexual orientations of gay minors, but he limited the scope of his order to just the three providers who have appealed to him to overturn the measure. | Order: Welch v. Brown | Pacific Justice Institute press release: Federal Judge Rules that CA SB1172 Violates Free Speech

Nathan Cherry at Engage Family Minute: There an ongoing battle over reparative therapy and the idea that gay men or men struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions can change. On one side of the issue is those that claim homosexuals are “born gay” and should just accept who they are; while also claiming reparative therapy is harmful. One the other side is proponents of reparative therapy that believe it is possible to change and that homosexuality is more about nurture than nature.

Crisis Magazine: Remember the pill scene from the movie Matrix? Neo is offered a choice between a red and a blue pill. The red pill promises only the truth. The blue pill offers the blissful ignorance to the fact that he is a human battery, one of millions that power futuristic machines. What’s really incredible about the scene isn’t the possibility of such a fantasy world. It’s that Neo actually has a choice to leave it.

The Hill: he Stop Harming Our Kids Resolution, H.Con.Res. 141, is a sense of Congress resolution that finds efforts to change the sexual orientation of minors are harmful, and should be prohibited.

Penna Dexter at Baptist Press: These therapies are intended for those who experience same-sex attraction but want help to change. The bill, known as SB 1172, states that mental health providers who render these services to clients under 18 would be engaging in unprofessional conduct, subject to discipline by their respective licensing boards — meaning, they’ll lose their licenses to practice.

NJ Today: Assemblyman Tim Eustace on Thursday announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban the controversial practice known as “conversion therapy” aimed at changing the sexual orientation of minors, a measure similar to one that recently passed the California State Assembly overwhelmingly.

BBC: “Roger Helmer used his Twitter page to compare people who undergo sex-change operations with gay people who seek therapy to become heterosexual. The comment has been condemned by gay rights group Stonewall and some users of the social networking site . . . Mr Helmer tweeted: ‘Why is it OK for a surgeon to perform a sex-change operation, but not OK for a psychiatrist to try to ‘turn’ a consenting homosexual?’”

PR Newswire: “Truth Wins Out called on GOP Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell, last night’s victorious Tea Party candidate in Delaware, to apologize for running a failed ‘ex-gay’ ministry while she headed the Savior’s Alliance for Lifting the Truth (SALT). O’Donnell heavily promoted the ‘ex-gay’ industry and hired Wade Richards, an ‘ex-gay’ poster-boy, to deliver this message.”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “A psychologist who screened potential Minneapolis police officers will receive a $210,000 settlement from the city over his firing, which stemmed from his affiliation with the Illinois Family Institute and his support for treating the ‘problem’ of homosexuality . . . [Jim Campbell], of the Alliance Defense Fund of Arizona, said the settlement ‘reinforces that the government cannot penalize Christian contractors for their beliefs.’”

” . . . The commission said the trust was not performing any public benefit because homosexuality was not a mental disorder and did not need curing.”

LifeSiteNews: “The debate over therapy for same-sex attraction (SSA) and gender identity disorder (GID) has been going on for years. Recently, the APA put out a paper designed to resolve the issue. However, the introduction of the APA’s Task Force Report on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation defines the parameters for the discussion in such a way that the defenders of therapy for SSA and GID are positioned in the worst possible light. The issue is essentially decided in favor of gay-affirming therapy before the evidence is heard.”

CCFON: “The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a motion condemning any therapy given to individuals who may wish to re-orientate from their homosexuality.” | British Medical Association

Exodus International: “Psychologists Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse announced the newest results of a study showing that sexual orientation change is not only possible, but sustainable at a symposium today at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention in Toronto.”

VIEW the Jones/Yarhouse Study

VIEW the press release on this topic from InterVarsity Press

VIEW the APA’s report

“Warren Throckmorton . . . said the APA believes if there hasn’t been a change in what Christians would call ‘temptation,’ then there hasn’t been true change . . . ”

Warren Throckmorton writes at the Christian Post: “Generally, I believe the paper to be a high quality report of the evidence regarding sexual orientation and therapy.”

ACLU: “The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee sued two Tennessee school districts in federal court today, charging the schools are unconstitutionally blocking students from accessing online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Knox County Schools and as many as 105 other school districts in Tennessee use Internet filtering software to block Web sites containing pro-LGBT speech, but not Web sites touting so-called ‘reparative therapy’ and ‘ex-gay’ ministries . . . More information about the case, including the ACLU’s complaint and a video featuring one of the student plaintiffs, is available online at:www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/39346res20090413.html ”

David W. Virtue writes at Virtue Online:

I am huddled inside the doorway of Emmanuel Center, a church near Westminster Abbey, as hundreds of gay protesters yell and shout obscenities at a conference where speakers are offering healing for the homosexual through reparative therapy. Anglican Mainstream sponsors the event.

Chanting “2,4,6,8 there is no cure only hate,” protesters, including heavily made up Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, angry gay activists wave placards reading “only prejudice needs a cure”, “there is no cure for love”, “positive alternative to bigotry”, “even Jesus loves gays” and “inside lies obfuscation and despair”.

David W. Virtue interviews Dr. Joseph Nicolosi at Virtue Online: “I spoke with Dr. Nicolosi, a California therapist who employs seven therapists who deal exclusively in sexual addictions and same sex attractions. He heads an organization called NARTH – the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality. NARTH is a professional, scientific organization that offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality. As an organization, they disseminate educational information, conduct and collect scientific research, promote effective therapeutic treatment, and provide referrals to those who seek their assistance. NARTH upholds the rights of individuals with unwanted homosexual attraction to receive effective psychological care and the right of professionals to offer that care. I spoke at length with Dr. Nicolosi about the issues and problems he faces.”

Exodus International: Two Christian organizations are teaming up to empower youth to express their views on sexuality by co-sponsoring this year’s annual Day of Truth event held April 20 on high school campuses nationwide. Exodus International, a ministry that helps …

Citizen Link: “Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out team is taking a message of hope to Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday. The one-day conference proclaims that freedom from same-sex attractions is possible.”

The Religion Clause reports: “Today’s Windy City Times focuses on Obama campaign’s promise last July that the new Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (see prior posting) will not fund groups that advocate for anti-gay reparative therapy.”

DayofTruth.org: The Alliance Defense Fund is transitioning its leadership of the Day of Truth initiative to Exodus International. Day of Truth was launched four years ago in response to GLSEN’s (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) “Day of Silence” national …

This study extends research on the relationship between religious orientation, sexual prejudice, and antipathy toward value-violating behaviors.

NARTH has posted this report on its website: In a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA), President Alan Kazdin, President-Elect James Bray and APA’s Executive Officer Norman Anderson responded to questions from APA members about the …

Warren Throckmorton has this post on his blog. He writes: “Contrast the reaction of the APA to women who believe abortion has triggered harm with the APA reaction to clients who report harm as a result of participation in reparative therapy and/or ex-gay ministries.”

Warren Throckmorton links to several resources discussing this topic: “There appears to be a growing schism within LGBT circles regarding the APA appointments of Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard to the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group . . …

“If you literally believe in a literal hell where you are going to burn and fry and be in excruciating pain not just for a moment but for eternity because you’re a gay person, then how do you go to psychotherapy in which somebody like me would be telling you that to have a happy life, in this life, you need to learn to accept who you are?” he asks . . .

“The American Psychiatric Association suddenly canceled an upcoming workshop on religion and homosexuality during its annual conference here after gay activists campaigned against the two evangelicals slated to appear on the panel.”

. . . . [Episcopal Bishop Gene] Robinson said he canceled his plans to attend because he came to believe that making an appearance at the event would validate the concept that sexual orientation can be changed.

It occurs to me that if a photographer can’t refuse a job like this, then almost anyone else in the business of providing a service is in danger.

Warren Throckmorton discusses the situation (2.15.2008) on his blog and links to ADF’s press release (2.15.2008) on the topic. "In a 2006 Ethics Committee memorandum, the ACA condemned approaches to therapy which attempt to change sexual orientation.  However, in doing …

The Alliance Defense Fund and ADF-allied Seattle attorneys sued the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington Board of Pharmacy, and others on Wednesday over the Pharmacy Board’s new regulation forcing pro-life pharmacists and pharmacies to dispense the abortaficient “emergency …

In April, 2007, the “Committee On Diversity” of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) proposed a resolution flatly opposing any treatment such as reparative therapy or reorientation therapy intended to alter sexual orientation. This was the latest effort to …