Fall Out From APA Repudiation of Reparative Therapy

If nothing else, the American Psychological Association's recent outright rejection of reparative therapy and similar bogus "cures" for homosexuality has prompted a great deal of news coverage - stories have appeared in the New York Times, several New Jersey papers among many others - and hopefully will cause proponents of the choice myth to be further exiled and relegated to the extreme lunatic fringe where they belong. However, there are still religious zealots who just will not give up their lucrative business of selling snake oil to religious guilt plagued gays.

*

One story that looks at this continued attempt to tell individuals that "they don't have to be gay" and which has caused Wayne Besen to comment, is one in the Wall Street Journal which looks at the latest marketing efforts of Warren Throckmorton, one of the former "ex-gay" high priests. When Warren Throckmorton and I first crossed swords on the issue of gays and the myth that one could change their sexual orientation, he was still peddling the repertoire of lies and falsehoods disseminated by the folks at NARTH. Now, Throckmorton, while moving a great distance from his former mantra - I suspect because he saw the writing on the wall as to where the APA was headed and did not want to put his professional license in jeopardy - is still selling only a slightly less toxic remedy to gays. Namely, if you cannot be straight, then live your life in celibacy to avoid conflict with your religious beliefs. Here are highlights of what slightly less false propaganda Throckmorton is now peddling:

*

Dr. Throckmorton is a psychology professor at a Christian college in Pennsylvania and past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He specializes in working with clients conflicted about their sexual identity. The first thing he tells them is this: Your attractions aren't a sign of mental illness or a punishment for insufficient faith. He tells them that he cannot turn them straight. But he also tells them they don't have to be gay.

*
For many years, Dr. Throckmorton felt he was breaking a professional taboo by telling his clients they could construct satisfying lives by, in effect, shunting their sexuality to the side, even if that meant living celibately. That ran against the trend in counseling toward "gay affirming" therapy -- encouraging clients to embrace their sexuality.

*

The new [APA] approach allowing therapists to help clients transcend their sexual orientation was developed by an APA task force of six academics and counselors, some active in gay-rights causes, and endorsed by the group's governing body. Their original mandate was to respond to the growing visibility of sexual orientation "change therapists" who claim it is possible to alter arousal patterns. The task force reviewed scientific literature on change therapy and found no evidence it worked.

*

There are gay-affirming churches. But the task force acknowledged that for those from conservative faiths, affirming a gay identity could feel very much like renouncing their religious identity. . . . It isn't a step to be taken lightly, added Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist and member of the APA task force. "We try to find a balance between what the patient says he wants, what we think is best for the patient, and what is reasonable and feasible," Dr. Drescher said.

*

The APA report mentions as one possible framework the approach taken by Dr. Throckmorton, who teaches at Grove City College and has a Ph.D. in community counseling. He starts by helping clients prioritize their values. Then he shows them stock video of a brain responding to sexual stimuli. When the clients see how quickly the brain lights up, they often feel relieved, he said, because they realize that their attractions are deeply rooted.

*

Dr. Throckmorton says at that point, some clients choose to accept a gay identity. Others, however, say they prefer to live in accordance with their faith. In therapy that can last years, Dr. Throckmorton says he tries to help these clients accept that their attractions will not go away -- but need not define them.

*

In my view, Throckmorton is heading in the wrong way. He'd be using his efforts more constructively - although likely with less remuneration - by taking the APA message to anti-gay churches. It's not gays who need to change but instead the homophobic churches that refuse to accept modern medical and mental health knowledge. Until churches are pressured to move into the 21st century, charlatans will continue to tell LGBT individuals that their lives are sinful and make a tidy profit in the process. I agree with Wayne's comments on what Throckmorton is peddling:

*

[T]he APA should be commended for tackling the affects of religious faith on people working through this issue. Their landmark report explicitly tells religious therapists that clients should be given room to explore who they truly are, without the therapist burdening them with excessive faith-based guilt. This is a step forward, considering that nearly every “reparative therapist” uses shame-based methods to pressure vulnerable and desperate clients into suppressing their natural sexual orientation. However, (although I am not a psychologist) I remain largely skeptical of the therapy offered by Throckmorton and other conservatives. Throckmorton tells The Wall Street Journal that he starts his sessions by helping clients prioritize their values.

*

Religious therapists (I am not referring specifically to Throckmorton) can manipulate the framing of priorities. For example they may ask clients what they find more important to their value system: “ephemeral hedonism” or “eternal life in heaven”. Given this loaded option, clients may feel they have no “choice” but to live a life of hell on earth in order to get the keys to the Kingdom when they die. This is quite a mental burden for clients to carry and surely can’t be conducive to optimum mental health.

*
Clients can also be easily manipulated by therapists who induce guilt by saying, “it is fine if you choose to exercise your options in a selfish manner by choosing your sexuality over Scripture.” Such diabolical therapists may be within the new guidelines (barely) by ostensibly offering a troubled client the “choice” and “freedom” to be a “bad” person. But, we all know this is just a tricky form of psychological abuse. While the APA guidelines are helpful, the group may need to address in the future how unsavory counselors use loopholes to continue tormenting the fragile minds of clients.