In what may turn out to be another case of Roman Catholic religious based bigotry trumping legitimate medical and mental health care knowledge, the State of Nebraska - concededly not somewhere I'd never want to visit - is poised to potentially allow licensed mental health counselors to turn away LGBT patients. Why you ask? To please the Nebraska Catholic Conference. That's right, a group that continues to make excuses for child molesters and which grovels before a morally bankrupt Church hierarchy is outraged that Catholic counselors might have to have LGBT clients. Thus, the Conference wants counselors to allowed to dump gays as patients - without even making an appropriate referral - so as to protect the counselor's religious sensibilities. *
Personally, in my view, the better solution would be to yank the licenses of Catholic counselors and/or facilities that cannot put aside religious based discrimination and focus on medical/mental health fact as professionals. This would provide far greater protection of the public from religious based lunacy. As for the counselors who lose their licenses, perhaps some of the bogus "ex-gay" ministries that employ quacks can hire them. If this proposal goes through, I guess it will only be a matter of time before shamans and witch doctors can be licensed as physicians in Nebraska. Here are highlights from the Freemont Tribune:
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Rules changes for Nebraska's licensed counselors have been held up for more than a year over concerns about conflicts between religious convictions and sexual orientation. Jim Cunningham, executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, says psychologists, therapists and other licensed counselors should be able to refuse to treat or refer clients because of religious or moral convictions. But, he says, the proposed addition of sexual orientation to anti-discrimination rules makes it unclear whether that's allowed. "Our concern had to do with services that we would not be able to provide because they would promote or enhance or validate conduct that is contrary to our religious beliefs," Cunningham said.
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"We believe that a therapist has the right to refuse service based upon religious or moral convictions," said Terry Werner, director of the Nebraska chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. "However, they absolutely must provide a thorough and comprehensive referral. Anything less than that, in our minds, is in violation of our code of ethics and is not in the best interest of the client."
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Psychologist James Cole, who's on the board of the Nebraska Psychological Association, said the referrals Schaefer is suggesting would meet the needs of the counselor, but not of the patient, who could be dumped on someone without the expertise to help with a specific problem. Cole said the referrals wouldn't be limited to conflicts over sexual orientation, but would also apply to things like gender identity and opposing religious beliefs. "The whole thing opens a Pandora's box on abuse," he said.
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Rules changes for Nebraska's licensed counselors have been held up for more than a year over concerns about conflicts between religious convictions and sexual orientation. Jim Cunningham, executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, says psychologists, therapists and other licensed counselors should be able to refuse to treat or refer clients because of religious or moral convictions. But, he says, the proposed addition of sexual orientation to anti-discrimination rules makes it unclear whether that's allowed. "Our concern had to do with services that we would not be able to provide because they would promote or enhance or validate conduct that is contrary to our religious beliefs," Cunningham said.
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"We believe that a therapist has the right to refuse service based upon religious or moral convictions," said Terry Werner, director of the Nebraska chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. "However, they absolutely must provide a thorough and comprehensive referral. Anything less than that, in our minds, is in violation of our code of ethics and is not in the best interest of the client."
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Psychologist James Cole, who's on the board of the Nebraska Psychological Association, said the referrals Schaefer is suggesting would meet the needs of the counselor, but not of the patient, who could be dumped on someone without the expertise to help with a specific problem. Cole said the referrals wouldn't be limited to conflicts over sexual orientation, but would also apply to things like gender identity and opposing religious beliefs. "The whole thing opens a Pandora's box on abuse," he said.
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