"Marcia" Bachmann Continues to Peddle "Ex-Gay" Snake Oil

Some things don't change - including the efforts of some likely closeted gays to market the myth that gays can "pray away the gay." It may help them feel better about themselves, but it's a farce that can have serious damaging consequences to those under going the fraudulent "therapy." I've known a number of individuals who went through "ex-gay" ministries and it seriously harmed them emotionally. In my view, these bogus "therapy" ministries ought to be illegal and "ex-gay" therapy should be grounds for license revocation for therapists. But then, the extremely nelly Marcus "Marcia" Bachmann operates a "Christian counseling center" and apparently manages to skirts normal licensing requirements. Frankly, anything with the term "Christian" in it ought to raise a huge red flag to anyone seeking counseling from Bachmann & Associates in the first place. As Gay U.S.A. reports, another undercover operation has caught Bachmann & Associates again offering "ex-gay" therapy to patients in direct contradiction to the ethical guidelines adopted by the APA for reputable therapists. Here are highlights:

Bachmann & Associates had no idea that they were the target of yet another undercover gay advocate visit, and this time it was in the form of a young lesbian, a filmmaker from GAY U.S.A. the Movie. While the visit was contrived, and the character expounded upon, the reality and the seriousness of the possible harm to young gays and lesbians cannot be overstated.

Last week as co-producer on the film, I helped Kristina Lapinski set up and pursue a counseling session at one of the two Bachmann clinics in Minnesota, where she played the part of a confused 24 year old lesbian who had just moved from California to Minnesota to marry her long time male friend, Jake, all to please her Christian parents.

The purpose of Gay U.S.A. the Movie’s action was to obtain footage for a documentary, which after two years, is now in its final shooting phase, with a planned release for September 2012. www.gayusathemovie.com

We planned the visit to the Bachmann clinic with precision and clarity, at first trying to get an appointment with Marcus Bachmann himself, only to learn that he is no longer taking new clients; possibly a respite after the TWO sting.

We researched online for another counselor in the Bachmann office, and were led by the mission statements of some 26 counselors, most describing practices with distinct biblical and Christian orientation. With time constraints our limitation, the process of elimination was determined by availability and the appointment was made with a counselor by the name of Sheila J. Marker.

With six years of experience , as can be seen from the website description on the Bachmann page, Sheila J. Marker is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, State & AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and received her MA in Professional Counseling, from Argosy University, Eagan, MN, specializing in, inter alia, Pre-Marital Counseling, Relational, Marriage, Family Issues, and Women’s Issues. Her mission statement reads:

“It was easy to be me and imagine that this scenario, of being closeted and fearful of my sexuality could be true, as I have heard so many such stories through my filming,” noted Kristina, whose years belie her comfort as a lesbian.

But nothing prepared her for what was to come and, she notes, “Although I was able to intellectualize the experience, for a whole three hours after I left the office, I was nauseous. I thought that it could have been real for someone else and it made me want to throw up.”

After the appointment was over, I received another text from Kristina, and even though I had an idea about where this appointment could lead, nothing could have prepared me for that text:-

“We prayed the gay away!” Then it hit me too, like a kick in the gut, as I imagined the worst for those really in this predicament. I thought, “How could these people get away with this – they are playing with fire, with the lives of our kids!”

She told me to follow God’s road. “The bible says one man one woman… two great halves come together….” and then spoke to some extent about a woman’s duty to keep the man company… I found that oddly sexist.

She then went on to convince me about what was right and never ever explored the option that I could possibly in fact be a lesbian. She told me the commitment part was important and the love part would grow over time. She asked me if I could “pray for a miracle to happen and wake up in the morning and have it be true, what would I wish for?”

I found it interesting that I gave Ms. Marker my options – the option between being with women or being with a man. I had clearly expressed I did not have a sexual attraction to men. It was astounding to me that she pressed her personal political and religious opinion on me about which path to pursue, without even exploring my feelings of being a lesbian, which was given no consideration at all on that day of prayer, even though she invited me back to further the discussion.

I feel the need to expose this kind of practice because I really believe that if I was that character in real life and uncomfortable with my sexuality, this so called counseling could have been very harmful to me.”

These bogus counseling operations need to be shut down and health insurance carriers need to stop making payments for therapy that is no better than having a tribal witch doctor perform a magic ritual using smoke and animal entrails. It is disgusting that "Macia" and his wife continue to fleece people for this snake oil.