"Outed" Conversion Therapist: "Unable to Help Myself"

A psychologist who claimed he could "cure" homosexuality and was found looking for gay sex now says he needs help.

Each time a right wing anti-gay, pro-conversion therapy hypocrite gets "outed" and exposed as a lying fraud, they whine about the pain inflicted on their families, ignoring, of course, their own role in their own undoing.  Recently "outed" Florida psychologist Norman Goldwasser - who had a "Manhunt"  profile with images of him naked and highlighting his interests in “dating,” “kissing,” “married men,” and “massage” - for years preyed on LGBT youths and their families selling them the snake oil that sexual orientation can be "changed" is no exception.  Goldwasser and other charlatans like him care nothing about the harm they have done to members of the LGBT community but want everyone to be sensitive to feelings.  The brazen hypocrisy is stunning. A piece in The Advocate looks at Goldwasser's self-centered bleating.  Here are excerpts:

Florida psychologist Norman Goldwasser, who provided conversion therapy, designed to make gay people straight, and was found looking for hookups on gay dating apps, has responded to his outing.

"The fact that this story and others have been brought to the public is incredibly painful but will become a catalyst for me seeking the right help for myself," Goldwasser told NBC News in an email. 

Goldwasser, who has said that being gay is was an ailment like obsessive-compulsive disorder and claimed he could "cure" it, was found using the screen name "hotnhairy72" on Manhunt and Gay Bear Nation. His Manhunt profile, which is now deleted, included images of him naked and highlighted his interests in “dating,” “kissing,” “married men,” and “massage.”

I obviously was unable to help myself," Goldwasser wrote in his email to NBC News. "There is no justification for my personal behavior and I deeply regret the pain I have caused people in my personal life."

Goldwasser, an Orthodox Jew, is a therapist at  Horizon Psychological Services in Miami Beach and previously worked at the now-defunct Jewish conversion therapy program Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality, known by the acronym JONAH. The program, which operated in secret even after courts ordered it shut down, used the Torah to justify homophobia.

“Goldwasser can’t claim his personal life is none of our business when trying to ‘cure’ LGBT people is his business,” [Wayne] Besen said. “Here is a case where a charlatan is committing consumer fraud by misleading clients and adversely affecting their mental health. We are particularly concerned when Goldwassser’s scam preys on young people susceptible to his charade.” Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have outlawed the use of conversion therapy on minors by state-licensed professionals, as have numerous cities. But still, about 700,000 LGBTQ people have been subjected to conversion therapy, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.