February 5, 2013

Excerpts from Dr. Joseph Nicolosi’s article on the NARTH website: “Reparative Therapy posits two fundamentally distinct self-states in unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA) for males: The Assertive Self- State within which the client finds his true self, and the Shame Self-State within which he experiences his false self.” …

“The Self-State distinction essential to Reparative theory finds theoretical support in the writings of Joyce McDougall. In her clinical studies, she confirms Reparative theory’s understanding of homosexual enactment as a gender-based self-reparation; i.e., a means of “repairing” a wound in gender identity.” (more…)

February 1, 2013

On January 30, 2013 advocates on both sides of the debate over reparative therapy presented their positions in Committee Room 11, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London. Christian Concern reported that those opposing reparative therapy argued that the nature of homosexuality was innate. Disputing the innate view of sexual orientation was Dr Berger, Consultant Psychiatrist and practitioner of the therapy, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Canada. Christian Concern interviewed representatives on both sides of the debate and posted their responses in a YouTube video.

January 29, 2013

Excerpt of Christopher Doyle’s article in the Christian Post: “When I was eight years old, I was sexually abused every week for an entire year. This created a lot of sexual confusion for me. When I became a teenager, I struggled with unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA) as a result of that abuse. …”

“Today, I am a professional counselor that helps young men struggling with their own sexuality. Every week, I get calls from mothers and fathers who are concerned about their teenagers’ homosexual feelings. I have worked with many of these teens in therapy (as young as 13) to help them understand and resolve their unwanted SSA. My hope is for these young people to work through their issues now so they don’t have to deal with the pain and heartache when they are older, like I had to do.”

January 8, 2013

Floyd Godfrey, a licensed professional counselor who struggled with same sex attractions as a young man, has created a workbook for young men struggling with the same attractions he struggled with. Information on the back of the book reads: “This workbook is written for young men who want to understand the emotional needs and wounds which generate homosexual feelings. It provides insight and understanding in a simple format. It can be used for parents, clergy, and counselors as a format for supporting young men who want to change. Goals and healing activities can be established from concepts in each chapter. Thousands have experienced change. ‘Born that way’ is a myth.”

January 8, 2013

Article by Alan Medinger copied from the PFOX website: “We have long recognized that the homosexual drive is not, at its root, sexual. The drive gains its direction and power from certain things inside a person, in many cases unmet needs or fears. Not always, but most often, in men it is an unmet need or a deficit, and in women, it is a fear.”

This article will deal solely with male homosexuality because I am going to discuss an unmet need that comes out of deficit in a boy’s relationship with his father. To be clear, women dealing with same sex attractions (SSA) can have father deficits too, and so true healing for them may at some point require them to see men as protectors (a fatherly role). But the dynamics of these father deficits are quite different, so I will focus on men with SSA. (more…)

January 3, 2013

Excerpt from Dr. Whitehead’s article on mygenes.com: “…There have been numerous attempts within at least 13 different research fields to show a strong biological basis to homosexuality and all have failed. This new field – epigenetics – will probably join them. The authors make a good case that epigenetics should be included in the mix of factors contributing to homosexuality. I agree, but believe it will prove to be a minor contributor only, along with many other minor contributors.”

“Epigenetics is control of genetic expression by factors other than the genes. These factors may be pre-natal or post-natal (occurring at any time of life), often coming from the exterior environment, both biological and social. Epigenetic marks (changes in protein configurations around the DNA) can also be passed on to descendants – but only to some extent.”

January 2, 2013

Excerpt from the JONAH website: “I am really disappointed in the biased slant the Dr. Oz show took with regard to Reparative Therapy( November 2012). With 3 men representing ‘Reparative Therapy’ and 7 against, including a gay celebrity icon and a ‘Harvard’ grad, it’s quite disturbing there appears to be is no such entity as ethical and even-handed journalism on this issue.”

“I am a man that has been actively involved in Reparative Therapy for about 5 years after playing around secretly through a tumultuous marriage. I was married for 14 years and I’m a father of 4 children, ages 8-14. Not only has my life been incomprehensibly enriched by my journey, I have a peer group of dozens and dozens of men who all believe in this process and whose lives have been enriched themselves through Reparative Therapy. My personal story is a bit lengthy and colorful… with many highs and lows… but overall, I’m so much happier now than ever. I have an amazingly large support group, including my family who all know my story. …”

December 19, 2013

Excerpts from the JONAH website: “As I contemplate my new life with a woman I love, I recognize the distorted views I internalized because of the sexual abuse I received from my father and from the innumerable sexual relationships I had with other men. I have often said about the sexual experiences I had with my father as I was growing up … the ones late at night in my bedroom … left me feeling like Kleenex: grabbed, groped, used, and then tossed aside without further thought. Initially as a 9 year old boy and later as a young man until about my 30th birthday, I would romanticize these experiences as his version of love for me because he could not show his love to me any other way. …” Link to the testimony.

December 13, 2013

Ex-gay and reparative therapist David Pickup was interviewed by Jenifer London on a SOCAL CONNECTED video. London pointed out that reparative therapists are at odds with the broader psychological community. The video also featured Dr. Terry Gock, a past president of the APA Society for Study of LGBT Issues. Another ex-gay in the video is Aaron Bitzer. He testified that reparative therapy desexualized his attractions for men. He believes the lack of a close relationship with his father is at the root of his same-sex attractions. He said he is still attracted to some men, but the attraction is to get to know them as men and not to have sex with them. Before his reparative therapy his attraction to men was sexual.

December 12, 2012

Excerpt from Dr. Julie Hamilton’s statement on the NARTH website: “… Here is a summary of the information that was edited out of the recent daytime talk show: 1. What is this therapy and how does it work? First, we know from the research that people are not simply born homosexual. Researchers on both sides of the debate have acknowledged that, as does the American Psychological Association. It seems clear that homosexuality is a complex combination of nurture and nature. It is also clear that homosexual attractions are NOT a choice. While there are many options for help available, NARTH represents licensed, ethical therapists who practice mainstream approaches to therapy in their offices.”