APA: Programs trying to change orientation not effective

[DavidAllred]

No surprise here. At least they have gathered the data to support what most reasonable people already know.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/05...ght/index.html

[Aspield]

I keep on trying to move West again, but I end up on the East Coast. Sigh. Orientation is so hard to adjust!

[Reverend Smooth]

The problem, of course, is that the APA's opinion of homosexuality is dismissed by nutjobs, and has been since they reversed their opinion on it being a mental disorder.

I've gone 'round with folks on this issue; the APA is a liberal org, etc, etc, anti-christian, blah.

So it's good that it's reinforcing what reasonable people already know, but imo the only thing that'll change what the intolerant types believe is reason coming from their churches.

[Sabrinaset]

Okay, I have to do it ...



Okay, now that I have that outta the way ... didn't we learn anything from "But I'm a Cheerleader?"

[the4thpip]

I love that they advise people to change their church instead.

[pariah-1972]

It's a nice step in the right direction tho i find it ironic that psychologists used to be the ones trying to turn gay people straight in the very beginning.

[DavidAllred]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

It's a nice step in the right direction tho i find it ironic that psychologists used to be the ones trying to turn gay people straight in the very beginning.

That is ironic. I think it was officially labeled an illness unitl 1975. Weird to think I'm old enough to have memories of a time when the APA thought completely opposite of what it does today. I read a book about the history of psychology once and it was pretty bleak. One of the most facinating things for me in that was not only seeing how cultural pathologies change, but also seeing how the science that supports them changes too. Things like "hysteria" in women, "fugue states," and "multiple personality disorder" were kind of rare until they were officially "discovered," then they underwent a "spike in diagnosis" period. It was like once a mental state had a particular definition, the general culture latched on to it and hurting people had a more rigorously defined mental schema through which they could manifest their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

[Charles RB]

Originally Posted by DavidAllred

That is ironic. I think it was officially labeled an illness unitl 1975. Weird to think I'm old enough to have memories of a time when the APA thought completely opposite of what it does today.

That's the thing with sciences - they change over time in response to new evidence (sometimes quicker and more peacefully than other times...).

[the4thpip]

Yeah, it's only ironic in the way that German police now actually protecting Jews from violence would be.

[Charles RB]

Originally Posted by the4thpip

Yeah, it's only ironic in the way that German police now actually protecting Jews from violence would be.

Or a German rozzer actually being Jewish. (I presume there's some)

[4PointOh]

The APA Nixes "Ex-Gay Therapy": A Win for the Religious Right?

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009...eligious-right

On Wednesday, the American Psychological Association made headlines by repudiating gay-to-straight therapy. In a report, the APA found that not only is there no evidence that the practice actually works, but it can also lead to depression and suicidal tendencies. Considering that so-called "reparative therapy" has been enthusiastically championed by the religious right, you might be surprised to learn that they're touting the report as a major victory.

Confused? Here's what happened. In addition to instructing members not to seek to change a patient's sexual orientation via therapy, the APA also issued additional guidelines advising therapists how to deal with a patient struggling with their sexual identity. And these guidelines explicitly state that it may sometimes be appropriate for a therapist to help a client deny his sexual orientation because of his faith.

[pariah-1972]

Spit balling here but what if a person wanted psychiatric help because he did not want to be gay or have homosexual thoughts or tendencies anymore? would the psychiatrist be working in bad faith if he helped his client deal with emotions and feelings he did not want?
Would the therapist get in trouble if this was found out?

[FeminineMystique]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

Spit balling here but what if a person wanted psychiatric help because he did not want to be gay or have homosexual thoughts or tendencies anymore? would the psychiatrist be working in bad faith if he helped his client deal with emotions and feelings he did not want?
Would the therapist get in trouble if this was found out?

I think if he tried to "Cure" them he'd get in trouble because homosexuality isn't an illness. Someone who was unhappy with homosexual thoughts would either be suffering from self loathing or some other kind of inner turmoil that was unconnected with sexual orientation in all likelihood, perhaps some kind of identity crisis or an inner turmoil with trying to reconcile previous thoughts and feelings with these new ones (LIsten to me, talking like I did more than a month in Psych class at Uni )

So if the psychiatrist acted like the homosexual thoughts were the problem then yes, he'd be in trouble and rightly so. If however he tried to help the person with the feelings o unhappiness, anger, confusion etc that came from these thoughts, he'd would just be doing their job.

[pariah-1972]

Originally Posted by FeminineMystique

I think if he tried to "Cure" them he'd get in trouble because homosexuality isn't an illness. Someone who was unhappy with homosexual thoughts would either be suffering from self loathing or some other kind of inner turmoil that was unconnected with sexual orientation in all likelihood, perhaps some kind of identity crisis or an inner turmoil with trying to reconcile previous thoughts and feelings with these new ones (LIsten to me, talking like I did more than a month in Psych class at Uni )

So if the psychiatrist acted like the homosexual thoughts were the problem then yes, he'd be in trouble and rightly so. If however he tried to help the person with the feelings o unhappiness, anger, confusion etc that came from these thoughts, he'd would just be doing their job.

Hmmm i love it when you talk psychobabble

[FeminineMystique]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

Hmmm i love it when you talk psychobabble

Really? (Adopts bad german accent) So...tell me about your mother