Can gay people be cured

It examines reparative therapists’ pathologizing of and attempts to “cure” or change same sex attractions.

Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 12(3), 167-177.

Abstract: The author is an Orthodox Jewish psychiatrist who, at the time of this presentation, had spent thirty-six years in the general practice of psychiatry, primarily among the broad spectrum of Orthodox Jewish patients. Most of the studies lacked control groups, and none used nationally representative probability samples.

In doing so, they have apparently adopted religious organizational practices themselves, preaching dogma and stifling dissent. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3/4), 69-86.

Reparative therapy has become a generic term for any process that purports to facilitate a shift from homosexual orientation to heterosexual orientation.

For example, Hannah ended up making her own choices once she became more comfortable with herself as a mature woman with sexual feelings. She also had negative, stereotypical associations to the term, feeling that it did not fit in with her sense of identity.

While conversion therapy goes against my moral values and the positions of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the American Psychiatric Association, of which I am a member, my duty as a therapist required me to respect Hannah’s wishes.

MFTs are encouraged to recognize and accept, rather than ignore or deny the valid needs of clients who seek to modify their same-sex attraction.

Schneider, M. S., Brown, L., & Glassgold, J. (2002). However, these reactions do not capture the complexity of the sexual reorientation phenomenon.

Some other countries, including Ireland, have proposed bans or are consulting on the issue.

This paper will attempt to provide social work clinicians with the knowledge necessary to understand and formulate an informed opinion about the use of reparative therapy for homosexuality.

Cates, J. A. (2007). Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3/4), 181-204.

Since the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its diagnostic manual in 1973, mainstream mental health organizations have maintained that an individual’s sexual orientation should be respected.

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33(3), 249-259.

What motivates individuals to pursue conversion therapy and ex-gay groups? Many of these studies sample exclusively religious populations, and so their conclusions generally reflect more about religious self-identifications than any indication that sexual orientation can genuinely change.

This article uses three adolescent case studies to examine issues of identity, ethics, confidentiality, social expectations, and therapist role.

Cramer, R. J., Golom, F. D., LoPresto, C. T., & Kirkley, S. M. (2008). Specifically, a brief history is given of the interventions used to change attractions to same-sex adults and the assumptions underlying these efforts.

At the present time, most professional regulating bodies have banned the use of reparative therapy. As a part of this general practice, the author encountered a number of Orthodox patients with homosexual attractions who desired to change their orientation.

Update 20 September 2024: We added some additional text to the article to clarify that although a Conversion Practices Bill had been signalled in the King's Speech a draft bill had not at that stage been published, as we originally reported.