Gay Conversion Therapy Essay

It is interesting to note that according to the American Psychiatric Association, up until 1974 homosexuality was considered a mental illness. There was no scientific breakthrough or any new information that would allow for this change of status. Simply, “The APA claimed that they made the change because new research showed that most homosexual people were content with their sexual orientation, and that as a group, they appeared to be as well-adjusted as heterosexual people”. The decision to remove homosexually as a mental illness was done by trustee, and the decision was confirmed by a vote. I do not believe that homosexually is a mental illness, however, homosexually was never validated or invalidated by science, so I am surprised to learn that it was even considered a mental

The study that provides evidence that conversion therapy is both ineffective and harmful is provided by the American Psychological Association (APA) in a report entitled, Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The report concluded that, "efforts to change sexual

Upon the reveal of homosexuality in the bible, many young men confessed to their pastors that they were having homosexual feelings and from this, pastoral counseling exploded. Many pastors were relying on their psychology companions to aid in this movement, however, we begin to see an influx of literature on how to handle these sinners. During this time, pastors were trying to “cure” people of their homosexual thoughts through compassion and understanding. Ultimately, becoming heterosexual was the goal optimal goal. White unveils this novelty of Protestant sex-same behavior therapy.

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people

The methodology of the article involved a comprehensive review of the extant literature on the subject, as well as a review of data and articles authored by individuals on both the ex-gay side (those who support conversion therapy) and the camp of people who oppose conversion therapy. The article begins with a long overview of the discourse surrounding both conversion therapy and homosexuality in the United States, beginning with the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973. Through a review of all of the data, the two authors then

Once I have become aware of and accepted my morals, next I need to identify if they are coming into play with this client in a negative way. If my morals are coming into play there are several ways this impact the therapy I am doing with this client. The ways in which impact can occur is through building rapport, maintaining a therapeutic alliance, through my approach including treatment planning and goals, through transference or countertransference, and by limiting my ability to help this client with their issue. Before 1973 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders viewed homosexuality as a psychological disorder. This resulted in treatment plans that involved reorienting the individual to be heterosexual (Fontaine & Hammond, 1996). Although this practice is no longer common and has been debunked many times a metaphorical wedge between

In order for Biblical counseling to be effective, a counselor must be completely prepared to work in the ministry of helping others. Beyond the worldly challenges, a Christian counselor also faces humanistic therapeutic false views of secular therapy. Christian counselors maintain a focal point in guiding people to living a life that is full of spiritual richness and maturity. Yet, secular therapist focuses on self-gratification and self-actualization. As Christian ministry helpers, you must be living by the truth and exemplify a Christ-centered life. Crabb (1977) developed a counseling model that teaches us how to develop individualized life maps that will guide people to spiritual growth, maturity, and a long-lived Christ-centered

Throughout history there has been much controversy surrounding the topic of human beings sexual orientation. Whether it they are straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, people like what they like. In some cases, many people believe that they are born with certain urges that attract them to either the same or maybe even the opposite sex. The number one question that has been asked in today’s society is that if using reparative therapy is okay. Although many people believe in using this therapy, they should steer away from practicing it because it is unethical, there is no proven cure, and it often leads to an

There is an arising topic in today’s generation and many teens and adults are facing challenges that are unthinkable to anyone else. These individuals are going through the challenge of determining their gender identity. Matters similar to this is the debate surrounding conversion therapy and how this LGBT communities are treated. Conversion therapy or reparative therapy is defined as by Oxford dictionaries as “psychotherapy aimed at changing a person’s homosexuality and based on the view that homosexuality is a mental disorder” (Oxford University Press, 2016). There has been much attention revolving around conversion therapy due to its safety and ethically questionable methods such as electroshock therapy and ice pick

The Religious views of Christian Denominations previously declared homosexuals were “demons that were going straight to hell”. It was a sin and against the natural law, that men and women were put on this earth together to procreate. Homosexuals endured a harsh conditioning environment to get treated; specifically due to the methods that were used such as shock therapy, chemical castration, nausea-inducing drugs and lobotomy. The effectiveness means the success in achieving a desired result. Homosexuality relapse rates were high when a patient finished the therapy. Health professionals stated that once the therapy was over, there was no unpleasant stimulus to avert the patient from practicing in homosexual acts.

al., 2013, p. 253). With treatments such as “professional therapy and paraprofessional/religious ministry contexts”, Sanders and his colleagues report that thirty percent of those who participated in this form of therapy achieved “positive outcomes” (2013, p. 255). Although critics to changing one’s sexual orientation claim that there are many factors that limit the support of the research proving the success of this treatment option, Sanders states that there is data supporting successful conversions (2013, p. 255).

Conversion therapy which is primary used to convert homosexual or bisexual males and females to become heterosexual has been proven not to work by many modern day experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry. David Michael Conner, a writer for the Huffington Post in the LGBQ department, explains conversion therapy as the following “It involves electrocuting and drugging LGBT people to make them suffer while looking at homosexual pornography in order to “convert” them to heterosexuality” (Conner). Those who are homosexual are tortured in attempts to correct them of their “illness”.

Beginning in the 1950s, conversion and reparative therapy began. As stated in the book Hear Us Out by Nancy Garden "... in addition to supposedly being morally evil, homosexuality was widely believed to be an illness. To "cure" them, gays and lesbians were sometimes subjected to painful electroshock treatments or to aversion therapy. ... You may have heard of the modern-day version of 'curing' homosexuality - 'reparative therapy,' which is practiced by

For many years, psychologists described homosexuality as a disorder or a treatable complex. Recently, homosexuality was removed from the DSM and is no longer considered a disorder. The gay population is no longer treated as sick but accepted as a diverse set of individuals. The many distinguishing attributes and characteristics of a gay or lesbian individual are considered to be personality attributes.

Prior to the twenty-first century, homosexuality was viewed as a mental disorder that required treatment. Both counseling and aversion therapy were exercised in attempts to “cure” individuals of their sexuality. The brutal process consisted of shock therapies, lobotomies, castrations, and drugs (Scot, 2013). A device that was commonly used was the Farrall Instrument, which functioned by showing an individual of the same sex and delivering a shock until a button was pressed to deliver another slide. The slides of the opposite sex did not deliver a shock; therefore, an association with those of the same sex would become negative and the patient receiving the treatment would become heterosexual. These practices were enacted until 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder (Scot, 2013). From that point on, homosexuality increasingly grew in acceptance and still continues to do so in modern society. A variety of places that celebrate members of the LGBT community have been established to help welcome them into society, along with an improvement of the attitudes of others and their treatments towards the communities’ members. However, homophobia and the segregation of LGBT individuals still persists in modern society to prevent their integration into civilization.