The American
Psychological Association is embarking on its first review
of a 10-year-old policy on counseling gays and
lesbians, a step that gay rights activists hope will
end with a denunciation of any attempt by therapists
to change a client's sexual orientation.
Such
efforts--often called "reparative" or "conversion"
therapy--are considered futile and harmful by many.
Conservative groups defend the right to offer such
treatments, and they say people with their viewpoint
have been excluded from the review panel.
A six-member task
force set up by the APA convenes its first meeting next
Tuesday.
Already, scores
of conservative religious leaders and counselors,
representing such groups as the Southern Baptist Convention
and Focus on the Family, have written a joint letter
to the APA, expressing concern that the task force's
proposals would not properly accommodate gays and
lesbians whose religious beliefs condemn gay sex.
''We believe that
psychologists should assist clients to develop lives
that they value, even if that means they decline to identify
as homosexual,'' said the letter, which requested a
meeting between APA leaders and some of the
signatories.
APA spokeswoman
Rhea Farberman said a decision on when and how to reply
to the letter had not yet been made.
The current APA
policy, adopted in 1997, opposes any counseling that
treats homosexuality as a mental illness, but it does not
explicitly denounce "reparative" therapy. The APA has
decided to review the policy at a time when gay rights
groups are increasingly critical of such treatment and
organizations that support it.
Conservatives
contend that the review's outcome is preordained because
the task force is dominated by gay rights supporters.
''We're
concerned,'' said Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the
Family. ''The APA does not have a good track record of
listening to other views.''
Joseph Nicolosi,
a leading proponent of "reparative" therapy, predicted
the task force would propose a ban of the
practice--and he vowed to resist such a move.
Nicolosi, who was rejected as a task force nominee, is
president of the National Association for Research and
Therapy of Homosexuality, an organization notorious among
LGBT rights advocates for its antigay campaigns.
Clinton Anderson,
director of the APA's Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual
Concerns Office, insisted the panel would base its findings
on scientific research, not ideology. He defended the
decision to reject certain conservative applicants to
the task force.
''We cannot take
into account what are fundamentally negative religious
perceptions of homosexuality--they don't fit into our
worldview,'' Anderson said.
One of the
counselors denied a seat on the task force was Warren
Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College
near Pittsburgh. Though Throckmorton doesn't advocate
a specific form of conversion therapy, he argues that
psychologists should respect gay clients' religious
beliefs in cases where the faith teaches that
homosexual behavior is wrong.
''We work with
clients to pursue their chosen values,'' he said. ''If
they are core, unwavering commitments to their religious
belief, therapists should not try to persuade them
differently under the guise of science.''
However, one of
the task force members, New York City psychiatrist Jack
Drescher, said the conservatives don't acknowledge the harm
that might be caused when a gay patient--even
voluntarily--undergoes therapy to suppress or
change sexual orientation.
''They want a
rubber stamp of approval for a form of therapy that's
questionable in its efficacy, and they don't want to deal
with the issue of harmful side effects,'' said
Drescher, who is editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy.
As the APA
planned the policy review, it received input from gay rights
groups, including Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays.
PFLAG's executive
director, Jody Huckaby, said conversion therapy had
been particularly harmful for young gays whose parents
insisted on trying to change their sexual orientation.
His group contends these efforts can cause depression
and suicidal behavior.
Current APA
policy stipulates that no therapy should occur without
''informed consent'' of a gay or lesbian client. Jason
Cianciotto of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
said he hoped the APA would declare that no young
person could ever be deemed to have given informed consent,
and thus no conversion therapy would be approved for minors.
The largest
ministry that does counsel gays to change their sexual
orientation is Exodus International. Its president, Alan
Chambers--who says prayer and therapy enabled
him to move away from homosexuality--is among
those apprehensive of the APA review.
''I had hoped for
more diversity on that panel,'' Chambers said. ''I see
a lot of people who represent the other side--who
don't believe that people like me have a right to
self-determination.''
The task force
may submit a preliminary report to the APA's directors in
December. Anderson said a final report might be completed by
next March. (David Crary, AP)
