Can Sexual Orientation Be Changed Through Therapy?
Since the American Psychological Association (APA) took homosexuality off the books as a psychological disorder in 1973, the debate over reparative therapy—an attempt to change someone's sexual orientation to heterosexuality—has continued with little rigorous research.
Many question the ethics of treating someone for a condition which is not considered a disorder and posit that reparative therapy risks traumatizing the patient. Others, including the APA, point to research that indicates sexual orientation is genetic and say it is an unchangeable part of a person's identity. Therapists also disagree about what constitutes a return to heterosexuality—whether it is celibacy, an absence of homosexual attraction, or something beyond that. Amid these concerns, organizations such as Exodus International have run reparative therapy programs with mixed success. Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse presented the results of their longitudinal study on reparative therapy in Ex-Gays?, which was published in September 2007.
09/17: I guess I would be a part of the 22% ... but that is not the question that I pose to you today ... here it is: What do you think the percentages would look like if this were a Newsweek or Time magazine poll?I suspect that they might look a bit more like:
15% - YesWhat do you think the percentages would look like?
50% - No
20% - Possible but rare
10% - Possible but dangerous
05% - Don't believe in SO construct
Yep, or MSNBC, CNN, ABC, etc. I'd be with you in the 22%.
ReplyDelete"possible but dangerous" seems like an odd answer. If you change your head will totally explode. It happened to a guy once.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious if the Christianity Today Poll surveyed only Christians, or took a random sample... Did they say?
ReplyDeleteSarah, I think that it was just a poll of their online readership.
ReplyDeleteBob, I agree with you on what the stats would be if this was posed to Newsweek, Time, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy personal feelings on this are that its possible but very, very rare. I wish more Christians would have empathy and understanding towards men and women that struggle with their SO. Sure, some people embrace their homosexuality, but for others its not what they choose for themselves.
I have a kind of fascination with the subject of homosexuality because I have had so many people cross my path over my lifetime that are gay. An aunt, a male cousin, lots and lots of co-workers, friends, neighbors. The majority of them tried to live "below the radar" and keep their sexual preferences a private matter but it was obvious. Many of them have been together for much longer than most marriages last these days.
ReplyDeleteBut what really gave me an inside look on all this was when I fell in love with a man who struggled with it. He never acted out on it, but the desire was there constantly. It was a battle he fought and he was literally tormented by it. He is one of the unhappiest people I' have ever met. I am convinced that in his case its a direct result of his childhood and the things that happened to him as he grew up. He loved me too - but not the same way I loved him. It was heartbreaking. He checked out Excodus Intl.and became convinced by them that he could change, but when he couldn't he beat himself up even more. He made me read a book about Christian women who marry former gay men to see if I could handle it if he were to overcome it. It was pretty intense stuff, but I would have done anything for him but he never made it that far.
If only people knew how some homosexuals struggled. Imagine a heterosexual man taking a vow of celibacy in today's society - that would not be easy, but add on top of that a feeling of shame, disgust with oneself, failure as a man, fear of being found out, etc. etc. - that's what my friend went through daily.
If anyone was ABLE to change it would have been him. He longed for freedom and a normal life.