The Myth and Madness of Reparative Therapy

The real difficulty in helping people understand that there are problems and dangers associated with Reparative (conversion) Therapy, is the abundance of anecdotal evidence supporting it's efficacy.  In fact, the supporters of Reparative Therapy have done a great job marketing their "product" by showing a large number of people, many of whom either claim to have successfully embraced their "true" heterosexual nature, or who have made the choice to live a celibate life. How, you ask, can anyone doubt the sincerety of so many converted people?  Well, the answer to that lies in understanding several different things;  what we do and do NOT currently know about sexuality, the difference between homosexuality and bisexuality, how Reparative Therapy proponents measure success, their rate of success, and something called Social Desirability Bias.

It is incredibly important to understand that the ex-gay movement was started, and is still largely funded by, very conservative Christians. (Chad Thompson of Inqueery.com, Mike Ensley, and Alan Chambers of Exodus International are probably the movement's most well-known poster boys.) It is also very important to know that all of the mainstream professional psychiatric, psychological, medical, nursing and social work associations denounce this kind of therapy as ultimately harmful. Reparative Therapy has its roots in decades-old Psychoanalysis, but its current prominence is primarily due to anti-gay religious groups. These same religious groups falsely argue that it is politics that keep the mainstream professional organizations from endorsing this therapy, while failing to admit that their support is frequently political. This political agenda includes, but is not limited to, curbing legislation that promotes, in any form, equal rights for gay people.  Conservative groups also claim that a tiny minority of gay people have overtaken the aforementioned professional organizations, although, more and more, this sounds less like fact and much more like rhetoric or a rallying cry used to bolster the radical religious right claims.

Playing on people's own ignorance about sexual orientation, and to some extent the fear of gay people, has proven highly effective for these conservative  groups. Despite the fact that these groups criticize the mainstream press on a regular basis, many of them have been using it to their advantage. Reparative Therapists often forego publishing their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and instead take their "success stories" directly to the press.  These religious groups also often make it seem as if they have a monopoly on compassion. They  try and paint the critics of Reparative Therapy in a bad light by saying that if a person WANTS to change, its only right to give him access to the resources that can help him do this. What they almost always fail to mention, however, is that Reparative Therapy has not only left lasting scars on many, many people, but it has also caused some  clients to commit suicide.  Their unwillingness to be open and honest about the negative effects of this type of therapy, shows that they are not the kind, compassionate, and helpful people they make themselves out to be.