‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Group Co-Founder’s Medical License Revoked for ‘Gross Negligence’ and ‘Unprofessional Conduct’

NARTH Co-Founder, Benjamin Kaufman, MD Retires in Disgrace After Patient Ends Up in Coma

CHICAGO – Psychiatrist Benjamin Kaufman, MD surrendered his medical license on October 7, 2015 to the Medical Board of California Department of Consumer Affairs. He is the co-founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a notorious group of discredited practitioners who promote the outdated idea that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured. NARTH, which has since rebranded itself The Alliance of Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity, has deliberately concealed the professional misconduct of its co-founder for six months.

“We consistently find that those who practice ‘ex-gay’ therapy are unethical and unscrupulous,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “They are perpetrators of fraud and malpractice, who harm their clients in the name of helping them. Given this reality, we aren’t the least bit surprised to find that Benjamin Kaufman is a charlatan who had his license revoked for ‘gross negligence’ and ‘unprofessional conduct.’”

Ironically, it wasn’t his abuse of LGBT people that finally did in Dr. Kaufman. In 2008, Benjamin Kaufman was informed that one of his clients (listed as L.S. in the legal documents) was suffering from alcoholism and severe depression. According to California’s medical board, Kaufman, “continued to routinely prescribe Schedule III medications and mood stabilizers to L.S. without seeing L.S. in person…

Respondent’s care and treatment of L.S. was an extreme departure from the standard of care by failing to adequately diagnose and manage chronic alcoholism leading to an irreversible neurological condition which resulted in the incapacitation of the patient….on September 9, 2011, L.S. fell into a coma.”

After the guilty verdict, the Sacramento-based Dr. Kaufman elected to retire from medicine. In its decision, the state wrote, “For the purpose of resolving the accusation without the expense and uncertainty of further proceedings, respondent (Kaufman) agrees that, at hearing, complainant could establish a factual basis for the charges in the accusation and those charges constitute discipline…Respondent understands that by signing this stipulation he enables.

the Board to issue an order accepting the surrender of his Physician’s and Surgeon’s Certificate without further process.”

In 2015, Kaufman was sued for allegedly confining a Sacramento client behind “locked doors” and under watch of a “large dog.” According to Courthouse News Service:


A Sacramento psychiatrist who practices gay conversion therapy defamed a gay attorney-prison guard to his employer after confining him with “a large dog under compelled coercion,” the lawyer claims in court.

Calvin Chang says he was referred to Dr. Benjamin Kaufman after filing a discrimination complaint against his employer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Chang, who’d complained that he was denied promotion because of his sexual orientation, claims there were “no facts or lawful basis whatsoever” to justify his referral to Kaufman. Chang says he is a licensed attorney with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience.

Chang says Kaufman subjected him to “reparative therapy” without his consent and threatened to have him fired if he didn’t accept the prisons department’s offer of demotion.

Chang damages for civil rights violations, defamation, discrimination, aiding and abetting discrimination, privacy invasion, fraud and deceit, violation of medical privacy, retaliation, professional negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Every respected medical and mental health association in America condemns conversion therapy. This includes The American Psychological Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association.

Last week, The World Psychiatric Association, an organization of national psychiatric societies consisting of 138 member societies across 118 different countries, released a position statement denouncing any attempts to turn LGBT people heterosexual.

“There is no sound scientific evidence that innate sexual orientation can be changed. Furthermore, so-called treatments of homosexuality can create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination flourish, and they can be potentially harmful,” the statement says.

‘Ex-Gay’ therapy for minors (aka reparative or conversion therapy) is prohibited in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and the District of Colombia.

Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a non-profit organization that works to demolish the very foundation of anti-gay prejudice. Our philosophy is simple: We attack the underpinnings of homophobia by debunking harmful lies, discrediting hateful myths, and countering anti-gay organizations. By chipping away at the underlying ignorance that fuels anti-LGBT attitudes, we can ultimately win our fight for fairness and achieve full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people worldwide.

Gay “Cures” Are Harmful And Don’t Work, Says World’s Largest Body Of Psychiatrists

I hope folks such as Pastor Aaron Dumas see this; only days ago I posted my concerns regarding his disregard for the DSM and the suggesting to the public of restorative or reparative therapy in his weekly column; this news now could not have been more timely.

see more on that: 

There goes 'Tell me pastor' again pushing reparative suggestions to a bisexual woman

meanwhile:

The World Psychiatric Association has condemned so-called conversion therapy and called on governments around the world to decriminalise homosexuality.

The largest international organisation for psychiatrists is to publish a statement condemning conversion therapy as unscientific, unethical, ineffective, and harmful, BuzzFeed News can reveal.

In a wide-ranging call to reduce the stigmatisation, discrimination, and resulting worsened mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) will formally announce on Tuesday its opposition to any attempts to turn LGBT people heterosexual – known as “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy”.

“There is no sound scientific evidence that innate sexual orientation can be changed,” says the WPA’s position statement, which has been supplied to BuzzFeed News.

“Furthermore, so-called treatments of homosexuality can create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination flourish, and they can be potentially harmful. The provision of any intervention purporting to ‘treat’ something that is not a disorder is wholly unethical.”

Although many psychiatric organisations in Western countries, such as the UK and the US, already publicly oppose conversion therapy, the WPA represents over 200,000 psychiatrists in over 118 countries, many of which criminalise homosexuality and, in some cases, condone attempts to “cure” it.

The WPA’s statement, which will likely be seen as controversial by many of its members, says: “A same-sex sexual orientation per se does not imply objective psychological dysfunction or impairment in judgement, stability, or vocational capabilities.” It continues: 

“[The WPA] acknowledges the lack of scientific efficacy of treatments that attempt to change sexual orientation and highlights the harm and adverse effects of such ‘therapies’.”

The WPA also calls on governments around the world to scrap laws against homosexuality:

“WPA supports the need to de-criminalise same-sex sexual orientation and behaviour and transgender gender identity, and to recognise LGBT rights to include human, civil, and political rights.”

But to reduce the suffering and mental ill-health experienced by a disproportionate number of LGBT people, governments and psychiatrists alike need to go much further than decriminalising homosexuality and banishing conversion therapy, the statement says:

“[The WPA also] supports anti-bullying legislation; anti-discrimination student, employment, and housing laws; immigration equality; equal age of consent laws; and hate crime laws providing enhanced criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated violence against LGBT people.”

It also cites research demonstrating that countries that liberalise laws around homosexuality – and provide equal legal treatment – see a resulting improvement in the mental health of their LGBT citizens.

And in a radical move that goes much further than its British or American counterparts, the WPA says psychiatrists have a duty to fight discrimination against LGBT people.

“Psychiatrists have a social responsibility to advocate for a reduction in social inequalities for all individuals, including inequalities related to gender identity and sexual orientation,” it says.

The WPA will publish the statement in full on Tuesday and email it to the heads of all member organisations shortly after.

full Buzzfeed article HERE

UPDATE:

See sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch for the full statement:

WPA Position Statement on Gender Identity and Same-Sex Orientation, Attraction, and Behaviours

Former EX-GAY Leaders Alliance (FELA) Welcomes President Obama's Call To End Reparative Therapy

This one almost passed by given the President's visit to Jamaica and our own fear-mongering on LGBT issues.

President Obama in Jamaica at a townhall meeting

We welcome President Obama’s statement and stand with him in opposition to reparative therapy for minors, and call on everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to stand with us and put an end, once and for all, to this practice. — 

UNITED STATES – We, as former leaders and founders of conversion/ex-gay therapy, stand with President Obama and call for an end to the scientifically discredited practice of “conversion therapy,” also known as reparative therapy, ex-gay treatments and sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). 

As we stated in our open letter (July, 2014), we represent more than 50 years of experience and can attest to the emotional and spiritual damage caused to men, women, children and their families. Now with more than 40 years of research, nearly every major medical, mental and social health organization affirms that conversion therapy does not work. It has, in fact, proven to be potentially harmful.

Unfortunately, the issues of sexuality and gender are used as divisive weapons between political parties, making the human lives of LGBT people fodder for debate and leverage for control and power. In the crosshairs, lie young victims whose potential straddles perceived religious freedoms and real life dilemmas. We can do better than this. 

Banning reparative therapy for minors from licensed clinical mental health professionals assures young people can find solace and solidarity in the scientific community, while holding mental health workers accountable. It does not limit them, or their parents, from seeking spiritual advice from clergy. 

It does however, send a clear message that the practice of sexual orientation change efforts does not work, and should alert and alarm guardians of its potentially dangerous, or even deadly, effects. As one would never send a patient to a doctor to perform unethical, unnecessary, and outdated medicine, it is time to hold mental health practitioners to similar standards. 

We welcome President Obama’s statement and stand with him in opposition to reparative therapy for minors, and call on everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to stand with us and put an end, once and for all, to this practice. 

Brad Allen 

Lay Leader Volunteer (2005-2007) 

Church Network Coordinator (2007) Exodus International 

Darlene Bogle 

Founder, Director, 

Counselor Paraklete Ministries (1985 to 1992) 

Michael Bussee 

EXIT (1974-1979) 

Co-founder Exodus International (1976-1979) 

Catherine Chapman 

Project Coordinator (2000-2003) Women’s Ministry Director (2005-2007) Portland Fellowship

Jeremy Marks 

Founder Courage UK (1988 – 2000) Exodus Europe (1988 – 1999) 

John Paulk 

Love in Action Leadership Team (1989-1993) Public Relations Director, Portland Fellowship (1996-98) Founder-Director, Love Won Out (1998-2003) Exodus International Board of Directors (1998-2003) 

Bill Prickett 

Founder, Executive Director Coming Back (1986-1988) 

Tim Rymel 

Outreach Director Love in Action (1991-1996) 

Yvette Cantu Schneider Executive Director (2001-2005) Living in Victory Ministry Director of Women’s Ministry, Exodus International (2008-2011) Policy analyst, Family Research Council (1998-2011) 

John J. Smid 

Executive Director, Love In Action (1987-2008) Exodus International Board of Directors (1990-1995; 2002-2008) 

Randy Thomas 

Executive Director, Living Hope Ministries (1999 to 2002) Staff member, Executive Vice President, Exodus International (2002-2013) 

Michael D. Watt 

Drop-in Support Group Coordinator, Love in Action (2005-2006) Love in Action Board Member (2006-2008) 

Kevin White 

Manager of Exodus Books Exodus International (2006-2008) - 

See more HERE 

and Obama Hails Jamaican Lesbian Advocate's Work

Deejays seek Obama's help for visa ..... there are consequences for actions & words

Obama calls for stop to gay 'conversion' therapies

Peace and tolerance

H

Former 'ex-gay' leaders publish open letter saying conversion therapy is damaging

Firstly I hope the folks at Jamaica CAUSE, Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society are reading this or have heard the news, sensible persons have now realized that this business of conversion is a misnomer instead they insist on carrying out their brand of it locally while creating mass hysteria on maintaining an old buggery law while preying on the public's ignorance. They also intend as espoused in a press conference some time ago to block any attempt to make discrimination due to sexual orientation become so in the Charter of Rights or any other law of such, so much for true tolerance and embracing the outcast as it were. Now comes this news:

Source Christian Today

Some former leaders of the so-called ex-gay movement, that believes that change in sexual orientation can be brought about through faith, have come out in opposition to the controversial conversion therapy, acknowledging the "terrible" emotional and spiritual damage it can do.

They include Jeremy Marks, founder of Courage UK, which was an ex-gay ministry but is now a pro-gay evangelical movement re-christened Two:23 Network.

Other signatories include Michael Bussee, Brad Allen and Yvette Cantu Schneider, of Exodus International, the ex-gay organisation that ceased its activities in June last year and apologised to LGBT people for the harm it had done.

In their open letter, published on the website of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in the US, they explain that conversion therapy, also known as "reparative therapy", "ex-gay therapy," or "sexual orientation change efforts", professes to help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to change or overcome their sexual orientation or gender identity. They say that majority of those who practise this "therapy" often do so with little or no formal psychological training, operating instead from a strict religious perspective, believing homosexuality to be a sin.

"At one time, we were not only deeply involved in these 'ex-gay' programs, we were the founders, the leaders, and the promoters," they continue. Together they represent more than half a century of experience. They say that few can be more knowledgeable about the "ineffectiveness and harm" of conversion therapy.

"We know first-hand the terrible emotional and spiritual damage it can cause, especially for LGBT youth. We once believed that there was something morally wrong and psychologically 'broken' about being LGBT. We know better now. We once believed that sexual orientation or gender identity were somehow chosen or could be changed. We know better now. We once thought it was impossible to embrace our sexual orientation or sexual identity as an intrinsic, healthy part of who we are and who we were created to be. We know better now."

They explain that they were simply teaching what they had been taught, that their identity needed mending. "We grew up being told that being LGBT was disordered, sick, mentally ill, sinful, and displeasing to God. We grew up being told that loving, same-sex relationships were shallow, lust-driven, deceived, disordered, and impossible."

Condemning conversion therapy as "ineffective and harmful", the leaders say they are now aligning themselves with every major mainstream professional medical and mental health organisation in denouncing attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity. "We beseech the church to accept, embrace, and affirm LGBT persons with full equality and inclusion."

Mr Marks told Christian Today that in 1965, at the age of 13 when he first began to be aware of feelings that he was attracted to the same sex, there was no doubt in his mind that this was a terrible thing. "As a young man growing into puberty, I felt a deep sickening paralysing fear over my sexuality. I definitely did NOT want to be gay. So for at least the next 40 years of my life, I made every conceivable effort not to be."

This meant being born again, Christian discipleship and the way of the cross – crucifying the flesh. Hence he founded Courage in 1988, with the full backing of his local church.

"It took us about nine years to realise that all our efforts weren't achieving anything other than disillusionment with the process and disappointment with the long term results. But to change our theology to accommodate same-sex partnerships was absolutely out of the question. It took a further four years to realise that to doggedly pursue the same path was doing far more harm than good. It was not until about 1999 that I finally realised we must have got something terribly wrong and needed to start accepting loving committed same-sex partnerships – the only healthy viable way forwards that was demonstrating good fruit."

When he published his conclusions in 2000 he was expelled from Exodus International, his membership of the Evangelical Alliance was withdrawn, and, he says, was welcomed nowhere among the churches that had been his community since 1973 when he gave his life to Christ.

"Since then, gradually, I have been vindicated. Today I am proud to stand united with many fellow gay Christians and ex-ex-gay Christian leaders who have walked that same tortuous journey towards discovering that God simply makes some of us differently."

Tracey Byrne, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, welcomed the letter. "While the letter claims it's not an apology, it's hard not to be struck by the humility of the writers and by their powerful witness to the heartbreaking reality of these discredited and damaging programmes," she said. But she said there could be no cause for complacency. "Our mainstream churches, whenever they deny the identities, relationships and ministries of gay and lesbian people, wherever they demand celibacy or tell us were not quite what God had in mind, are playing into exactly the same culture which made reparative therapy, 'ex-gay' ministries, seem respectable and sensible responses."

Rev Sally Hitchiner, founder of Diverse Church, a movement for young LGBT people, said: "We are happy to read that so many respected Christian leaders have realised that trying to change someone's sexual orientation is neither safe nor effective. Many young people in our movement experienced prayer and counselling to change their sexual orientation and have suffered serious consequences for their mental health and relationships with church and family members who encouraged this. When it hasn't worked it has left the young people feeling they have to give up on God or sometimes even life. Whatever we may believe about gay relationships, accepting our young people as they are and looking for how God might want to use this for the wider church enables them to live a hope filled life with Jesus at the centre."

also see: Discredited ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Group, NARTH, Undergoes Major Rebranding Effort

EX Gay Ministries to close, founder issues apology

EX Gay Watch reports

Exodus International, the North American umbrella network of ex-gay ministries, announced tonight that it is shutting down and relaunching as a new ministry. Its remaining member ministries — those that have not already joined the hardline ex-gay rebel group, Restored Hope Network (RHN) — will continue to operate, but not under the Exodus International umbrella.

“We’re not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change – and they want to be heard,” Tony Moore, Board member of Exodus. The message came less than a day after Exodus released a statement apologizing to the gay community for years of undue judgment by the organization and the Christian Church as a whole.

 

Exodus is believed to have suffered financial difficulties since it purchased its $1 million headquarters building, just before the Florida real estate market crashed in 2008. That building was purchased through the Worthen Legacy Group, a shell organization that is named after Exodus co-founder (and now RHN supporter) Frank Worthen.

Exodus lost additional support in 2009 following its involvement in a Uganda conference which precipitated that country’s kill-the-gays legislation; Exodus later repudiated its involvement, but the leaders of what is now RHN have not repudiated their own involvement. The final blow to Exodus may have occurred when Exodus president Alan Chambers appeared at a Gay Christian Network conference in 2012 and admitted that 99 percent or more of “ex-gays” have not changed their sexual orientation. Upon that honest statement, several key member ministries rebelled and left Exodus to form RHN.

The announcement of the Exodus shutdown continues:

“Exodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we’ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism,” said Alan Chambers, President of Exodus. “For quite some time we’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.”

Chambers continued: “From a Judeo-Christian perspective, gay, straight or otherwise, we’re all prodigal sons and daughters. Exodus International is the prodigal’s older brother, trying to impose its will on God’s promises, and make judgments on who’s worthy of His Kingdom. God is calling us to be the Father – to welcome everyone, to love unhindered.”

For these reasons, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to close Exodus International and begin a separate ministry. “This is a new season of ministry, to a new generation,” said Chambers. “Our goals are to reduce fear (reducefear.org), and come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities.”

The shutdown and reorganization of Exodus accomplishes several objectives:
It insulates the current leadership from more than a decade of bad news involving scandals at Exodus member ministries.
It likely frees Exodus leadership from serious real estate and financial obligations.

It insulates now-severed Exodus ministries from new complaints of psychological warfare that are being aired by the ministries’ former patients, in a TV program that will air at 10 p.m. June 20 on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
It frees member ministries to go their own way, to join the new organization, or to join hardline antigay activists at RHN, an ex-gay network that refuses to hear reports of abuse by its member ministers, supports antigay laws, and contends that anyone can change one’s sexual orientation through widely discredited antigay therapies.

Chambers underwent a personal transformation over the past year, and this week offered an apology for member ministers’ past abuses — an apology that by most accounts seems sincere.

Closing the organization so soon after the apology may give moderate Exodus leaders a chance to start over, free from the baggage of impenitent and allegedly abusive members — or it may allow those unapologetic members to escape ongoing confrontation with the consequences of their alleged abuse.

The closure of Exodus forces remaining ex-gay activists to make clear choices: Do they follow the new ministry’s model of reluctant grace and self-denial; do they affiliate with RHN’s political and religious extremism; or do they seek out the religious and personal freedom that — critics say — both Exodus and RHN have denied to them?

 this is momentous news given our prevailing conditions here in Jamaica and the war of words between atheist LGBT activists and religious voices sadly the Christian LGBT section is silent hence a prevailing view that there is a secularist agenda behind the agitation for the decriminalization of buggery. 

The apology dovetails with the ministry’s 38th annual conference in Irvine, Calif. and the Thursday airing of the television broadcast “God & Gays” on Our America with Lisa Ling. On Ling’sprogram, Exodus President Alan Chambers, sits down with gay and lesbian people hurt by the church with the goal of reconciliation.

“It is strange to be someone who has both been hurt by the Church’s treatment of the LGBTQ community, and also to be someone who must apologize for being part of the very system of ignorance that perpetuated that hurt,” said Chambers. “Today it is as if I’ve just woken up to a greater sense of how painful it is to be a sinner in the hands of an angry church.”

Chambers also said:

“I am sorry for the pain and hurt that many of you have experienced. I am sorry some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents.

“I am sorry I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him, I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.

“More than anything, I am sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection by Christians as God’s rejection. I am profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith and that some have chosen to end their lives.

“You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours. I hope changes in my own life, as well as the ones we announce tonight regarding Exodus International, will bring resolution, and show I am serious in both my regret and offer of friendship. I pledge that future endeavors will be focused on peace and common good.”

meanwhile locally:

While our church leaders continue to suggest reparative and supposed spiritual healing for homosexuality even in the face of a report of a deacon and a pastor caught having sex in a church in Manchester just days ago, A community in Manchester was left in a state of shock when a male pastor and a deacon were caught having sex inside the church.

A church member who spoke to THE WEEKEND STAR said that the men were discovered having sex when a young church brother, who had been suspicious of the pastor's 'undercover activities', one night came across his vehicle at the church.

His suspicions were further fuelled by the realisation that there were no scheduled meetings that night, and that the grill to the front of the church was also closed.It was said that the church brother decided to 'screechie' into the church from a window at the side of the building.

On entering the church, the young man was hit with the sight of the men in a sexual act. The church brother at first kept his discovery to himself but with the knowledge of the incident so overbearing he eventually told a church officer who convened a meeting with the pastor and other church officers.

The pastor is reported to have admitted to the incident, and has since resigned while the deacon has stopped attending the church.

"The act itself is bad but to do that in the church is just disgraceful," the very disturbed church member said.Efforts by THE WEEKEND STAR to get an official comment from the church were futile. Meanwhile the Montego Bay Ministers Fraternal (audio below) and others are planning a march on Sunday June 23, 2013 two days before the Supreme Court case by Javed Jaghai challenging the buggery law and his own issues with a former landlord who evicted him due to his sexual orientation

also see:

St James Ministers’ Fraternal says Buggery Law repeal will cause Jamaica's destruction

Church defends Buggery Law

Columbia University professor Dr Robert Spitzer Retracts Infamous ‘Ex-Gay’ Study

Retired psychiatrist and Columbia University professor Robert Spitzer has retracted a much-criticized 2001 study that has been used for years by anti-gay activists to buttress their claims that gay men and lesbians can be “cured” of their homosexuality through therapy.

In the controversial study, Spitzer (photo) claimed that some “highly motivated” LGBT people could become straight. His retraction came in an article about the fringe “ex-gay” movement in the American Prospect. In an interview, Spitzer asked the author, Gabriel Arana, to print a retraction of the 2001 study so that he “wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Since its publication, the study has been one of the major weapons wielded by anti-gay groups, which frequently cite it as “proof” that LGBT people choose to be gay and can thus change their sexual orientation. At the heart of this argument is the belief that homosexuality is an unnatural deviation from normal sexual development, a form of mental disorder.

The ex-gay movement, according to Arana, “has relied on the Spitzer study as the single piece of objective evidence that therapy can work.”

Ironically, Spitzer, who is now 80, was one of the psychiatrists who pushed the American Psychiatric Association to stop classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder, a step the organization took in 1973. His 2001 study came as a shock and disappointment to many, and it received a storm of criticism over its suspect methodology and design.

Participants had been referred to Spitzer by ex-gay therapy practitioner groups like the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and Exodus International. Their claims were self-reported, and Spitzer did not compare participants to a control group. Yesterday, Spitzer told Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College, that he “has regret for what he now considers to be errant interpretations” of study participants’ reports. He also said that he had “second thoughts” about the study and now believes that “his conclusions don’t hold water.”

“I actually had great difficulty finding participants,” Spitzer told Arana in the American Prospect. “In all the years of doing ex-gay therapy, you’d think [Joseph] Nicolosi would have been able to provide more success stories. He only sent me nine patients.” (Nicolosi is a clinical psychologist who practiced ex-gay therapy and helped found NARTH.)

Ex-gay therapy, also known as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy, has been widely discredited by the scientific community. Most strikingly, in 2006, the American Psychological Association (APA) stated: “There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.” The APA added, “Our further concern is that the positions espoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.”

Since his study’s publication, Spitzer has tried to make it clear that he didn’t want it used to justify discrimination against the LGBT community, and he emphasized that he did not think that most LGBT people could become heterosexual. Nevertheless, the study became a major part of the anti-gay movement’s arsenal, with claims that here, at last, was “proof” that “all” gay people could become straight through prayer or therapy. Spitzer attempted to point out over the years that such change was either highly unlikely or that anti-gay organizations had misused his research.

It’s not the first time anti-gay groups have used suspect studies or misused legitimate ones to further anti-LGBT sentiment.

In January, Seton Hall professor Theodora Sirota issued a statement taking NARTH’s Rick Fitzgibbons to task for using one of her studies to oppose adoption by same-sex couples. Sirota said that no conclusions about LGBT parents or the “fitness” of LGBT parents can be drawn from her findings. Fitzgibbons has yet to correct his own article or remove the Sirota citation from it

Several other legitimate researchers have publicly asked anti-gay organizations stop distorting their research. Now, with Spitzer’s on-the-record retraction, it remains to be seen whether they will stop using his 2001 study to justify their claims.

Don’t hold your breath.

"Tell Me Pastor" suggests Reparative Therapy to bisexual woman

So again as we continue to watch and document the respective media outlets for infractions towards LGBTQI people here we have another case of reparative therapy being suggested to a bisexual letter writer to the Jamaica Star column. One wonders of some of these letters are real but while correctly challenging her honesty to her male counterpart he goes on to mention the abomination bit at the end and instructs her to find a psychologist.

Read the letter and the Pastor's answer and check the "Tell Me Pastor" tab for previous entries here from GLBTQ Jamaica on blogger.

This should not surprise us though as the Jamaica Star on a whole along with other tabloid prints have been consistent in stimulating the homophobia towards the populace with timely embellished stories and letters.

Go Here for previous "Tell Me Pastor" homophobic/bi-phobic or lesbophobic entries from Gay Jamaica Watch as originally published in The Jamaica Star.

Here is the meaning and some background behind Reparative or Conversion Therapy

Please be vigilant out there people and don't be brain washed by these attempts.

The letter and response reads as follows:

I love her, not him

Dear Pastor,

I'm in a serious dilemma and I don't know how to deal with it. I have been in a relationship with a guy for about a year now. He treats me very well. He takes care of my needs. He also wants me to live with him. He loves me very much, but I am not in love with him. Whenever he asks if I love him, I try to shy away from the question or just change the subject.

My serious problem is I am having an affair with a girl for almost five years now. She loves me and would do just about anything for me. She is away now. So I am able to go out with my boyfriend and have fun. The next thing is that she is coming back next month, and it's making my boyfriend go crazy. I am deeply in love with my girlfriend. I am so confused.Can you give me your fatherly advice?

Bisexual Girl

Pastor answers:

Dear Bisexual Girl,

Your boyfriend knows that you are bisexual. The only thing you have not admitted to him is that you do not love him. Your love is for your lesbian partner who is abroad but will soon return. Evidently, you have not told your girlfriend that you also have a male partner.

You are with this man because he takes care of your financial needs, but you are not totally committed to him. Your commitment is to your female lover. Therefore, you should tell this man you do not love him. You are afraid to do so because you believe he would stop giving you the financial support you need.

I am not here to condemn you but I am afraid I cannot encourage you to continue to practise this kind of lifestyle. The Bible condemns the practise of persons of the same sex to make love. In fact, the Bible calls such practice an abomination. I would urge you to seek professional help by calling a psychologist and meeting for counselling sessions.

Pastor

British Medical Association Doctors declare 'gay cure' therapies harmful

The annual meeting of the British Medical Association has declared that therapies to 'cure' gay people of homosexuality are harmful.

The body met in Brighton yesterday and more than two-thirds of doctors present backed a call for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other mental health standard-setting bodies to reject the treatments and ban their use in codes of practice.

Health departments should also investigate alleged cases of conversion therapy being funded by the NHS, the meeting agreed.

Research published last year found that a sixth of registered British therapist and psychiatrists have attempted to "cure" patients of homosexuality.

Tom Dolphin, the proposer of the motion and the vice-chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said: "Sexuality is such a fundamental part of who a person is that attempts to change it just result in significant confusion, depression and even suicide.

"You can’t just wish away same-sex attraction no matter how inconvenient it might be."

But Cardiff consultant neurophysiologist Gareth Payne said there was no "gold standard" evidence that conversion therapy did not work and was harmful.

He added that it was important to respect the wishes of patients who asked for the therapy.

Earlier this year, gay journalist Patrick Strudwick published an expose of 'ex-gay' therapists and began a campaign group to persuade medical bodies to condemn the treatments.

He went undercover for the article, telling two therapists he was struggling to cope with attraction to men and wanted to be straight.

One therapist, named only as Linda, tried to convince him he must have been sexually abused as a child by a member of his family.

The other, who PinkNews.co.uk later revealed was homophobic former Northern Ireland MP Iris Robinson's advisor, tried to make Mr Strudwick sexually aroused during his therapy.

Mr Strudwick told the Independent that the BMA's declaration was a "watershed moment in the struggle for gay equality".

Psychologists repudiate gay-to-straight therapy

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer David Crary, Ap National Writer Wed Aug 5,

NEW YORK – The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.

The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals who reject that option.

"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith over their sexuality."

In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions.

"Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.

"We have to challenge people to be creative," said Glassgold.

She suggested that devout clients could focus on overarching aspects of religion such as hope and forgiveness in order to transcend negative beliefs about homosexuality, and either remain part of their original faith within its limits — for example, by embracing celibacy — or find a faith that welcomes gays.

"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.'"

One of the largest organizations promoting the possibility of changing sexual orientation is Exodus International, a network of ministries whose core message is "Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

Its president, Alan Chambers, describes himself as someone who "overcame unwanted same-sex attraction." He and other evangelicals met with APA representatives after the task force formed in 2007, and he expressed satisfaction with parts of the report that emerged.

"It's a positive step — simply respecting someone's faith is a huge leap in the right direction," Chambers said. "But I'd go further. Don't deny the possibility that someone's feelings might change."

An evangelical psychologist, Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, praised the APA report for urging a creative approach to gay clients' religious beliefs but — like Chambers — disagreed with its skepticism about changing sexual orientation.

Yarhouse and a colleague, Professor Stanton Jones of Wheaton College, will be releasing findings at the APA meeting Friday from their six-year study of people who went through Exodus programs. More than half of 61 subjects either converted to heterosexuality or "disidentified" with homosexuality while embracing chastity, their study said.

To Jones and Yarhouse, their findings prove change is possible for some people, and on average the attempt to change will not be harmful.

The APA task force took as a starting point the belief that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, not a disorder, and that it nonetheless remains stigmatized in ways that can have negative consequences.

The report said the subgroup of gays interested in changing their sexual orientation has evolved over the decades and now is comprised mostly of well-educated white men whose religion is an important part of their lives and who participate in conservative faiths that frown on homosexuality.

"Religious faith and psychology do not have to be seen as being opposed to each other," the report says, endorsing approaches "that integrate concepts from the psychology of religion and the modern psychology of sexual orientation."

Perry Halkitis, a New York University psychologist who chairs the APA committee dealing with gay and lesbian issues, praised the report for its balance.

"Anyone who makes decisions based on good science will be satisfied," he said. "As a clinician, you have to deal with the whole person, and for some people, faith is a very important aspect of who they are."

The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.

Wayne Besen, a gay-rights activist who has sought to discredit the so-called "ex-gay" movement, welcomed the APA findings.

"Ex-gay therapy is a profound travesty that has led to pointless tragedies, and we are pleased that the APA has addressed this psychological scourge," Besen said.

The reasons and realities behind the ex-gay movement

By Ramsey Dehani
source: Pink News
The ex-gay movement, which professes to 'cure' homosexuality, is in the news yet again following the disappearance of American student Bryce Faulkner, who is thought to have been sent to one of the controversial centres by his parents after they discovered he was gay.

Ex-gay ministries were founded in the mid-1970s in a reactionary move against the advance of the gay rights movement in America. Rather than focusing on any biblical exegenesis or psycho-biological studies, the movement focused on popularised stereotypes of gays and lesbians, concentrating their actions on such things as 'gender-specific' role playing and ways of thinking.

The ideals of what the movement preaches, a move from homosexuality through to heterosexuality, are said to be ineffective and "potentially harmful" by American psychologist groups such as the American Psychological Association, which claims that such direct intolerance and lack of acceptance can cause mental health problems.

PinkNews.co.uk spoke to Dr Adrian Coyle, a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Surrey and co-author of 'The Social Psychology of Sexuality', about how these negative connotations affect the person involved.

With regards to reparative therapy, Dr Coyle said that there is "no evidence it works" and that the "research evidence just isn't there".

"As a psychologist and a scientist, I want to know about the evidence they have," he said.

"I don't think its wise to engage with the desire to change, the reinforcement of pre-existing negative ideas of one's sexuality presents a huge risk.

When asked further about ex-gay treatments he said that the only positive outcome would be that "conceivably, once, say, a religious Christian who is forced to go or chooses to go [to a centre], engages with it and tries their best only to find it doesn't work . . . it could be a catalyst for some critical thinking and a realisation that maybe they are not 'wrong'".

He went on to stress: "The risk is so huge for feelings of complete isolation of social context and the implications for a person's life and wellbeing."

He added that this could potentially lead to suicide.

Ex-gay groups tend to say that members who come to them want to change, and lose their "unwanted same-sex attraction", but when reading accounts from these people, many of whom come from small towns or cities throughout America where there is harsh intolerance towards gays, one can see reasons why they think that this is their only option.

The groups themselves often cite personal trauma as reasons for undertaking the therapy, with the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) claiming: "Early [during childhood or adolescence] sexual experiences with an older, same-sex person are commonly reported by our homosexual clients."

Peterson Toscano is the co-founder of beyondexgay.com, an online community for people who have gone through the ex-gay process and found it unsuccessful.

He submitted himself to reparative therapy, and spent 17 years of his life attempting to address his same-sex attraction, before finally coming out as openly gay in 1999. He told PinkNews.co.uk about his experience at ex-gay residential programme 'Love in Action' (LIA), as well as the three exorcisms he went through.

Describing a reparative therapy session, he said: "In LIA a typical day meant group sessions where we talked about our issues and get teachings about why we are gay based on the template they provide. Often parents get blamed and participants need to match their personal histories with the template the programme leaders provide thus creating a new mythology about themselves.

"We had to spend a great deal of time writing about our former sexual experiences," he continued, "and then filtering them through a lens that deemed such activity as sinful, dysfunctional and addictive.

"We also had to stand up in front of family and friends and share one of the most shameful sexual experiences we had, much like people do at AA when they talk about hitting rock bottom. This is a devastating and shaming event for both the participants and the parents".

Toscano talked about how they were given training in "proper" gender roles and personal presentation, and "how to dress, walk, act like proper men and women". Examples included men going to football "clinics" and women receiving baking lessons.

However, it seems that LIA itself does not even believe gays can be changed.

Toscano described how John Smid, the director of LIA, announced in a welcoming speech to them that the goal of heterosexuality was "unrealistic" and added that many would struggle with their desires for the rest of their lives.

Even Exodus International, the ex-gay group that is one of the largest of its kind and also the place where Bryce Faulkner is said to be being 'treated', now teaches this very message: "Change in orientation is not possible.”

Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus International, spoke at the Love Won Out conference in 2007 and said: "Heterosexuality shouldn't be your number one goal . . . the opposite of homosexuality isn't heterosexuality. It's holiness."

Mr Chambers continued: "I think we in the church often get that wrong. We think, 'okay, the best thing for this person who's involved with homosexuality or involved with lesbianism is that they come out of that lifestyle and go into heterosexuality'".

He added that this was "setting people up for a terrible fall".

So the president of the group itself is saying that the heterosexuality that he is attempting to push on gay and lesbian people is unattainable.

Bryce Faulkner has been criticised from a number of quarters for not choosing to leave therapy.

However, Toscano warned of the difficulties of trying to leave ex-gay ministries.

"Cut off from the world - friends, TV, news, etc -the teachings of the programme fills the head. You get trapped in a world within a world," he continued, "an alternate universe that warns of all sorts of dangers outside, that to leave, one is also leaving God's will for your life."

"Looking at it from the outside this may seem silly," he went on, "but inside that world that is filled with shame and fear, it becomes harder and harder to think clearly for one's self."

"Also, to know that once you leave you may be destitute . . . without the support from your parents . . . it makes it all the harder to get out," he said.

"Some kids do resist their parents and make it, but there are also far too many homeless LGBT people out there."

With the case of Bryce Faulkner still ongoing, and people such as his boyfriend Travis Swanson saying that he was "allegedly brow beaten, manipulated and economically bullied into 'agreeing' to an intervention to 'cure' his homosexuality", one can see that the movement continues.

Despite the assertion from its leaders that it doesn't work, ex-gay therapy continues and more and more people like Bryce Faulkner are sent there every day.

The movement in the US, and indeed, the UK, is going stronger, something which undeniably calls for more research into such false 'cures', which even the centres' leaders say does not work.

NARTH and Exodus did not return calls for comment.

More on the Anti-Gay Seminar in Uganda

IGLHRC Update: More on the Anti-Gay Seminar in Uganda The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) have learned new details about the ongoing 3-day anti-gay conference in Uganda featuring some of the most virulent homophobes from the U.S. religious right. Here are some developments from the first day, reported by our partners who attended the event: Prior to the start of today's workshop, Stephen Langa, leader of Family Life Network (the Ugandan organization hosting the workshop) and his American guest speakers met with several members of the Ugandan parliament.

During the morning session, Stephen Langa told the group that homosexuality is a big problem in Uganda and the existing laws that criminalize gay people are not good enough. He claimed that gay rights activists recruit young people into homosexuality. Langa told the audience that he knows 2 girls at a particular boarding school who were given a lot of money by gay activists in Uganda to recruit their colleagues into lesbianism. "By the end of the year, they had managed to recruit 13 friends, all of whom were given money to recruit others," Langa alleged.

Don Schmierer, a member of the board of the American "ex-gay" organization Exodus International told participants that one of the biggest causes of homosexuality is the lack of "good upbringing" in families. He said that 56% of homosexuals experience abuse and violence in their families during their childhood. The abuse leads to pain, anger and hatred in the life of a child and this turns them into homosexuals.IGLHRC and SMUG will continue to monitor the situation and will post new updates on our blog as more information becomes available. The workshop will end on Saturday, March 7. To read the full account of today's event, please visit IGLHRC's blog: iglhrc.org/blog You can also read IGLHRC and SMUG's joint press release about this conference on our website: http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/pressrelease/868.html

Utah Professor Says ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Group Deliberately Misrepresented Her Research

FOR THOSE JAMAICANS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION WHO LIKE TO DRAW ON NARTH'S RESEARCH AS THEIR BASE FOR DEFENDING ANTI GAY POSITIONS please read and there is more on http://www.truthwinsout.org/

Truth Wins Out released an exclusive video interview today with University of Utah professor, Dr. Lisa Diamond, who said that the National Association of Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) grossly and deliberately distorted her research on sexual orientation. Dr. Diamond’s assertion comes one week before NARTH’s annual conference in Denver, which will take place Nov. 7-9.

“Dr. Nicolosi, you know exactly what you are doing,” said Diamond in the video, addressing NARTH’s co-founder Dr. Joseph Nicolosi. “This is a willful misuse and distortion of my research. Not an academic disagreement. Not a slight shading of the truth. It’s willful distortion. And, it’s illegitimate and it’s irresponsible and you know that. And you should stop.”
“We are fighting back against the gross distortions of our lives by anti-gay organizations who manipulate science for political gain,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “These organizations claim to be moral, but often twist scientific research in the most shameless and dishonest ways imaginable. We are committed to exposing these lies and ensuring that science is accurately and honestly presented.”

Lisa M. Diamond, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah. She has won a number of awards for her work. In 2000, Dr. Diamond published a study, “Sexual identity, attractions, and behavior among young sexual minority women over a 2 year period.” This study was distorted by NARTH. The anti-gay organization falsely claimed that Dr. Diamond’s work shows that sexual orientation is “amenable to change.”

Dr. Diamond also produced a second study, “Female Bisexuality From Adolescence to Adulthood: Results From a 10-Year Longitudinal Study” in Developmental Psychology (2008, Vol. 44, No 1., 5-14). NARTH recently cited this study to support its anti-scientific belief that homosexuality is a mental disorder that should be treated. Truth Wins Out informed Dr. Diamond about these misrepresentations of her research, and she agreed to discuss how her work was manipulated.
To see further right wing cherry picking, misquoting, misrepresentations and flat out distortions of genuine science, please visit http://www.respectmyresearch.org/.