A Step in the Right Direction
A while back, I wrote a post on the possibility that the APA would consider therapists treating those who were distressed by unwanted homosexual attractions as unethical. However, it now appears that patient autonomy and self determination has finally been acknowledged as more important than political correctness by the APA:
Dr. Koocher, the APA president, also acknowleged in an article in the APA monitor that some studies showed that women (shockingly!) can be capable of acting out physical aggression in equal numbers to men.
It's nice to see that the APA is listening to other points of view and is doing the right thing instead of bowing to political correctness.
New Orleans, August 12, 2006 - Surrounded by President-Elect Sharon Stephens Brehm, CEO Norman Anderson and other prominent members of the American Psychological Association (APA), President Gerald P. Koocher voiced support for the treatment of those distressed by unwanted homosexual attractions.
In a Town Hall Meeting dedicated to open exchange between members and APA leaders, Dr. Koocher fielded a question from NARTH President Joseph Nicolosi about APA's position on the treatment of unwanted homosexuality.
Highlighting the importance of client autonomy and self-determination, Dr. Koocher stated, "APA has no conflict with psychologists who help those distressed by unwanted homosexual attraction."
Dr. Koocher, the APA president, also acknowleged in an article in the APA monitor that some studies showed that women (shockingly!) can be capable of acting out physical aggression in equal numbers to men.
Several studies of domestic violence have suggested that males and females in relationships have an equal likelihood of acting out physical aggression, although differing in tactics and potential for causing injury (e.g., women assailants will more likely throw something, slap, kick, bite, or punch their partner, or hit them with an object, while males will more likely beat up their partners, and choke or strangle them). In addition, data show that that intimate partner violence rates among heterosexual and gay and lesbian teens do not differ significantly.
It's nice to see that the APA is listening to other points of view and is doing the right thing instead of bowing to political correctness.
posted by Helen at 3:50 PM
25 Comments:
Regarding the first issue, does the APA propose any guidelines for treatment other than "it's ok to treat people who have trouble with homosexual feelings"? Specifically, do they recommend helping the patient become comfortable with those feelings or helping him/her overcome them? Or will they - sensibly - leave it up to the patient to decide which goal they prefer?
Just curious. I read a bit about psychiatry, but I have no clue about the "business" aspects of the profession.
bgs,
From the article, here are the guidelines the APA president gave. He emphasized that --
1. The choice to enter therapy to diminish homosexual attractions and to strengthen heterosexual potential must be respected.
2. The choice to enter therapy must be voluntary and not coerced in any way.
3. Treatment options must be discussed by the therapist.
4. Treatment goals must be mutually agreed upon.
5. The "iterative process" must be a part of therapy. That is, client choice regarding treatment goals must be reiterated throughout the treatment process.
When I lived in NC I woried about homosexuals being attracted to me. But I've been in Hollywood almost four years and now find it's kind of flattering.
I worry about what that means.
On the second issue,
Is it now politicly correct to assume
that all research may be conducted with a pre-loaded "Yay for our side" taint?
Quite frankly, I know of no one who is entirely immune.
Here's my question. What if they came out and said that under no circumstances can a shrink help a person rid himself of unwanted homosexual feelings. Would all the shrink fall into line with this? Sounds absurd to me.
Color me surprised and cautiously optimistic.
Trey
I join you all in your skepticism. However, I think a step in the right direction should be rewarded. That is, it is unpopular for the APA to put patient autonomy above political correctness and in the case of reparative therapy, they did just that. Okay, it is not much, but it is something. I think rewarding that kind of change can perhaps encourage more change.
JW
I treat men and have treated men throughout my career who have been hurt by females and I treat them with dignity, respect and as a fellow human being. I assume there are others out there who can do the same.
I agree about supporting this progress. But as scientists, we are supposed to be following their recommendations already. The outcome research is clear and definitive. Scott Miller's work on this is clean and unambiguous. I am in demand as a therapist because I follow those principles with every client I get who is not court ordered. They get help quicker and get on with their lives. So in part I am amazed that the APA would think that folks who present with unwanted sexual attractions would be any different. Oh well, I guess I underestimated the power of certain groups to subvert science.
Trey
Looks like the right move to me.
A guy I know from high school decided after a couple of years of therapy that he wanted to be a woman. But he still wanted to have sexual counters with females not males. So now she is a 6'4" transexual lesbian.
If this is OK, then, surely, it is OK to help someone be straight.
Dr Helen, just looking at you should inspire any man to be heterosexual.
This is an encouraging development, and I say this a gay man. After all the whole point of "coming out" and being "gay and proud" is that it is a expression of your own choice.
Second topic - the basic problem is that alot of peple have a lot invested in seeing women as weak and victimized, and it is always for ulterior motives - as an excuse to be violent, as a way of getting laid, as a way to keep your little girl little forever - it is always sick.
"What gets me riled is when people transform ideologies, sexual preferences or and/or racial/sexual profiles into gang colors.'
AMEN! you will find, if you look round,that this kind of thing is more common among young peopel, and that they often grow out of it. The older ones who still indulge in it are just immature; maybe they think that acting adolescent will keep them young.
JW,
I am sorry that this is your reality. But the pretty dots on the computer screen, I think, can at least let you know that there are other people out there who feel like you and who understand that hurt and pain can be caused by people of either sex. Do not let a hundred "professionals" cause you to be discouraged about the rest of the world. They are but a small part.
Wicked Pinto:
You need a girlfriend.
Well, I wish I could stay on point, but I can't.
What in the hell is this homosexual obsession about? From the moment I entered the University of Illinois in 1968, this homosexual obsession has dominated public discourse, particularly in liberal cicles.
Why in the hell would any man want to have sex with a man? Now, before you get excited folks, I've lived in San Francisco and New York City for 35 years. Why are so many people concerning themselves with this BS that concerns only a tiny fraction of the populace?
I've been listening to the lies around this BS for 35 years too. First lie... gay men behave sexually just like heteros. I lived through the AIDs epidemic in San Francisco and New York! Why are we pretending to believe that lie? Second lie... the shame attached to homosexual behavior is just a facet of social disapproval. Nonsense. The sexual practices of gay men are disgusting, unhealthy and often just plain nuts.
I am reminded often of the South Park "tolerance" episode as I confront the idiocy around this issue.
The ancients proscribed (and this is different than banning) homosexuality because they knew that the behavior of homosexual men is a threat to the health and welfare of a society, and because they wanted to encourage procreation.
Now, I expect a full onslaught of the idiocy that now pervades this society. So, I'm going to be blunt about what's going on. Fag worship. The reasons for this fag worship are many, but chief among them is admiration for people who have abandon their social responsibility.
At the University of Illinois, in 1968, I already heard the argument that is the beginning of this monstrous thread of lies: "You are stupid if you think of sexuality as a means of producing babies. The farther removed your sexual behavior is from producing babies, the smarter and more fashionable you are." It's all about class snobbery.
Rant away.. show me how sophisticated you are in your evasion of reality and your brilliant sopistication. What nut jobs we have all become.
And, I leave you with a little chestnut to really stick in your throats. We are encouraging people now to become homosexuals. People who would have been discouraged from becoming homosexuals in the past are now embracing homosexuality. And, among men, the reason is quite simple: abandonment of duty to women and children in favor of a life of selfishness and narcissism. Lie away, you tolerant sophisticates. I can't wait to hear the torrent of deliberate lies.
Hmmm, I do not do "reparative" therapy or belong to NARTH, but I have people come to me asking help in dealing with unwanted sexual attractions all the time. Most are not homosexual attractions, a few are.
I tell all the folks the same thing, that sexual attractions are mysterious and sometimes powerful, but if you want to badly and work hard, you may be able to lessen the attraction and make better choices about how you deal with them. Note, I am not invested in people NOT being gay. That is never my agenda, although it is rarely the agenda of my patients.
For instance, a married person comes in with a strong attraction for someone else, they do not want to act on it, they want to lessen it. I try to help. A teenager comes in with an attraction to younger children, they NEED to lessen that and ABSOLUTELY stop acting on it. I try to help. A person comes in with an attraction to animals, etc etc etc.
Why would I treat someone with UNWANTED homosexual attractions any differently? I deal with problem behaviors and attractions every day, why would I treat homosexual attractions different than I do heterosexual attractions? To my way of thinking, that would be bigotry because I would be treating gay folks differently JUST BECASUE THEY ARE GAY. I don't treat gay folks differently. The thought is offensive to me.
When a priest came in with a crush on one of his parishoners and wanted help dealing with that, I did not ask if the person was male or female, it was irrelevent.
For the record, I am skeptical of "reparative" therapy and only deal with minors who are referred by other people. None of them are referred because they are gay. Everyone else, the great majority of the people I see, are self referred and want help. I try to give it.
If you are looking at this blog community, or Helen for homophobia and bigotry, you will not find much. Unless you see it everwhere.
Trey
JW,
"To put it bluntly, I expect that aggressive female pol types with ISSUES hate nothing more then a masculine gay men except perhaps a masculine SNAG who rejects their charms."
That has been my experience. But there are lots of beautiful straight women who happen to have enough going on that they don't have to rely on their sexual charms to succeed, and they don't mind gay men at all. Women who have to rely on "prostitution behavior" as the primatologists call it, are different.
Shouting Thomas,
"The ancients proscribed (and this is different than banning) homosexuality ...etc...."
Your might want to read a little more widely. And deeply. Plato pointed out that the "barbarians" detest homosexuality, almost certainly referring to the Jews and other Middle Easterners. In reference to to the rest of your point, homosxuality was often touted as a military advantage for the Greeks because it enhanced unit cohesion. I know how strange this sounds in our day, but they actually made that argument. Anyway these days a lot more people read Moses than Plato, and that may explains why people have the barbaric attitudes they have.
"And, I leave you with a little chestnut to really stick in your throats. We are encouraging people now to become homosexuals."
Do you think anyone encouraged Ted Haggard to become a homosexual. Do you think he had to be talked into it?
What I have never understood is the large number of gay men who define them selves by their prefrence in sexual partners. Its not 'love' these people are as from being in any sort of commited relationship as possible. Maybe its just me but if I was making a list of things that define 'me', my sexual preferences would not even make the top 10.
Anyway these days a lot more people read Moses than Plato
Well, since Plato's Republic was the textbook blueprint for the nightmares of collectivism, statism, authoritarianism, maybe that's a good thing.
When a priest came in with a crush on one of his parishoners and wanted help dealing with that, I did not ask if the person was male or female, it was irrelevent.
Good point. I doubt that the strongest base physical attractions of most people married more than 5 years are for their spouses, especially with the imagery in our media. Marriage eventually becomes a process of subordinating one's base physical attractions to a set of cognitive ideals, the same as priestly celibacy, or, potentially, the life that those asking for reparative therapy seek to live.
"APA has no conflict with psychologists who help those distressed by unwanted homosexual attraction."
Without pinning down the scope of what 'help' means, this is a commitment to nothing.
Furthermore, thoughtful parsing of this:
From the article, here are the guidelines the APA president gave. He emphasized that --
1. The choice to enter therapy to diminish homosexual attractions and to strengthen heterosexual potential must be respected.
2. The choice to enter therapy must be voluntary and not coerced in any way.
3. Treatment options must be discussed by the therapist.
4. Treatment goals must be mutually agreed upon.
5. The "iterative process" must be a part of therapy. That is, client choice regarding treatment goals must be reiterated throughout the treatment process.
reveals that it offers no solid assurances that the therapy in question will be tolerated. It only says that:
1. One must respect the patient's choice - not that one must honor, comply with, or facilitate the realization of it.
2. A prohibition on coercion into therapy the patient's does not desire doesn't establish an affirmative right to therapy that the patient desires.
3. A requirement for treatment options to be discussed doesn't say anything about what those options must include.
4. Requiring goals to be agreed upon does not prevent the exclusion of certain goals from the sanctioned list.
5.The iteration requirement, at best, rules out a bait-and-switch, where a therapist agrees to one set of therapeutic goals and pursues another.
I don't see how this alters anything. The concern has been that reparative therapy would not be available because the APA wouldn't sanction it.
All this does is offer reassurances that, when such therapy is refused, the would-be patient is free to take his business elsewhere, or withhold it all together. Big deal.
Dweeb,
"Well, since Plato's Republic was the textbook blueprint for the nightmares of collectivism, statism, authoritarianism, maybe that's a good thing."
Quite true. Just as the OT is the textbook for theocracy. But fortunately people done through the ages have been able to take the good and leave the rest if they choose.
Justin,
"What I have never understood is the large number of gay men who define them selves by their prefrence in sexual partners."
Good question, good point. Lots of gay people say the same thing. An answer may be the effect of experienceing that trait as putting you into a despised minority, the way black people will identify themselves as black when whites generally don't...unless we are in Asia or Africa or somewhere where we stand out by virtue of being white. But still it is silly and limiting to define yourself just on one characteristic.
"Its not 'love' these people are as from being in any sort of commited relationship as possible. "
What a shallow generalization. Are you going to go on to say that heterosexual marriages are not committed because of the divorce rates, or because so many straight men have affairs, or because women seem to marry incomes rather than men? Of course not; that would be a stupid generalization.
No, Im just making note of my observations. Im sure there are some very stable long term gay relationships but that hasnt been my general observations. It has nothing to do with cheating or whatever, they dont seem to be interested in any sort of relationship beyond a partner for the night.
In general it seems to me that gay men are in relationships in far fewer numbers (percentage wise) then hetrosexuals or lesbians. As far as my comment, I may be wrong in associating 'love' with 'relationships', but I dont claim to have much experience with that emotion.
Justin,
Since you are basing that comment on your own observations, then fair play. It may have to do with age - guessing by your name you may well be in the under-30 cohort that is always shy of committed relationships, and since gay men that age don't have women that age mommying at them to get marry and settle down, they don't settle down at the same rates. Middle-aged gay men who are still single, as in absolutley out on their own and not in any kind of settled relationship, are fairly rare, at least in the Seattle area. My own observations.
In addition, data show that that intimate partner violence rates among heterosexual and gay and lesbian teens do not differ significantly.
This part surprises me as I have heard that lesbians can be really mean to each other. Perhaps teenagers are nicer than adults.
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