The Problems With Gay Conversion Therapy

Posted byPaola Nadeau on Feb 2021 in Healthcare | 0 comments

Gay conversion therapy is designed to supposedly help those who define themselves with this sexual orientation to overcome the same-sex attractions they feel. However, mainstream psychologists claim that it is a completely ineffective method of counseling that is unethical and in some cases harmful, working to bring out feelings of self-hatred and anxiety in those who are treated.

In order to fully understand this type of counseling, you need the following facts.

Why It Does Not Work

Since homosexuality is not a mental disorder, the APA (American Psychological Association) has not recommended “curing” the same-sex attraction. Rather, prejudice, pressure for everyone to conform and ignorance are the factors that actually create a danger for a gay person’s mental health.

The Ineffective Treatment Methods

Another issue is that conversion counseling is not considered a mainstream type of Gay Therapy in NJ, which means that there are no types of professional guidelines or standards regulating how it is conducted. Some of the earliest treatments during the 1960s and the 1970s included things such as aversion methods, such as giving them drugs that induced nausea while showing same-sex erotica and shocking patients. Some of the other methods including talk psychotherapy, electorconvulsive treatment that used an electric shock to induce seizures or estrogen treatment that would reduce a man’s libido.

The Beginnings of “Turing” a Person Straight

The need to help and turn a person straight goes back to the times of Sigmund Freud in 1920. This desire to change individuals continued on throughout history, spurring a number of questionable treatment methods, like the ones previously mentioned. There were even a number of counselors who saw homosexuality as a perversion, believing they could provide a cure for these individuals by using a confrontational, punishment based type of counseling.

Understanding the misconceptions with this type of treatment can help ensure that modern therapists do not use the same misguided options. However, while there are still some who believe this type of counseling can be effective, they are typically highly criticized among their peers and the industry as a whole.

Today’s methods of counseling for those who are attracted to others of the same-sex are designed to teach them to deal with their feelings and ensure they understand how others may react to their choices. It is more about acceptance than trying to change the person to being something they are not and therefore far more effective.

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