Agnostic75
Well-Known Member
Exodus International - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elsewhere, Wikipedia says:
"By far the largest ex-gay organization that has existed, Exodus International, disbanded in 2013, stating that therapy can't change someone's sexual orientation."
I Am Sorry | Exodus International
Just as Alan Chambers lied about his failure to change his sexual orientation, many other supposed ex-gays also lie because of "good intentions," which is what Alan Chambers said that he had (he criticized his good intentions regarding the lies that he told), and because "the end justifies the means," even if it means telling lies.
The next link is about Dr. Robert Spitzer. In 2001, he published a study which claimed that sexual identity can be changed. Many conservative Christians praised his research, and quoted him widely, that is, until Dr. Spitzer changed his mind, and apologized to homosexuals.
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Robert Spitzer Apologizes to Gay Community for Infamous ‘Ex-Gay’ Study | Truth Wins Out
As Dr. Spitzer said, "There was no way to judge the credibility of subject reports of change in sexual orientation."
What Mental Health and Medical Experts Say About Curing Gays | OutFront Minnesota
Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
As the American Psychological Association says, it is mainly homosexuals who have strong conservative religious views who try to change their sexual identity. Quite naturally, the belief that a God opposes homosexuality would provide extra incentive for some religious homosexuals to try to change their sexual identity. That partly means that non-religious homosexuals who try to change their sexual identity have a much of a less chance of "success" regarding try to change their sexual identity.
Wikipedia said:Exodus International was a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian organization that sought to help people who wished to limit their homosexual desires. It was founded in 1976, but ceased activities in June 2013, issuing a statement which repudiated its aims and apologized for the harm their pursuit has caused to LGBT people.
Exodus International formerly asserted that reorientation of same-sex attraction is possible, but warned its members not to go to counselors who claim they could help eliminate all attractions to the same gender.
Elsewhere, Wikipedia says:
"By far the largest ex-gay organization that has existed, Exodus International, disbanded in 2013, stating that therapy can't change someone's sexual orientation."
I Am Sorry | Exodus International
exodusinternational.org said:Alan Chambers, co-founder, and former president of Exodus International
To Members of the LGBTQ Community:
Recently, I have begun thinking again about how to apologize to the people that have been hurt by Exodus International through an experience or by a message. I have heard many firsthand stories from people called ex-gay survivors. Stories of people who went to Exodus affiliated ministries or ministers for help only to experience more trauma. I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct, and false hope. In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me.
And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.
Never in a million years would I intentionally hurt another person. Yet, here I sit having hurt so many by failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about my own story.
Just as Alan Chambers lied about his failure to change his sexual orientation, many other supposed ex-gays also lie because of "good intentions," which is what Alan Chambers said that he had (he criticized his good intentions regarding the lies that he told), and because "the end justifies the means," even if it means telling lies.
The next link is about Dr. Robert Spitzer. In 2001, he published a study which claimed that sexual identity can be changed. Many conservative Christians praised his research, and quoted him widely, that is, until Dr. Spitzer changed his mind, and apologized to homosexuals.
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Robert Spitzer Apologizes to Gay Community for Infamous ‘Ex-Gay’ Study | Truth Wins Out
truthwinsout.org said:Today, in a letter to Dr. Ken Zucker obtained exclusively by Truth Wins Out, Dr. Robert Spitzer made an unprecedented apology to the gay community — and victims of reparative therapy in particular — for his infamous, now-repudiated 2001 study that claimed some “highly motivated” homosexuals could go from gay to straight:
Quote:
Dr. Robert Spitzer:
Several months ago I told you that because of my revised view of my 2001 study of reparative therapy changing sexual orientation, I was considering writing something that would acknowledge that I now judged the major critiques of the study as largely correct. After discussing my revised view of the study with Gabriel Arana, a reporter for American Prospect, and with Malcolm Ritter, an Associated Press science writer, I decided that I had to make public my current thinking about the study. Here it is.
Basic Research Question. From the beginning it was: “can some version of reparative therapy enable individuals to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual?” Realizing that the study design made it impossible to answer this question, I suggested that the study could be viewed as answering the question, “how do individuals undergoing reparative therapy describe changes in sexual orientation?” – a not very interesting question.
The Fatal Flaw in the Study – There was no way to judge the credibility of subject reports of change in sexual orientation. I offered several (unconvincing) reasons why it was reasonable to assume that the subject’s reports of change were credible and not self-deception or outright lying. But the simple fact is that there was no way to determine if the subject’s accounts of change were valid.
I believe I owe the gay community an apology for my study making unproven claims of the efficacy of reparative therapy. I also apologize to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works with some “highly motivated” individuals.
Robert Spitzer. M.D.
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry,
Columbia University
As Dr. Spitzer said, "There was no way to judge the credibility of subject reports of change in sexual orientation."
What Mental Health and Medical Experts Say About Curing Gays | OutFront Minnesota
outfront.org said:American Psychiatric Association
The potential risks of "reparative therapy" are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. Many patients who have undergone `reparative therapy' relate that they were inaccurately told that homosexuals are lonely, unhappy individuals who never achieve acceptance or satisfaction. The possibility that the person might achieve happiness and satisfying interpersonal relationships as a gay man or lesbian is not presented, nor are alternative approaches to dealing with the effects of societal stigmatization discussed ... the APA opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as "reparative" or "conversion" therapy which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based on a prior assumption that the patient should change his/her sexual orientation.
There is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of "reparative therapy" as a treatment to change one's sexual orientation. It is not described in the scientific literature, nor is it mentioned in the APA's latest comprehensive Task Force Report, Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders (1989).
There are a few reports in the literature of efforts to use psychotherapeutic and counseling techniques to treat persons troubled by their homosexuality who desire to become heterosexual; however, results have not been conclusive, nor have they been replicated. There is no evidence that any treatment can change a homosexual person's deep-seated sexual feelings for others of the same sex.
Clinical experience suggests that any person who seeks conversion therapy may be doing so because of social bias that has resulted in internalized homophobia, and that gay men and lesbians who have accepted their sexual orientation positively are better adjusted than those who have not done so.
Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
apa.org said:American Psychological Association
The task force conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed journal literature on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) and concluded that efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates.
Even though the research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality, regardless of sexual orientation identity, the task force concluded that the population that undergoes SOCE tends to have strongly conservative religious views that lead them to seek to change their sexual orientation.
As the American Psychological Association says, it is mainly homosexuals who have strong conservative religious views who try to change their sexual identity. Quite naturally, the belief that a God opposes homosexuality would provide extra incentive for some religious homosexuals to try to change their sexual identity. That partly means that non-religious homosexuals who try to change their sexual identity have a much of a less chance of "success" regarding try to change their sexual identity.
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