Banning Gay-Lifestyle-Change Therapy

My Response to Someone in Favor of Banning this Therapy:

If I believed as you do that that gay-lifestyle-change therapy (GLCT) was so destructive, forbidding it might make far more sense to me, or at least publishing something about the dangers or possible guidelines.

However, much of this kind of therapy is merely supportive of gays trying to leave a lifestyle that is highly self-destructive, according to all of the stats. (Perhaps the reported negative consequences gays have experienced in GLCT were not due to GLCT, but to the dangers inherent in this lifestyle.)

I certainly agree with you that some of our deepest inclinations are difficult or even impossible to change. Some require a miracle. Consequently, maturity is often a matter of learning how to live with our self-destructive impulses – and I certainly have my share – rather than eradicating them. If some therapists have subjected their clients to extreme measures, like shock therapy, to eradicate these impulses, I would certainly join you in questioning their usefulness.

However, I would remind you that extreme measures have been used – and they are still used – in treating depression. However, would you ban ALL therapies for depression because of these aberrations? Certainly not, and no one else suggests this extreme course of action. Why then do we find this extreme reaction in regards to GLCT?

I think that the answer is one of politics, pressure groups, peer-intimidation and political correctness. In this regards, please see: http://mannsword.blogspot.com/2011/03/politically-correct-american.html

Nevertheless, I have met many ex-gays who have been helped with their same-sex attraction (SSA) through counseling. Some even have subsequently married. Some admit that they still struggle with SSA, while others claim that they are no longer troubled by SSA. Should we believe their testimonies? Why not! All of the studies gauging therapeutic success rely upon self-reporting. Why then just call self-reporting about SSA into question? I think that this reflects the bias of those who oppose this form of therapy.