Perverse Psychology

Eight years ago a man I’ll call Jim walked into a psychologist's office. He wanted help overcoming homosexual desires, which were causing intense emotional distress. Today Jim is happily married and the father of two children. But if the American Psychological Association has its way, men like Jim won’t be able to find a therapist to help them. Last month the American Psychological Association (APA) passed a resolution declaring that "reparative therapy" is unethical, and that therapists should not attempt it. The ruling calls for psychologists to tell their clients that homosexuality is not an illness, that reparative therapy may harm them, and that there’s no evidence that it works. If therapists refuse to do this, they will be censured by the APA. In effect, the Christian view of homosexuality has been pronounced unprofessional and unethical. The action of the APA is highly irregular on many counts. For one thing, condemnations of this kind are normally passed only when a course of treatment has been proved harmful or dangerous. Nobody has proved that trying to change homosexual orientation is harmful. On the contrary, published studies indicate that clients who overcome homosexual impulses are much happier with their lives. And despite the claims of gay activists, there’s overwhelming evidence that reparative therapy works. For example, a 1974 Masters and Johnson study found a more than 70-percent success rate after a 6-year follow-up. In 1986 a Dutch psychoanalyst studied 101 patients and found a 65-percent success rate. What we’re seeing in the APA’s action is the politicizing of medicine. Beneficial practices are being condemned simply because they run counter to a politically correct agenda. The Family Research Council correctly says that this resolution "condemns many patients to a life of… needless suffering." And make no mistake: This resolution is intended to drive Christians right out of the field of psychology. In essence, biblical counseling of homosexuals will be redefined as malpractice. As the Christian perspective becomes increasingly unpopular, Christians are simply being pushed out of various professions. If any of this reminds you of the tactics of Nazi Germany, it ought to. In Hitler's Germany the term for what the APA is doing was Gleichgeschaltung, which means "forced conformity." If you didn't conform to the government’s point of view, you risked losing your job. That is what's happening in the world of psychology today. If you want to fight the gay takeover of psychology, contact the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). It’s a professional organization that researches the cause and treatment of homosexuality. NARTH’s goal is to combat the gay lobby’s misinformation about homosexuality and to ensure that effective therapy is available to all homosexuals who want to change. Give NARTH’s address to your pastor and to your friends. People who want out of the gay lifestyle deserve better than being told that their only choice is to stay gay. And Christian psychologists deserve better than being told that they must violate the teachings of Scripture—that they’ll be censured for practicing what they know to be true.

09/12/97