At the request of the Department of Health this public
information
was prepared by the UK Council for Psychotherapy with the
support
and assistance of the British Psychoanalytic Council, the
Royal
College of Psychiatrists, the British Association for
Counselling
and Psychotherapy, the British Psychological Society, The
National
Counselling Society, Pink Therapy, Stonewall, PACE and
Relate
June 2014
"Why do therapy professionals consider conversion
therapy
unethical?
The major therapy professional bodies in the UK have been
united in speaking out against conversion therapy. This is because this
particular approach is based on the assumption that homosexuality is a mental
disorder, or begins from the pre-conceived view that the client should change
their sexual
orientation.
As homosexuality is
not an illness, it is both logically and ethically flawed to offer any kind of
treatment.Conversion therapy suggests to vulnerable people that their sexuality
is the root cause of their difficulties.
This is misleading and prejudiced. Questions around
sexuality and identity can be challenging and difficult. Nevertheless, we
believe it would be irresponsible and
potentially damaging for a therapist to offer to try and
change sexual orientation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy states:
‘It is exploitative for a psychotherapist to offer treatment
that might ‘cure’ or ‘reduce’ same sex attraction as to do so would be offering
a treatment for which there is no illness.’
The British Association for Counselling and
Psychotherapy says:
‘There is no scientific, rational or ethical reason to treat
people who identify within a range of human sexualities any differently from
those who identify solely as
heterosexual.’
The British Psychological Society has published guidance
which says:
‘As same-sex sexual orientations... are not diagnosable
illnesses, they do not require any therapeutic interventions to change them.’
The British Psychoanalytic Council states:
‘The BPC does not accept that a homosexual
orientation is evidence of disturbance of the mind or in
development. In psychoanalytic psychotherapy, it is the quality of people’s
relationships which are explored,
whether they are heterosexual or homosexual.’
The Royal College of Psychiatrists states:
‘The Royal College of Psychiatrists believes strongly in
evidence-based treatment. There is no sound scientific evidence that sexual
orientation can be changed. Furthermore, so-called treatments of homosexuality
create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination
flourish.’
What does research tell us about conversion therapy?
All treatments must be both ethical and effective before
being recommended by professional bodies or adopted by services such as the
NHS. As already noted, same-sex attraction and sexual behaviour are not mental
disorders needing treatment.
Nevertheless, there are claims conversion therapy should be
available to people distressed by their same sex attraction. So is there any
evidence that such therapy can change sexual orientation?
Randomised controlled trials are the scientific gold
standard for assessing the effectiveness of treatments. There are no randomised
trials of conversion therapies.
Recent systematic reviews of the evidence for conversion
therapy suggest that studies which have shown it to be successful are seriously
methodologically flawed.Oral history studies of people who underwent treatments
(such as aversion therapy) for homosexuality in the 1970s and 1980s also show
there is a potential for harm.
We believe that offering to change a person’s sexual
orientation or control his or her same sex attraction would be likely to
reinforce the notion that these feelings are wrong or abnormal. For wider
society, it also perpetuates the mistaken belief that homosexuality is a
disorder needing treatment.
To see more detailed statements on conversion therapy from
professional bodies in the UK please go to the
" In its 2000 position statement on “reparative” therapy, states:
Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or “repair” homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable. Furthermore, anecdotal reports of “cures” are counterbalanced by anecdotal claims of psychological harm. In the last four decades, “reparative” therapists have not produced any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure. Until there is such research available, the American Psychiatric Association recommends that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to changeindividuals’ sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm.
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.
Therefore, the American Psychiatric Association 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 upon the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her sexual homosexual orientation."
The American Academy of Pediatrics
" Avoid any treatments that claim to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation,....."
The American Counseling Association
" in April 1999, the The American Counseling Association's Governing Council adopted a position opposing the promotion of “reparative therapy” as a “cure” for individuals who are homosexual."
Source http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.aspx
American Psychological Association says like this
"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.
from
Report of the APA Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
American Psychological Association"
American Psychological Association further says like this
"All major national mental health organizations have officially
expressed concerns about therapies promoted to modify sexual
orientation. To date, there has been no scientifically adequate research
to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation (sometimes
called reparative or conversion therapy) is safe or effective.
Furthermore, it seems likely that the promotion of change therapies
reinforces stereotypes and contributes to a negative climate for
lesbian, gay and bisexual persons."
source - American Psychological Association
link - http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx
Royal College of Psychiatrists UK
says like this
"The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy has recently
completed a systematic review of the world’s literature on LGB people’s
experiences with psychotherapy (King et al., 2007). This evidence shows
that although LGB people are open to seeking help with mental health
problems they may be misunderstood by therapists who regard their
homosexuality as the root cause of any presenting problem such as
depression or anxiety.
Unfortunately, therapists who behave in this way cause considerable
distress. A small minority of therapists will even go so far as to
attempt to change their client’s sexual orientation (Bartlett et al,
2001). This can be deeply damaging. Although there is now a number of
therapists and organisation in the USA and in the UK that claim that
therapy can help homosexuals to become heterosexual, there is no
evidence that such change is possible.
Meanwhile, we know from historical evidence that treatments to change
sexual orientation that were common in the 1960s and 1970s were very
damaging to those patients who underwent them and affected no change in
their sexual orientation (King, M. and Bartlett, A., 1999). "
source - Royal College of Psychiatrists UK 2015
link -
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/specialinterestgroups/gaylesbian/submissiontothecofe/psychiatryandlgbpeople.aspx
link - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2415718/Prison-Break-star-Wentworth-Miller-How-keeping-sexuality-secret-prompted-suicide-attempts.html
video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLRWDAfOzvA
video 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oBraB9goXI video 2-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkeGPoTXOY video 3-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoMH3uiha1Y
