Posted on 09/06/2006 7:58:03 AM PDT by scripter
As an APA member for 17 years, I am surprised they took a thoughtful stand on this issue. The leadership is usually pretty far left and makes decisions that are more political than scientific in nature.
The decision indicates that ethics trumped politics in this instance. If a client wishes to work on not being homosexual, it would be unethical to refuse treatment or to refuse to refer the person to a therapist with that specialty.
There you go. It is revolutionary!
And the dude is all worried about who paid for/printed the book, not its CONTENTS!
The book, Destructive Trends in Mental Health is quite informative. Everybody should read the reviews at Amazon.
And many can say: "It's about time." This is a welcome change in direction.
Have you had a chance to read Destructive Trends in Mental Health? The reviews at Amazon are quite interesting. I have the book but haven't yet finished reading it.
I'll check it out, thanks. I remember reading about it on FR but forgot to follow up, like so many things.
Thanks for the reference. I read the reviews and it sounds like a good resource. However, I am so fed up with APA politics and the disingenuousness of psychology activists, that rehashing it just makes me angry.
I make it a point not to engage other psychologists in political discussions. It can only rupture relationships when you realize that someone is completely brainwashed or intellectually dishonest.
Gays are very very threatened by the ex-gay movement. This is a good sign.
Its not revolutionary... it basically puts the Psychological establisments view on treating homosexuality BACK where it was in the 1970s and prior.
Its a step in the right direction, but its not a revolution.... more of a recognition of reality if you asked me.
"Its not revolutionary... it basically puts the Psychological establisments view on treating homosexuality BACK where it was in the 1970s and prior."
Not really. Back before DSM IV, all homosexuals were considered to be in need of treatment. All the APA has said here is that those who are in distress about their sexuality should be able to receive treatment of a type with which they agree. It is very different from the APA saying that homosexuals are mentally ill and all need treatment.
True, they are saying if you don't want treatment we won't force it on you.... but then again, with the exception of Nazi Germany, I don't recall homosexuals being rounded up and put in re-education camps.
Indeed it is. The sad part in all this are the folks (homosexual and heterosexual) who will continue to deny change is possible. This is a great start!
I understand your point. While both are recognizing reality, for years we've been told just the opposite. And as one in the trenches in this debate, anything from the APA that supports what I've been saying for years seems revolutionary. Spitzer's comments that gays can change seemed revolutionary at the time as well.
"Dr. A. Dean Byrd, Chair of NARTH's Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), raised his hand to question Dr. Koocher about the serious charges leveled at the APA in the recent book Destructive Trends in Mental Health, edited by Drs. Wright and Cummings, longtime prominent members of APA.
Dr. Byrd noted that in a symposium earlier that day, Dr. Nicholas Cummings, Dr. Bonnie Strickland and Dr. Frank Farley (all former APA presidents) had raised serious concerns about APA's misrepresentation of science to the American public. They had specifically focused on the "corrosive effects of the socio-political ideologies" in the APA, the "liberal biases" in the APA, and had characterized the organization "a politically correct profession, with crowd control by the thought police."
Dr. Koocher elected not to respond to the issues raised in the Wright and Cummings book, but rather chose to focus on the publisher--dismissing the book as having been produced by a "vanity press..."
It's no surprise that Koocher elected not to respond to the charges of "liberal biases" in the APA. These charges have been ignored for years, as documented here and here. In the first reference, you'll note that these charges were made by APA members in APA publications, not some "vanity press."
See also:
Minnesota Psychologist Taken to Task for Saying Homosexuals Can Change.
It sounds like some positive steps were achieved.
Don't take this personally, but I believe your source is incorrect. For your source to be correct then the entire NARTH article would be a complete fabrication. What is your source?
No doubt! The book Destructive Trends in Mental Health is quite revealing, and it's written by liberal members of the APA.
One step at a time... The growing numbers of ex-gays is getting more and more attention and is gaining momentum.
I don't think that anyone disagrees with the idea that people can change, because we know that straight people become gay and lesbian so it seems totally reasonable that some gay and lesbian people would become straight. SourceIt would appear Dr. Clinton Anderson speaks out of both sides of his mouth.
Dr. Clinton Anderson went on to say that while change is possible, it doesn't happen inside the therapeutic office. That's a ridiculous statement. Here's Dr. Nicolosi's response:
People grow and change as a result of life experience, especially personal relations. Clearly, Mr. Anderson has made a false and misleading distinction.Having read the entire story, I concur. So your source engages in tactics we might see coming from a homosexual activist.
He be gone. But he can still read!
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