www.baptistwatch.org HE is not the only one watching...
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www.baptistwatch.org HE is not the only one watching... |
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Visit "Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse" for more articles! Several article readers have brought to our attention the American Psychiatric Association Board's "unanimous decision to reject therapy aimed solely at turning gays into heterosexuals, saying it can cause depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior." Dr. Nada Stotland, head of the association's joint committee on public affairs, said Friday: "All the evidence would indicate this is the way people are born. We treat disease, not the way people are." "The very existence of therapy that is supposed to change people's sexuality, even for people who don't take it, is harmful because it implies that they have a disease There is evidence that the belief itself can trigger depression and anxiety." It's about time that the medical doctors who are specialists in mental and emotional health and illness spoke out in the midst the present storm of false propaganda in advertisements and books by the fast growing "ex-gay" industry. The American Psychological Association issued a similar warning a year and a half ago. That warning was included in my web site when it was first published on September 14, 1997, and is part of my material on "Sexual Orientation and the Ex-GayFraud." The Associated Press article about this warning issued by the APA in Denver this week was printed in yesterday's "San Francisco Examiner" (Saturday, December 12, 1998) along with a lengthy article about the current debate of "Gay Marriage Policy" in Europe.The American Psychiatric Association was the first group of medical specialists to issue a statement recognizing homosexuality as a "sexual orientation" and not a disease (1973). Since that decision was made, the "ex-gay" forces have launched a relentless campaign of ignorance and misinformation to accuse the APA of giving in to homosexual activists instead of basing their decision on scientific and medical facts. The "bottom line" was clearly stated by Dr. Stotland that "during the psychiatric group's quarterly meeting there was no evidence that sexual orientation could be changed." The conclusion of the medical professionals who are in the best position to know is that there is "no evidence" that sexual orientation can be changed. We welcome this most recent announcement from the medical doctors who are the most qualified to speak about the false claims and dangers of the "reparative therapy" fraud perpetrated by the "ex-gay" religious/political industry. The "Examiner" article included the "ex-gay" response by the ubiquitous and egregious John Paulk, who is "a specialist on homosexuality and gender" for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. Now, let's find a way to get the American Psychiatric Association's decision in newspaper ads all across the nation!A PERSONAL NOTE: Almost 20 years ago, when I was a professor of religion at the Baptist College at Charleston, SC, I was urged to get psychiatric help to deal with my being gay. I went to three different outstanding psychiatrists including Corbett H. Thigpen, M.D., co-author with Hervey Cleckley, M.D., of "The Three Faces of Eve," which was made into a movie staring Joanne Woodward, for which she won the Academy Award. Dr. Thigpen was head of the department of Psychiatry at the University of Georgia School of Medicine. Dr. Thigpen had treated people in my church in Greenwood, SC, and I knew him well. His response to my request for help was that he and his team of 15 psychiatrists had found no way to change anyone from gay to straight. He said that he could treat me for two years, charge me a lot of money, and change my personality, but I would still be gay! He made it clear to me that sexual orientation cannot be changed. The other two psychiatrists, both of them in Charleston, told me the same thing. Rembert Truluck "The disease is ignoranceand the cure is truth." PO Box 24062 Oakland, CA 94623 |
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www.baptistwatch.org HE is not the only one watching... |