Reparative and Conversion Therapy

Reparative and Conversion Therapy
If the above interventions fail to improve self-acceptance, caring therapists
may be tempted to consider students’ requests for changing their sexual orientation.
Before undertaking this eff ort or referring clients to a so-called
reparative therapist, it is crucial to recognize that there is no empirical evidence
published in peer-reviewed journals in support of reparative therapy
(Haldeman, 1994). Whereas sexual behavior and sexual identity may be amenable
to change (Cohen & Savin-Williams, 2003), sexual orientation is not.
Th is conclusion is further supported by the innumerable anecdotal reports of
young people who desperately but futilely attempted to alter their homoerotic
orientation through prayer, abstinence, suppression, and opposite-sex dating.
It should not be surprising that these attempts are futile, because a growing
body of empirical research suggests that sexual orientation is biologically
encoded, especially for males (Cohen, 2004). Homosexuality is related to
genetic endowment, level of prenatal sex hormones, brain anatomy and functioning,
cognitive and verbal abilities, gender expression, handedness, fi nger
length ratio, bone morphology, and auditory and visual processing (for a comprehensive
review, see Rahman & Wilson, 2003).
Accordingly, the American Psychological Association, the National Association
of Social Workers, the American Counseling Association, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American
Psychiatric Association have adopted policies acknowledging that homosexuality
is not a mental illness. Th ey advise against discriminatory practices such
as reparative therapies, which not only lack empirical support but may even
cause harm.