Professional Associations
Some professional associations in the USA have declared that homosexuality is normal and that people should not try to change their homosexuality.
Some professional associations in the United States have declared that homosexuality is not a disorder. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Previously, disorders had been determined by deviations from an objective norm, but this redefinition said that the norm should be more subjective, that people should not be considered disordered if they do not experience distress over their condition and if they show no major impairment in social functioning. To read more about why the APA made this change, and the implications of the change, see the section The Normalization of Homosexuality.
Robert Epstein, Ph.D., and editor-in-chief of the magazine Psychology Today, stated
The APA has never condemned sexual conversion therapy but has merely issued cautionary statements, one of which reminds psychologists of their obligation to "respect the rights of others to hold values, attitudes and opinions that differ from [their] own".... Although homosexuality was removed from the DSM...as a mental disorder in 1973, all editions of the DSM have always listed a disorder characterized by "distress" over one's sexual orientation (DSM section 302.9). Both gays and straights have a right to seek treatment when they're unhappy with their sexual orientation, and some choose to try to change that orientation. ("Am I Anti-Gay? You Be the Judge," Psychology Today, Jan./Feb. 2003)
The American Psychological Association has warned that the potential risks of conversion therapy include depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. See "What About So-Called 'Conversion Therapies?" at www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html.
For more reading:
 | Official position statements by psychological, medical, and psychiatric organizations |
| For information on the ethics of assisting those who seek treatment for unwanted same-sex attraction, read the section Professional Ethics. |
| Psychology Today Editor Says APA Does Not Condemn Change Therapy. Robert Epstein states that it is ethical to treat individuals who choose to try to change their sexual orientation. He supports the ethics and effectiveness of reorientation therapy. |
| Tolerance - APA Discriminates Against Ex-Gays: Robert Spitzer, MD -- From "Gay" to Straight? by Dr. F. Earle Fox |
Twenty eight years ago, in 1973, Dr. Robert Spitzer played a major role in the change of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) stance on homosexuality, beginning the move toward the full acceptance of homosexuality as normal rather than pathological. In recent years, the APA let it be known that it does not approve of "reparative" or "transformational" therapy.... But recently the same Dr. Spitzer has come to believe that at least some homosexual persons can indeed come out of that lifestyle and lead normal heterosexual married lives -- causing no small storm in the homosexual community.
| Don't Forsake Homosexuals Who Want Help By Charles Socarides, Benjamin Kaufman, Joseph Nicolosi, Jeffrey Satinover and Richard Fitzgibbons. From Letters to the Editor, The Wall Street Journal, January 9, 1997. |
Every day young men seek help because they are experiencing an unwanted sexual attraction to other men, and are told that their condition is untreatable. It is not surprising that many of these young men fall into depression or despair when they are informed that a normal life with a wife and children is never to be theirs.... Young men and the parents of at-risk males have a right to know that prevention and effective treatment are available. They have a right to expect that every professional they consult will inform them of all their therapeutic options and allow them to make their own choices based on the best clinical evidence. A variety of studies have shown that between 25% and 50% of those seeking treatment experienced significant improvement. If a therapist feels for whatever reason that he cannot treat someone of this condition, he has an obligation to refer the patient to someone who will.