Position statements by psychological, psychiatric, and medical organizations
Several psychological, psychiatric, and medical associations posit that people cannot change their sexual orientation. They say repressing same-sex feelings may cause psychological damage.
American Psychiatric Association Statement
Position Statements on Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation ("Reparative" or "Conversion" Therapies)
The Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM in 1973 after reviewing evidence that it was not a mental disorder. In 1987, ego-dystonic homosexuality was not included in the DSM-IIIR after a similar review.
The American Psychiatric Association does not currently have a formal position statement on treatments that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation, also known as reparative or conversion therapy. There is an APA 1997 Fact Sheet on Homosexual and Bisexual Issues, which states that there is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of reparative therapy as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientation.
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. The American Psychiatric Association recognizes that in the course of ongoing psychiatric treatment, there may be appropriate clinical indications for attempting to change sexual behaviors.
Several major professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have all made statements against reparative therapy because of concerns for the harm caused to patients. The American Psychiatric Association has already taken clear stands against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
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 or her homosexual orientation.
(December 1998)
See also
 | American Psychological Association "Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality" (www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html) |