Exodus International, one of the largest outreaches to those struggling with same-sex attraction, filed an ethics complaint against a psychiatrist who premiered a controversial documentary on Wednesday against the ex-gay movement.
"Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-Gay Movement" opened in New York detailing the stories of four gay Christians for whom reparative or ex-gay therapy have so far been unsuccessful. Director and producer Alicia Salzer, a psychiatrist, created the film to counter the increasingly prominent efforts of evangelical ministries like Exodus that are reaching out to help people with unwanted homosexual desires.
"They’ve been spending enormous amounts of money trying to get the word out, and touting their success rates on billboards and TV and radio ads across the country," said Salzer. "We were aware that this type of therapy very rarely, if ever, worked and is often associated with great harm. We felt that we had to counter their media presence with something that gave the other side."
Exodus' complaint isn't directed toward the release of the film itself but to Salzer's claim that 96 percent of people cannot change their sexual orientation. Salzer stated the statistic during The Montel Williams Show in March when Exodus president Alan Chambers was invited as a guest to talk about "homosexuality ... can it be cured?"
"Science has shown us that 96 percent of people cannot change and along the way, absorb an enormous amount of self-loathing, a lot of confusion, a lot of family conflict; so I know the harm," Salzer said on the show of which she is the After Care director.
The psychiatrist said she was citing a 2002 study by Ariel Shidlo and Michael Schroeder who interviewed 202 consumers of sexual orientation conversion interventions. The study found that only 4 percent of participants reported conversion therapy provided help in shifting their sexual orientation; 13 percent were still struggling; and 87 percent failed. And many reported psychological and interpersonal harm.
But the study cannot provide a basis for Salzer's claim, argues Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a noted expert in sexuality counseling who was surprised by Salzer's "dogmatic" statement.
The researchers had also included a disclaimer stating that the data presented in their study "do not provide information on the incidence and the prevalence of failure, success, harm, help, or ethical violations in conversion therapy," Throckmorton citied.
"The cautious rendering of the research would be that some people report being harmed and some people report benefit from efforts to modify aspects of their sexuality. At present, we do not know with precision how likely either outcome is to occur for anyone," he said.
The claim is also reportedly featured in Salzer's documentary, which presents the study "as if one can have confidence in their findings being representative of those who have sought out ex-gay style ministries or therapy," Throckmorton noted.
Chambers has asked The Montel Williams Show and Salzer to make a public retraction and apology for her comments. He and Throckmorton cited the American Psychiatric Association's Code of Ethics that denounces psychiatrists making public statements "with the authority of the profession" (e.g. "psychiatrists know that ..." or in this case, "science has shown ...").
"While we welcome more research and debate on this important social issue, professionals, such as Dr. Salzer have a responsibility to be honest about what science does and does not say," said Chambers in a statement. "The public deserves an honest look at the facts on this topic instead of dogmatic, unreliable claims that support one's personal suppositions."
A recent study by Wheaton College professor of psychology and provost Stanton L. Jones and Regent University professor Mark Yarhouse revealed that religiously mediated sexual orientation change is possible. While the study was not aimed at changing the way the ex-gay movement is regarded, Jones and Yarhouse hope it will convince professionals to allow individuals who want to pursue change to do so.
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Five users here have given "Glaad" the thumbs down for pointing out those pesky little things called facts that always seem to undermine these reparative therapy studies. How dare you, Glaad! ;-)
For the record I'm a straight man who would like to make a few points that were not mentioned in the article.
Reparative therapy is vehemently opposed by 10 major medical and mental health organizations (including the AMA and APA) . These organizations say theres no reason to "fix" something thats not broken, also the damaging effects of reparative therapy are very dangerous to ones well being and in the long run doesn't work. There are also no statistics kept by any of these ex-gay organizations of clients that changed long term. Check out the link below to find out more.
http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.html
The following are quotes form the researchers and Throckmorton
"I am a social conservative....
Social conservatives are generally pro-life, pro-traditional marriage and take their religion as being pretty important in helping to frame their world view."
Throckmorton, Warren. “Hunting the guy vote” The Washington Times. 31 October 2004.
Also for the real facts on the Yarhouse/Jones study why dont you take into account the following
Psychologist Stanton L. Jones of Wheaton, Ill., said those who support ordaining homosexuals are trying to "to normalize a pattern which is destructive and abnormal."
Cornwell, George. “Debate Over Sexuality Fails To Resolve Issue Of Ordaining Homosexuals”. Associated Press. 15 July 1991.
“Christ, or God, has a pre-existing claim on their sexuality” that trumps same-sex attractions, Yarhouse said.
Vegh, Steven “Some groups offering gays opportunities for “recovery”. The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)14 September 2004.
How did this book come about?
We (Stan and Mark) have watched for years as the supposed "scientific evidence" has been used in the ethical/moral debates of the various Christian denominations over the divisive topic of homosexuality. The majority of the time, the "evidence" has been used against the traditional moral position that sees homosexual behavior as sin.
http://www.narth.com/docs/jonesyarhouse.html
20 April 2006
POINTS ABOUT THE STUDY
-The methodology of the study (self reporting) is the least reliable research method.
- The research was funded by Exodus international and the participants were paid by Exodus international as well.
- A LARGE number of participants dropped out without explanation
-Asexuality/celibacy was considered a "success"
- Mark Yarhouse is a Professor at Regent University which was founded by Pat Robertson who is also the President. Marks sexual identity institute is funded by Regent University.
- Jones is a professor at Wheaton College - an Evangelical College
-They are both members of NARTH
- This study was printed by a Christian publishing company rather than a scientific journal. Scientific journals require that before anything is published it much go through a rigorous peer review.