Summary
Overview
This episode examines conversion therapy, also called reparative or ex-gay therapy - the discredited practice of attempting to change someone's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. The hosts trace its history from 19th century origins through its adoption by the Christian right in the 1980s-90s, explore the psychological techniques used, discuss the scientific evidence against it, share stories of harm caused, and review the legal battles and bans that have emerged in recent years.
What is Conversion Therapy and Early History
Conversion therapy is based on the fundamentally flawed idea that all people are born heterosexual and that homosexuality results from traumas or family dynamics that can be reversed through therapy. The practice dates back to the 19th century with hypnotists and early psychologists, including extreme methods like electroconvulsive therapy, lobotomies, and even testicular transplants in the 1920s. In 1973, the American Psychological Association stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder, causing mainstream psychology to largely abandon conversion therapy, though it was later revived by the Christian right starting in the 1980s.
- Conversion therapy is based on the idea that people can be steered into homosexuality through trauma or family dynamics and therefore can be purposefully steered back to heterosexuality
- It became part of the 2016 Republican Party platform, called the most anti-LGTBQ platform in the nation's history
- There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that changing sexual orientation is even possible
- Early methods included hypnosis (1899), electroconvulsive therapy, lobotomies, and testicular transplantation in the 1920s
- In 1973, the American Psychological Association no longer classified homosexuality as a mental disorder
- The Christian right started to pick up and breathe new life into conversion therapy starting in the 1980s
" the idea that there's something wrong with you if you're gay...that idea can actually become hung up on the individual, the gay person, so that they actually do seek out help...but in seeking that help, they're going to be frustrated and they're ultimately probably going to have feelings of shame, guilt, inadequacy "
Joseph Nicolosi and Reparative Therapy
Joseph Nicolosi Senior trademarked the term 'reparative therapy' and became a central figure in legitimizing conversion therapy within the psychological community. His approach attributed homosexuality to environmental factors like domineering mothers, passive fathers, and various childhood experiences. He based his theories on a misinterpretation of a legitimate 1992 study about adolescent sexual confusion, claiming it showed young people were vulnerable to being 'veered off' the path to heterosexuality. His four-step therapeutic approach used legitimate cognitive behavioral therapy techniques but applied them toward the harmful goal of changing sexual orientation.
- Nicolosi was a trained psychologist who directed everything he learned toward curing gay people of being gay
- He claimed homosexuality develops from factors including desire for adventure, peer acceptance, loneliness, boredom, approval from males, rebellion, and sexual molestation
- His theory centered on a family triad: domineering mother, passive father, and sensitive child
- He based his practice on a 1992 study showing younger teens express more sexual confusion than older teens, but extrapolated that this meant intervention could change orientation
- In July 2019, Amazon stopped carrying his works because they promoted fraud
" The client has come to the therapist seeking assistance to reduce something distressing to him. And the RT psychotherapist agrees to share his professional experience and education to help the client meet his own goal "
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