Awwww, this is too bad. Poland unfortunately lags behind the rest of the European Union when it comes to abandoning medieval views about sexuality, so Joseph Nicolosi and NARTH were able to book one of their weird little “Reparative Therapy: How To Without Leaving Visible Wounds” conferences at a medical school in that country. But then the school canceled. The source article is LifeSiteNews, so you’ll have to filter this out of wingnut speak and into grown-up reporting in order to get the gist:
A conference on the treatment of homosexuality has been denied use of facilities at a medical school in Poland, after the school had initially given approval for the event. The decision by the Medical School (UM) Foundation not to host the September 16 Reparative Therapy Conference, featuring psychologist Dr. Joseph Nicolosi of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), followed front-page criticism of the conference by leading Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
“We received a reservation request for the organization of this conference and we granted it,” said UM Foundation President Roman Dworzynski at the time. “I see no (problem). (Reparative therapy) is a scientific theory like any other … When Louis Pasteur spoke about the existence of bacteria, no one believed him.”
Obviously Roman Dworzynski hasn’t been introduced to the wonders of Google or he would understand why he sounds like a product of the Texas school system with that remark.
Gazeta Wyborcza’s (GW) coverage of the conference has stressed that the American Psychological Association (APA) expresses concern about the effects of treatment for same-sex attraction. The APA also states, however, that there is “insufficient evidence” to either approve or discredit such therapy.
Actually, the APA resolution moreso says that there’s insufficient evidence to approve the therapy. The “discredit” part is really you all being cute with language. But again, we’re used to crappy reporting from right wing sources.
Here’s the female Polish wingnut version of Joseph Nicolosi, whining about censorship:
The Foundation for Health and Psychotherapeutic Education head, psychologist Bogna Bialecka, said that her Poznan-based organization has been planning the conference for several months so that Nicolosi could share his professional experience helping men deal with their unwanted same-sex attraction.
“The decision of the Medical University’s governing body is a sad example of censoring the freedom of speech,” she said.
Yes, well, Ms. Bialecka, in the United States we have a word for people like you: quack. She showed up in the comment section to the piece and said this:
It’s still hard time. We are fighting for the right to free speech. And happygael is right. The worst part of it are thousands of homosexuals who don’t identify with gay activism, who are looking for change, but can’t receive it, because of lack of trained, fully professional reparative therapists.
No, you’re fighting for the right to hurt people based on your own bigoted, uneducated, ill-trained notions of psychology. And without unqualified hacks like you and Joe Nicolosi, spamming the public with your perpetual nonsense on sexuality, there wouldn’t BE “thousands of homosexuals” who are unhappy with their sexual orientation. People like you must first inject hate into the discourse for people to be unhappy with their natural sexuality. That said, Bialecka’s complaint about “trained, fully professional reparative therapists” and the “lack” thereof are not the result of censorship of free speech, but more about the fact that no such thing exists.
This crap might fly in Poland, but ask your friends at NARTH how well they’re doing in the United States.
“Gazeta Wyborcza’s (GW) coverage of the conference has stressed that the American Psychological Association (APA) expresses concern about the effects of treatment for same-sex attraction. The APA also states, however, that there is “insufficient evidence” to either approve or discredit such therapy.”
Not so!!! Every legitimate psychological, social work and psychiatric association in the U.S.A. have issued strong warnings about the harm of “reparative therapy”. For example, this from the American Psychiatric Association:
“On 1999-JAN-15, the American Psychiatric Association’s Board of Trustees “endorsed a position statement at its December meeting that opposes therapeutic techniques some psychiatrists and mental health professionals claim can shift an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. The Board acknowledged that there is no evidence that these so-called ‘reparative therapies’ have any efficacy in converting someone from one sexual orientation to another.”The statement points out that “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 a patient.” APA President Rodrigo Muñoz, M.D. stated: “There is no scientific evidence that reparative or conversion therapy is effective in changing a person’s sexual orientation…there is, however, evidence that this type of therapy can be destructive.”
Cue the Nelson laugh.
You know how the Food and Drug Administration continues to require more transparency in food/drug labeling. I think we should lobby for “truth in lending” practices for these false prophets of ex-gay scams.
With language like this: “bigoted, uneducated, ill-trained notions of psychology. And without unqualified hacks” I wonder who the real “hate group” is. This is not objective reporting. Just because you don’t like something that people have spent years of training and perfecting doesn’t mean you have the right to spew venom at them.
Tom, these people sell a phony cure for a non-existent disease. What they have to say has no bearing to fact, logic, and experience. If it is something YOU must believe, that’s really fine for you, but please understand that they are hacks, they are ignorant, and the product they promote doesn’t work.
When someone tells you that you are dirty, sick, unclean, and especially, sinful and in need of salvation (which they offer, of course, for easy payments of x dollars per month) it is the biggest mistake in the world to assume that 1) it’s true, and 2) that they are telling you for your benefit, and not for their own.
The concept of sin– and by that I mean especially YOUR sin– becomes the expression of their will and their way of seeing the world, not YOUR way and definitely not a FACTUAL way. Since they can claim at best a highly dubious 13% success rate– if by success you mean ambiguous, complicated, and difficuklt “change” that’s probably a good indication of its FACT value.
Unfortunately, you pay the price with happiness in your life, while they reap the benefits– what less exalted personalities call money and power — and the “glory”– or, what I call validation.
Honey– your choice.
@Tom
Tom,
1. This does not and never has claimed to be an unbiased site, anymore than Family Research Council does (or certainly should). I am glad for the honesty of the site and hope that I am not overestimating FRC.
2. While my terminal degree is in another field, I work routinely with a number of psychologists and psychoanalysts. All of them are straight. They would be happy to tell you that those who practice reparative therapy are unqualified hacks, actually. Would you prefer it coming from them, and from the various professional associations that have condemned the therapy as ineffective and destructive?
3. I do not believe that reparative therapy has any success rate, and I never did. I think it has a success rate (where success is defined as actually changing someone’s orientation, rather than getting them to go back in the closet) of 0%, at least among males. If you doubt that I refer you to John Smid – who headed Love in Action for decades and decades, and finally admitted within months that he had never seen a homosexual actually change to a heterosexual.
The moral answer to “unwanted same sex attraction” is and has to be helping the person to accept and love him/her self — not saying, in essence, “you are right, you are horrible — dig a deeper hole to hide in.”
Regards,
Reyn
Reyn, as I’ve often said to the ex-gay defenders…
the problem isn’t your homosexuality. The problem is your self-hatred.
Deal with THJAT, and the rest of your problems should disappear.
Where on earth do you get from my post any self-hatred, or any support for ex-gay therapy? — Unless you are simply telling me your response to them.
Kind thoughts,
Reyn
Reyn– we’re 100% IN AGREEMENT.
The problem isn’t homosexuality for people pursuing the ex-gay lifestyle. It is that they have been carefully taught to hate themselves.
Read my post #5.
Reyn, I think Ben was referring to the generic “you”, not you in particular.
that’s it, priya.
heh, or as I like to say, “yes, I have an unwanted same-sex attraction. Thing is, **I’m** not the one who doesn’t want it…”