Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/14/2012 -- The author of a bill before the California Assembly banning “reparative” or ex-gay therapy for minors has come under heavy fire by an association of ex-gays.
Last week, PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) wrote a scathing letter to Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles) calling his proposed bill “fascism” and an act of “ex-gay bashing.” They argued banning such therapy poses a threat to the well-being of children, given that homosexual behavior can lead to the transmission of HIV.
This week, psychotherapist, author and longtime civil rights activist Michael Jones joined the fray, calling the PFOX opposition “misguided to the extent of being delusional.”
“Their arguments against SB 1172 are nothing more than a regurgitation of the same, tired arguments that fly in the face of our scientific and psychological understanding of sexual orientation,” Jones said. “The premise of reparative therapy is that homosexual attraction is ‘wrong’ and needs to be fixed. In reality, there is little doubt among researchers and clinicians that sexual orientation is a fixed, immutable characteristic. Conservative estimates are that sexual orientation is hard-wired into the brain by three years of age. Most of us would agree, based on emerging brain research, that individual sexual orientation is set at birth. You’re born that way.”
Jones stated that he believes reparative therapy for children can be particularly damaging, reinforcing a child’s insecurities and even self-loathing. “I have worked with a number of clients over the years who were forced into this sort of therapy in adolescence with nothing less than heartbreakingly disastrous results, including suicides, intractable depression, and serious difficulty forming and maintaining meaningful relationships.”
In fact, Jones believes placing a child in reparative therapy is a form of mental and emotional abuse. “Telling a child their sexual or romantic attraction is defective is the equivalent of the historical tradition of telling left-handed individuals they were evil or sinister.
Nature creates us in a panoply of colors, sexualities, personalities and dispositions, as it does with mammals, flowers, and trees.
Reparative therapy is, in fact, a sinister attempt at manipulating nature at the cost of children’s mental health.”
Jones also challenged the PFOX argument that the American Psychological Association found “no body of evidence existed to prove that sexual reorientation therapies are harmful.” He responded that PFOX is using outdated information in their argument. “The APA has stated it ‘concludes that there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.’ ”
Furthermore, he notes a statement from the American Psychiatric Association in which the organization, “recommends that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals’ sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm.”
Jones also cited the American Academy of Pediatrics which counsels youth to, “Avoid any treatments that claim to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation, or treatment ideas that see homosexuality as a sickness.”
In the end, Jones said, “This debate is reminiscent of the folks who once argued vehemently that the earth was flat. It is time to put reparative therapy out of business, especially when it comes to our children.”
He encouraged all Californians to urge their representatives and Gov. Jerry Brown to pass and sign SB1172.
Jones is a psychotherapist in private practice and author. His latest book, Nothing to Fear: A Self-Help Guide to Overcoming Panic Attacks for Life, is on sale now.