Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law Senate Bill 1172, which
makes it illegal in California for therapists to help a child or teen
struggling with same-sex attractions attempt to change his or her sexual
orientation. The sponsor of the bill, CA Senator Ted Lieu, has referred
to sexual orientation change efforts with children as parents “hurting
their kids.” He stated the purpose of SB 1172 is to protect children
from harm in the same way that the state prohibits children from smoking
and drinking alcohol.[1]
Is it sexual orientation change efforts or male homosexual behavior
that puts minors at arisk similar to smoking and drinking alcohol?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
male-to-male sexual contact accounted for 61 percent of the new 48,079
HIV infections reported in 2010.[2] That amounted to 29,194 new HIV cases versus approximately 4550 HIV male cases reported from heterosexual contact.[3]
When CDC statistics on HIV diagnoses in 2010 are put into a comparison
ratio using the CDC estimate of the “men who have sex with men” (MSM)
population at 4 percent of the American male population (2 percent of
the total population)[4], the risk of HIV infection for MSM was approximately 150 times greater than for men who did not have sex with men.[5]
In addition, the CDC stated that the rate of primary and secondary
syphilis among MSM is “more than 46 times that of other men and more
than 71 times that of women.”[6]
A search of the American Psychological Association website finds that
cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions to help a person quit smoking
have a success rate of 31 percent measured six months after the end of
treatment.[7]
Despite the low success rate, individual smokers request psychotherapy
to quit smoking because smoking tobacco is a causative factor in many
types of cancer, the most common being lung cancer. According to the CDC
the risk of lung cancer for men who smoke is 23 times greater than for
men who do not smoke. Those who smoke are also 2 to 4 times more likely
to suffer coronary heart disease and 2 to 4 times more likely to suffer a
stroke.[8]
The estimate of adult males who enter therapy with the purpose of
changing their same-sex attractions and who do in fact experience this
change with the help of trained therapists ranges from 25 to 35 percent.
Another 30 to 35 percent benefit from reduced homosexual impulses and
various levels of emotional healing (Socarides, 1995, pp. 149-50). A
similar pattern of varied success has been reported with other
psychotherapeutic efforts with homosexuals.
Dr. Nicholas Cummings, a former president of the American
Psychological Association, stated that in his twenty years at
Kaiser-Permanente Health Maintenance Organization 67 percent of the
homosexuals who sought help from therapists for issues such as “the
transient nature of relationships, disgust or guilt feelings about
promiscuity, fear of disease, [and] a wish to have a traditional family”
experienced various levels of success obtaining their goals. Similar to
sexual- orientation change therapies, one third of Kaiser-Permanente’s
homosexual clients did not benefit from psychotherapy. In some cases
though, individuals who initiated therapy not seeking to change their
sexual orientation, actually did so through the process of working
though other psychological issues.[9]
Implications
First and foremost, adolescents with unwanted same-sex attractions
should have access to therapists who are trained in sexual-orientation
change. Client autonomy standards and the health crisis related to male
homosexual behavior demands this. Therapists trained in
sexual-orientation change do not force a heterosexual identity on any
individual. At the very least a teen will get an opportunity to explore
“how their childhood experiences may have shaped their attractions, and
to hear a perspective that they probably have not heard elsewhere”
(Nicolosi (2009), pp. 287-288). In contrast, gay-affirmative therapists
typically devalue the clinical science on the causation of homosexuality
along with the possibility of change Drescher, 1998, pp. 81, 153-154,
170, 180).
Second, parents should have every opportunity to guide their
pre-adolescent children into a healthy heterosexual identity.
Advancements in the care of same-sex attracted children have put the
focus of therapy on the parents of the child (Nicolosi and Nicolosi,
2002, pp. 193-194). The therapist guides the parents in efforts to help
their son bond with his father and identify with his masculinity.
Clinical evidence shows that homosexual prevention family therapy has
the potential for success in some instances.
Unfortunately, a lack of sociopolitical diversity in the
mental-health associations, academia, the media and the government has
created a bias against sexual-orientation change efforts. This bias has
kept advances in the understanding of and psychological care for
unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors out of the public’s
awareness. It has underplayed the significant medical risks attributable
to homosexual behavior, particularly among men. The statistics show
that male homosexual behavior is a significantly greater health risk
than smoking cigarettes. Young men ages 13 to 29 years of age are at
the greatest risk, accounting for a 34 percent increase in HIV
infections from 2006 to 2009.
Parents have a responsibility to care for their children and lovingly
guide them away from harm whenever possible. As the present analysis
underscores, politicians and regulatory boards that ban access to
professional efforts to modify unwanted same-sex attractions and
behaviors among minors may well be unnecessarily sentencing some of them
to serious medical risks. It is tragically ironic that political
efforts to prevent alleged harm to minors from sexual-orientation change
efforts appear likely instead to increase their exposure to highly
established harms such as HIV.
Bibliography
Drescher, J (1998), Psychoanalytic Therapy & The Gay Man. Hillsdale: The Analytic Press, Inc.
Nicolosi, J. J. (2009), Shame and Attachment Loss – The Practical Work of Reparative Therapy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Nicolosi, J. J. & Nicolosi L. A. (2002), A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Socarides, C. W. (1995), Homosexuality – A Freedom Too Far. Phoenix: Adam Margrave Books.
References
[1]
Reyes, Kim (August 2, 2012). “Controversy follows effort to ban gay
conversion therapy.” The Orange County Register. Retrieved from http://www.ocregister.com/news/therapy-365822-parents-orientation.html on October 11, 2012.
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last modified March 12, 2012). “HIV Surveillance – Epidemiology of HIV Infection (through 2010).” PowerPoint presentation slide 4. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/general/index.htm on June 7, 2012.
[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last modified March 12, 2012). “HIV Surveillance – Epidemiology of HIV Infection (through 2010).” PowerPoint presentation slides 5, and 8. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/general/index.htm on June 7, 2012. The CDC did not explicitly give the number of diagnosed HIV infections for male heterosexuals linked to sexual contact with women. It did give the total number of male HIV diagnoses at 37,910 and state that the percentage of HIV infection from heterosexual contact was 12 percent, which yields an approximate figure of 4,550.
[4]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last modified March 4,
2012). “HIV in the United States: At A Glance.” Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm on October 12, 2012.
[5]
The approximately 150 times greater risk factor can be calculated by
using the 2010 U.S. census figure of 151.8 million males and using the
CDC 4% of the male population figure for MSM (6.072 million) and
assuming the other 96% are heterosexual (145.728 million). In 2010
29,194 HIV cases were transmitted by males having sex with males in the
MSM population of 6.072 million. In 2010 approximately 4,550 HIV cases
were transmitted by heterosexual contact to the heterosexual male
population of 145.728 million. So in 2010 1 in every 208 MSM became
newly HIV infected through male to male sexual contact and 1 in every
32,028 male heterosexuals became newly HIV infected through heterosexual
contact. If the incidence ratio of MSM sexually transmitted HIV
diagnoses 1/208 is divided by the incidence ratio of male heterosexually
transmitted diagnoses1/32,028, the risk of getting HIV from sexual
behavior was 154 times greater for MSM than for heterosexual males in
2010. Statistics regarding injection drug users were omitted in this
comparison.
[6]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (March 10, 2010). “CDC
Analysis Provides New Look at Disproportionate Impact of HIV and
Syphilis Among U.S. Gay and Bisexual Men.” Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/msmpressrelease.html on May 29, 2012.
[7]
Borrelli, Belinda (2010). “Quitting Smoking Especially Difficult for
Select Groups.” American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/02/quitting-smoking.aspx on October 16, 2012.
[8] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last update January 10, 2012). “Smoking and Tobacco Use.” Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm on May 23, 2012.
[9]
Cummings, Nicholas (2005). “Former APA President Dr. Nicholas Cummings
Describes his Work with SSA Clients.” National Association for the
Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Retrieved from http://narth.com/docs/cummings.html
on October 26, 2012.
on October 26, 2012.
