Devon Hawkins
Ms.Maggert
English 3
19 December 2016
Conversion Therapy as an Option? Why?
Conversion therapy has been a topic of heated debate for the past several decades and has sparked many issues morally and ethically, alongside the fact that many medical organizations advise against it and discredit it and the vast first hand accounts claiming it as a horrible practice it is no surprize that people are fighting against it. conversion therapy should be banned, this is because the methods used are dangerous and ineffective causing more harm than good.
Conversion therapy is a widely discredited practice because of the methods and side effects of treatment used.The use of conversion therapy and the way it is presented has shown to increase
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The American Psychological Association states that it does not approve of the methods used in conversion therapy. A case from the early 1970’s explains where a young Kirk Murphey was reported by his parents that he was showing stereotypically feminine behaviors and interests to one Dr. Reekers who then instructed the parents to to reward kirk if he exhibited masculine behavior and to punish him both mentally and psysically for acting feminine, Reekers claiming this would prevent Kirk from becoming gay later in life. Reekers then went on to publish this as a success story when in fact Kirk indeed came out as gay later in life, and was suffering with the effects of Reekers “treatments” attempting suicide twice one of which was successful and took his life at the age of 38. The information given in the form of the APA and the story of Kirk Murphey show how dangerous the treatments used in conversion therapy should be enough to get the practice …show more content…
The practice of conversion therapy is widely unsupported by medical organizations of all sorts claiming that there is no scientific data to be able to consider the practice as legitimate. and evidence alongside personal accounts prove that it causes more harm than any good it may claim to do. The right to love who you want to love is important and is a basic right in the constitution when it states that people have the right of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, if someone is happy with being with someone of the same gender that should be accepted because it is their right as a human being to be happy whether or not someone else believes that it is “unnatural”. Bigotry is not bred it is taught and like anything it can be untaught. People should not force their beliefs on others no matter what they think everyone has the right to their own body and their own life no matter what others think. Even if a person doesn't agree with the way someone lives their life they should keep that to themselves, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but what matters is if their opinion can affect the wellbeing of
The start of this article focuses on a Christian client named George who is plagued with feelings of worthlessness, depression, low self-esteem, and suicide. His mother had also battled depression, and his father had an abusive relationship with alcohol, which caused his father to have verbally and physically abusive altercations with George and his mother. The abusive experiences that George was exposed to as a child paved the way for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as an adult (Garzon, 2005). With all of these factors present in this client’s life, a treatment plan was created that involved scripture interventions. The author made sure to touch on the fact that every client is unique in the hopes that counselors would be aware that one type of scripture intervention might work for one client and not work for another. The article highlights three guiding values when considering these types of interventions; “respect for the client’s autonomy/freedom, sensitivity to and empathy for the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs, and flexibility and responsiveness to the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs.”(Garzon, 2005). ...
Even though these practices have hurt, or even killed some of their “patients,” there are still some survivors, and journalists that have proven that conversion therapy does not work.
Marc Galanter, M.D., Richard Rabkin, M.D., Judith Rabkin, PH.D., and Alexander Deutsch, M. D. (1979). The “Moonies”: A psychological Study of Conversion and Membership in a Contemporary Religious Sect. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136(2).
Much success has come from religion in therapy. Success has occurred when used to cope with psychological disorders, preventing unhealthy
While competent adults may choose faith healing over conventional treatment, society often becomes concerned when parents make such choices for their children. This concern has created organizations who work on passing legislation protecting children from unproven treatment by faith healing.
Statistics show that about one in three LGBT people have been subjected to some form of conversion therapy (#BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy, 2014). Conversion therapy is a psychological treatment whose purpose is to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. It needs to be banned because it doesn’t work, therapists use cruel methods, people don’t have valid reasons to support it, and it leads to various mental illnesses. People that’ve gone through conversion therapy tell stories about things they went through. Something therapists do is force people to watch heterosexual porn.
Reparative therapies, also known as conversion therapies, are a group of interventions whose aim is to alter one's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Any attempts to reform or 'cure' one’s sexual orientation using these 'therapies' are likely to fail and to cause harm such as depression, anxiety, suicidality, and, in some cases, a loss of sexual feeling altogether. In cases where patients themselves expressed the desire to change their sexual orientation, the most effective and appropriate therapeutic responses that resulted in maximum mental health benefit have been provider-initiated support, acceptance, and validation of same-sex sexual orientation. These desires to change are the result of internalized social stigma, discrimination, external pressure.
Reparative, or reversal, therapy for homosexuality is a little discussed aspect of the anti-gay community. Programs such as NARTH (National Association of Research and Therapy for Homosexuality) or Exchange Ministries are organizations specifically aimed to change a person’s sexuality from homosexual to heterosexual. For as long as differing sexualities have been in the spotlight of public opinions people have been attempting to change those who identify as such. Some of the individuals who attend such programs choose to do so willingly. These are the people who are uncomfortable with their attraction to members of the same sex. They wish to repress their urges and live a heterosexual lifestyle. However the majority of those enrolled in these therapy sessions are teenagers who are forced into them by their parents. Often times these teenagers and young adults do not want to attend the programs, most are still trying to adjust to their sexuality. Still others have accepted who they are and simply do not want to change. Many of those who willingly attend reversal therapies claim to be cured or at least have reduced homosexual tendencies. The question is do these practices actually work? In short: No. They do not. Ask any one who has been through said treatments and they will recount a trying experience through which many of them barely survived.
A difficulty that has occurred commonly is that a definition of spirituality cannot be agreed on. In a broad explanation of both religion as well as spirituality, religion constitutes the organization of faith, implementing prayer, ministry and theology. Spirituality could be viewed as a more individualized experience with a higher being, creator or idea (Walker et al., 2004, p. 70). These expressions allow a vision of client diversity that is found in all counseling classifications. While defining religion and spirituality properly seems trivial, when training counselors to properly apply the use of such variables in their therapies, a concrete explanation is imperative.
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & McDaniel, M. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
According to the Human Rights Campaign, Conversion therapy is a practice that claims to be able to "turn gay people straight" through therapy. Conversion therapy leads to a variety of negative side effects. According to the Human Rights Campaign, "minors are especially vulnerable, and conversion therapy can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide." Conversion therapy is a horrific practice that should be banned in all fifty states. Conversion therapy is a horrible practice that should be
Now in order to fully understand the importance of addressing the topics of religion and spirituality into therapy as well as with grasping the importance of becoming skilled at integrating these issues into counseling, it is of great importance to distinguish between spirituality and religion and knowing how a client identifies with each one. And with religion and spirituality playing significant roles in aiding emotional well-bein...
Starting in April of 1952 homosexuality was listed as a “sociopathic personality disturbance” by the American Psychiatric Association (PBS). Four years later, on August 30th, 1956, Evelyn Hooker conducted many psychological tests
There are many opponents of gay people as it is, and they all have their reasons to dislike the idea of permitting them get married. One of the main reasons is that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Because gay couples are unable to have children, they should not be allowed to marry (Schiffen 495). Another main argument is that the word marriage means the union of one man and one woman. This is a long-standing theme of most major Western religions. Under a proposed bill known as the Defense of Marriage act, marriage is defined as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Furthermore, it defines a spouse as “ a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife” (What 1). Under these guidelines, it is quite obvious that gay couples would not be eligible for marriage. People against homosexual marriage also say that it is a person’s choice to be gay. Since the individual chooses to be a homosexual, they should not be given special privileges. Another argument that you hear is that these couples should not get married simply because of the torment and ridicule they would be faced with in their everyday lives. There are news reports from across America telling about how a gay person was beaten or killed just because they were looked at as different. Some of these people would end up the target of verbal abuse and maybe even physical abuse, just because some heterosexual people see them as different.
This can lead to conversion therapy, which is supposed to normalize someone that is believed to have the wrong sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapy tactics use to include castration and shock therapy. Even though these tactics have died down, physical methods are still used. (nclrights cite) Convention therapy feed the idea that non-conformity to your gender is not a normal trait and that it should be a condition or disorder, which it was. The American Psychiatric Association (APA), previously defined not conforming to your gender as gender identity disorder. Only 15 years after opposed harsh therapy, APA changed the condition of gender identity disorder to gender dysphoria. (Obama cite) This change in perspective helps transgender people receive treatment to ease their anxiety, whether then causing it as conversion therapy