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London: Gay couple threatened with death in violent late night homophobic assault
142
UK: Card Factory accused of homophobia for selling offensive 'fag' birthday card
142
Government considers watered down same-sex marriage bill to minimise Tory rebellion
133
Tory MP Gerald Howarth: 'There are plenty in the aggressive homosexual community who want more than just same-sex marriage'
95
France: Far right activist commits suicide in Notre Dame following legalisation of equal marriage
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Norman Tebbit: David Cameron has 'f**** things up' with his equal marriage bill
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US church blames Woolwich suspected terror killing on UK acceptance of gay people
66
Tory MP Sir Gerald Howarth defends 'aggressive homosexual community' equal marriage slur
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Sir Gerald Howarth: 'I should have used 'militant' rather than 'aggressive' to describe homosexuals
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David Cameron: Gay teenagers will stand that bit taller following equal marriage vote
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Robert in S. Kensington 754
Midnighter 450
GulliverUK 365
D.McCabe 359
Mark Y 345
Jock S. Trap 320
That There Other David 314
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Wingby 267
Good. We know there’s a) nothing to be cured, b) religious groups are the last people you should be seeking a cure from if there was a problem and c) seeking to change a persons innate sexual orientation is dangerous, sometimes even fatal.
We would be better off seeking a cure for some personal beliefs, like homophobia, or extremism in religion, whether it is Islam or Christianity. Too often we look to Islam as extreme, but there are equally extreme people in Christianity.
Anyway, people know my views. I want to see a law banning the practice of reparative therapy in the UK, and not just for minors. The government should be there to protect us from dangerous absurd pseudo-science. This would apply just as much to religious groups practising these ‘cures’ in church, as to therapists, but perhaps one step at a time.
http://youtu.be/QwVWbWw_Yrk
btw here’s something shocking…i’m officially ashamed of being human.
Oh, forget to add this video link – I saw it this morning. It explains all about the survey which many reparative therapy groups have used to promote and back-up their work. Now that the author has pulled the rug out from under them, and the WHO has said it’s very dangerous to try to change sexual orientation, there should be no need for ANY therapist to practise this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOA9jPpUkxw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Listen to the video – it’s breathtaking when you see a breakdown of the participants and how unscientific the study was.
It is good to hear the Californian State attempting to take a stance against homophobia in psychology and psychiatry.
Since the USA is often 20 years ahead of the UK in terms of developments in psychology. The link between NARTH and the Tavistock Clinic in London is also worrying. Below is a quote about the late Dr Socarides founder of NARTH, explaining how the Tavistock Clinic honoured his work on conversion therapy for gay men.
http://www.narth.com/docs/freedom.html
“Dr. Socarides continues to work with men and women who are deeply troubled about their orientation and want to change. Indeed, Dr. Socarides leads a group of therapists around the world who specialize in dealing with homosexuality. In the spring of 1995, he won the Distinguished Professor award from the Association of Psychoanalytic Psychologists, British Health Service, and lectured on his research findings in London at the Anna Freud Child Development Center, the Portman Clinic, the Tavistock Clinic and before the British Psychoanalytic Society.”
This is worrying because some of the therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists who invited NARTH to the UK in 1995, are still practicing either privately, or as clinicians within the NHS
I would exceptionally concerned if my tax was being used to fund such practices on the NHS, especially given all the major bodies have said it was ineffective / didn’t work, and could be dangerous. Perhaps PN could call NICE and enquire if such therapies are being paid for by the taxpayer.
“Perhaps PN could call NICE and enquire if such therapies are being paid for by the taxpayer.”
There is not organised “Reparative therapies” being promoted by the NHS as far as I am aware.
However, empirical research mainly by Bartlett and King, continues to reveal covert reparative attitudes and practices alive and being practiced by NHS practioners
In Singapore antigay nutters are reportedly going unchallenged on Radio 100.4FM saying the usual crazy stuff and that they “know” people have changed, supported by a homophobic DJ.
Good news.
The idea of banning this practice in the UK might not be so difficult either, since all the major associations, to which most counsellors belong, consider it an ethical offence.
http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/article1621.html
So in law you’d only be banning something which the associations already consider an offence for their members.
I agree it is good that UKCP is claiming that it does not support or endorse reparative therapies. Recent research however shows a different picture, and continues to highlight that reparative therapy is still seen as legitimate by some therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists who belong to BACP or UKCP psychotherapy bodies.
In a study by Bartlett, Smith & King (2009) in which they contacted 1848 practitioners from UKCP, BACP and the RCP, a questionnaire was used to investigate responses by these mental health practitioners to clients seeking to change their sexual orientation.
This is what they found. . .
. . . .
“Our results indicate that asking therapists whether or not they would attempt to change a client’s sexual orientation if requested, yielded very few (4%) who say they would do so. However, when asked about specific instances in the past, 17% of therapists reported having treated at least one patient in order to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual and there was no sign of a decline of such treatments in recent years. Older male therapists and members of the BPS and UKCP were more likely to have done so. One third of clients treated were women, just over half were treated in private practice and most received some form of counselling. Beyond providing counselling, there appeared to be no consistent approach to treatment. Three quarters of these therapists considered that a service should be provided for gay and lesbian people who wanted to become heterosexual.”
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/9/11
Good for California, now the rest of the states need to get with the program.
Did NARTH really just get quoted saying they don’t know how often Conversion therapy works or leads to self-harm?
Then why the hell are they practicing and encouraging it?!
Money.
Gay cures work as well as magic spells. But so long as suckers will pay for them….
“Opposing the draft legislation, designated SB 1172, NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, has said there is also no evidence that efforts to change sexual orientation definitely do not work and added that harm can be experienced in all forms of psychotherapy.”
Yes but the difference is you’re already telling the person they are wrong to be who they are, how they were born. How is it not damaging when someone comes to you for help with themselves and rather than help them through it you tell them they can be ‘cured’ because who they are is wrong?
Shame they don’t see it. Puzzled to why it needs a vote. It shouldn’t be happening in the first place let along be used as a discussion to appease the ignorant.
These anti-gay psychiatrist are electric shocking the genitals of young children to stop them from being gay. How insane is that? These anti-homosexual psychiatrist are terrorist who torture children with electric shock and need to be arrested and put in prison for their crimes against humanity.
Gay ‘cure therapies’ have never worked and will never work and must be totally banned worldwide with immediate effect.
Gays are born gay and nothing is going to change that. Learn to understand that, accept it and live the life.Be happy with what you have and get on with life. The grass is not greener on the other side so stop looking over the fence. I am gay and I like being gay and I would not have it any other way.
And another step for COMMON SENSE! This should never be happening…these therapies only hurt young minds.