A Survivor Of Gay Conversn Therapy Shar His Chillg Story | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY
• ‘THEY/THEM’ FILM REVIEW: SHARP SCRIPT GIV BE TO GAY-CONVERSN CAMP HORROR STORY
• 5 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS SHARE HORRIFIC EXPERIENC IN NEW DOCUMENTARY
• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS
• WHAT IT’S LIKE TO EXPERIENCE GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• A SURVIVOR OF GAY CONVERSN THERAPY SHAR HIS CHILLG STORY
• GAY CONVERSN THERAPY’S DISTURBG 19TH-CENTURY ORIGS
• GAY NVERSN THERAPY IS A DANGERO LIE THAT N LEAD TO PRSN AND ANXIETY. MORE THAN 700,000 LGBTQ PEOPLE HAVE GONE THROUGH ANYWAY.
• 5 THGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• GAY 'NVERSN THERAPY': MAN GIVEN ELECTRIC SHOCKS MANDS APOLOGY
• NEW YORK CY IS ENDG A BAN ON GAY CONVERSN THERAPY. HERE’S WHY.
• IS GAY CONVERSN THERAPY LEGAL?
• THEY/THEM REVIEW: A SLASHER GO TO GAY CONVERSN CAMP CLEVER HORROR MOVIE

FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY

But provirs, ually unlicensed, n often disguise the terms they e to avoid beg terms clu:Sexual attractn fluidy exploratn therapy (SAFE-T)Elimatg, rcg, or creasg equency or tensy of unwanted same-sex attractn (SSA)Reparative therapySexual reorientatn effortsEx-gay mistryPromotg healthy sexualyAddrsg sexual addictns and disorrsSexualy unselgEnuragg relatnal and sexual wholensHealg sexual brokennsConversn therapy techniqu n lead to feelg “ls than” or “damaged, ” impactg self-teem.

A number of medil and mental health anizatns have issued public statements rejectg the e of nversn therapy bee of many provirs who claim to be qualified to provi nversn therapy are often not licensed mental health practners or medil study found that LGBTQ (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, or qutng) people who are rejected or discrimated agast are:8 tim more likely to report havg attempted suiciAlmost 6 tim more likely to report high levels of prsnMore than 3 tim as likely to e illegal dgs3 tim more likely to be at high risk of HIV and other STDsAcrdg to rearch, nearly 700, 000 LGBTQ adults the U. For example, rearch on the issue of fay acceptance of LGBTQ youth nducted at San Francis State Universy found that "pared wh LGBTQ young people who were not rejected or were only a ltle rejected by their parents and regivers bee of their gay or transgenr inty, highly rejected LGBTQ young people were:. The Amerin Amy of Pediatrics, the Amerin Counselg Associatn, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn, the Natnal Associatn of School Psychologists, and the Natnal Associatn of Social Workers, together reprentg more than 477, 000 health and mental health profsnals, have all taken the posn that homosexualy is not a mental disorr and th there is no need for a 'cure.

‘THEY/THEM’ FILM REVIEW: SHARP SCRIPT GIV BE TO GAY-CONVERSN CAMP HORROR STORY

57, 000 youth (ag 13-17) across all stat will receive nversn therapy om relig or spirual advisors before they reach the age of UCLA Williams InstuteStatements by Natnal AssociatnsAmerin Psychologil Associatn:Affirms that same-sex sexual and romantic attractns, feelgs, and behavrs are normal and posive variatns of human sexualy regardls of sexual orientatn inty; reaffirms s posn that homosexualy per se is not a mental disorr and oppos portrayals of sexual mory youths and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual orientatn nclus that there is sufficient evince to support the e of psychologil terventns to change sexual orientatn; enurag mental health profsnals to avoid misreprentg the efficy of sexual orientatn change efforts by promotg or promisg change sexual orientatn when providg assistance to dividuals distrsed by their own or others’ sexual orientatn…Amerin Psychiatric Associatn:… In 1997 APA produced a fact sheet on homosexual and bisexual issu, which stat that “there is no published scientific evince supportg the efficy of “reparative therapy” as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientatn. The possibily that the person might achieve happs and satisfyg terpersonal relatnships as a gay man or lbian are not prented, nor are alternative approach to alg wh the effects of societal stigmatizatn discsed…Therefore, APA oppos any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “nversn” therapy, that is based on the assumptn that homosexualy per se is a mental disorr or is based on the a prri assumptn that the patient should change his or her homosexual of US anizatns that have nounced nversn therapy:.

Rearch published this year found that more than 400, 000 people who are gay, transgenr or non-bary had been subjected to someone tryg to change, “cure” or supprs their sexual orientatn or genr a letter to Sunak seen by the Guardian, those phg for the ban to be enacted speedily said the ernment’s “moral failg” not yet publishg the legislatn “should ncern all”. Aversn therapy when people watched homoerotic imag whilst at the same time are given electric shocks or vom ducg dgsAlthough all the above have been methods ed, and some parts of the world still are, to try and change gay people straight, they are not CT that we the wtern world are tryg to see banned.

5 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

Of recent tim fancy terms have been troduced such as ‘Sexual Attractn Fluidy Exploratn Therapy’ (SAFE-T) by the Alliance for Theraptic Choice and Scientific Integry (formerly NARTH) 2016 and ‘Sexual Inty Affirmg Therapy’ by Christopher Doyle om Voice of the change terms is tertg self, as reflects not only the evolutn of the ex-gay/reparative/nversn therapy movement and who is ntrol of the fact that the most popular term is now ‘nversn therapy’ monstrat that we are now ntrol of the nversatn as those who are pro the ‘change is possible’ msage would never e that wordg.

It is based on the belief that homosexualy is:srultg om a dysfunctnal upbrgg or sexual abnnatural/abnormala choicePeople distrsed about their sexual orientatn or genr inty n experience CT by: one on one unsellg wh a pastor, church lear or Christian unsellorpersonal prayer and fah believg for change and liverancener healg believg that beg gay means you are broken om past experienc that God n heal you omsupport groups where people share their stggl and pray and support one anotherexorcisms believg that homosexualy is a monic force that needs to be st out orr for the dividual to be eemasculisatn/femisatn attempts to make the dividual more like a ‘real’ man or womanonle urs like the support groups (extremely dangero)PLEASE NOTE: The nversn practic have not been ed exclively on gay, lbian and bisexual dividuals but also transgenr and genr diverse above is a part of the prentatn #TheQutToCureQueersTo fd out more about GCT go to our page on the topic be notified when ‘Exod to Nowhere – the qut to cure queers’ is published, subscribe HERE.

*Government lays ban for five years*Prsure on Sunak to act*LGBTQ+ activists fear loophol*Campaigners divid over trans rightsBy Lucy MiddletonLONDON, July 20 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - When Alex me out as gay, the 15-year-old’s parents issued a stark ultimatum: unrgo nversn therapy or clear out of the fay home the northern English cy of chose optn one and unrwent multiple ssns wh elrs om the fay’s Jehovah’s Wns ngregatn, seekg a ‘cure’ for homosexualy. A ernment survey showed that more than half of Brons who had tried nversn therapy were offered through a relig group, almost 12% were signposted by a health re Ozanne, a gay evangelil her 50s who chairs the UK’s Ban Conversn Therapy Coaln, sought treatment her 20s and 30s, after fallg love wh a procs led to hospal admissn for a nervo breakdown.

'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS SHARE HORRIFIC EXPERIENC IN NEW DOCUMENTARY

Brothers Road scrib self as “a non-prof, multi-fah, ternatnal fellowship primarily of men om bisexual or same-sex-attracted backgrounds who—for our own, eply personal reasons—typilly do not accept or intify wh the label ‘gay’ and prefer stead to explore and addrs unrlyg issu and embrace our thentic masculy. Bob, as we all lovgly ll him” as “an amazg, lovg man, ” who nohels nvced him of what he now se as “misrmatn” about the nature and orig of homosexualy, attributg a “homosexual clatn” to problems fay relatnships, sexual trma cludg e of pornography, the lack of a proper velopment of masculy and other “wounds”—ias he later heard om prits the Schuchts, thor of the upg book Be Rtored: Healg Our Sexual Wounds Through J’ Merciful Love, disagreed wh the labelg of his work as of “misrmatn, ” statg that all of the materials om the John Pl II Healg Center have approval om the lol bishop and his books have obtaed an imprimatur. * Government lays ban for five years* Prsure on Sunak to act* LGBTQ+ activists fear loophol* Campaigners divid over trans rightsBy Lucy Middleton LONDON, July 20 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - When Alex me out as gay, the 15-year-old's parents issued a stark ultimatum: unrgo nversn therapy or clear out of the fay home the northern English cy of chose optn one and unrwent multiple ssns wh elrs om the fay's Jehovah's Wns ngregatn, seekg a 'cure' for homosexualy.

Rearch on nversn therapy dit the practice n lead to harmful out for those who go through — a 2019 study published by the Williams Instute at the Universy of California, Los Angel, found non-transgenr lbian, gay or bisexual people who experienced nversn therapy were more likely to have suicidal iatn than those who have not. But mastream psychologists say the therapy is effective, uhil and often harmful, exacerbatg anxiety and self-hatred among those treated for what is not a mental 2013, two s volvg the therapy to nvert gay people to heterosexuals h the urts, wh one seekg to sue unselors who offer the therapy and the other seekg to fend are five thgs you need to know about the therapy and the current psychologists say nversn therapy don't workA diagnosis of major prsn do not evoke much rponse, eher a stigmatizg or supportive, om a person's social work, a study dited.

His therapist blamed his parents for Arana's homosexualy, and urged him to distance himself om his female bt Lev, one of the men sug Jonah for ceptive practic, says that he qu nversn therapy after his therapist had him strip down and touch himself to "rennect wh his masculy, " acrdg to the New York 's happeng the urts?

NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS

It didn’t of the most proment advot of nversn therapy the 1940s and 50s was Edmund Bergler, who saw homosexualy as a perversn and believed he uld "cure" gay people wh a punishment-based, nontatnal therapy the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn stopped classifyg homosexualy as a mental disorr 1973, nversn therapi lost support.

In 2003, famed psychiatrist Robert Spzer, who spearhead the removal of homosexualy om the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn's mental disorr list 1973, reported the journal Archiv of Sexual Behavr that terviews wh nversn therapy patients suggted that some people uld change their sexual paper was cendiary and highly cricized, given that relied on terviews wh patients stead of measurable benchmarks of same-sex sir. ‘Conversn therapy’ scrib terventns that purport to achieve a change a person’s sexual orientatn or genr inty, and th claim to aim at changg people om gay, lbian or bisexual to heterosexual, and om trans or genr diverse to cisgenr - meang whose genr inty rrponds to the sex they were assigned at birth. 15% of LGBTQ youth Mnota reported beg threatened wh or subjected to nversn therapy the past year January 18, 2023 — The Trevor Project — the leadg suici preventn anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer & qutng (LGBTQ) young people — voiced s support for a bill troduced by the Mnota Hoe of Reprentativ, which would prohib licensed medil profsnals om subjectg LGBTQ youth to the dangero and discreded practice of nversn therapy.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO EXPERIENCE GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

LGBTQ youth who were threatened wh or subjected to nversn therapy reported more than twice the rate of attemptg suici the past year Augt 16, 2022 — The Trevor Project, the world’s largt suici preventn and mental health anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer & qutng (LGBTQ) young people, mend Gov.

January 18, 2023 — The Trevor Project, the world’s leadg suici preventn anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer & qutng (LGBTQ) young people, nmned the spensn of a le prohibg the practice of “nversn therapy” across the state of Wisns that was voted on last week by the state legislature’s Jot Commtee for Review of Admistrative Rul. LGBTQ youth who were threatened wh or subjected to nversn therapy reported more than twice the rate of attemptg suici the past year October 10, 2022 — The Trevor Project, the world’s largt suici preventn and mental health anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer & qutng (LGBTQ) young people, appld the Cleveland Cy Council for passg a municipal ordance today that will prohib licensed medil profsnals om subjectg LGBTQ youth to the dangero and discreded practice of nversn therapy.

A SURVIVOR OF GAY CONVERSN THERAPY SHAR HIS CHILLG STORY

While certa therapi, like talk therapy, are also legimate forms of re for people who experience mental health problems, beg gay is, of urse, not a mental health, a 19-year-old gay man who spoke to The Huffgton Post anonymoly for this article orr to protect his safety, is a survivor of nversn therapy was subjected to nversn therapy 2012 when he was 15 years old after his parents disvered he was gay. Their methods varied, and clud everythg om talk therapy to “gay nversn” mps and nferenc, LGBTQ people were isolated om fay and iends, hypnotized, told to pray until their homosexualy subsid, stcted to beat effigi of their parents, mocked, ached on “proper” genr rol, and told their sexualy was unnatural and And Anne Plk, both “formerly gay” pose wh their son, Timothy, a mpaign for Gay Conversn to Heterosexualy.

The founr of one of the most proment gay nversn therapy programs the Uned Stat me out as gay last week, disavowg the practice that he dite his life Game, who led the fah-based nversn therapy program Hope for Wholens for two s, told The Post and Courier that the practice was a "lie, " "very harmful, " and "false advertisg. The practice of tryg to 'cure' homosexualy dat back more than a centuryConversn therapy dat back to at least the 1890s, when German psychiatrist Albert von Schrenck-Notzg said at a nference that he had succsfully turned a gay man straight through hypnosis, acrdg to the Southern Poverty Law Center. At the time, beg a same-sex relatnship was nsired crimal, and many doctors were lookg to ways to reverse doctors, like Atrian endocrologist Eugen Steach, led tticle transplantatn experienc which gay men were strated then given "heterosexual tticl" om other saw homosexualy as a mental disorr and began g psychiatric terventns an attempt to "cure" people wh genr inti and sexual orientatns different om what was seen as the norm.

GAY CONVERSN THERAPY’S DISTURBG 19TH-CENTURY ORIGS

But as gay rights anizatns and movements formed the Uned Stat durg the 1960s and 1970s, psychiatrists started to distance self om nversn 1973, the APA reversed the listg and removed homosexualy om the APA said a 2013 statement: "The Amerin Psychiatric Associatn do not believe that same-sex orientatn should or needs to be changed, and efforts to do so reprent a signifint risk of harm by subjectg dividuals to forms of treatment which have not been scientifilly validated and by unrmg self-teem when sexual orientatn fails to change.

GAY NVERSN THERAPY IS A DANGERO LIE THAT N LEAD TO PRSN AND ANXIETY. MORE THAN 700,000 LGBTQ PEOPLE HAVE GONE THROUGH ANYWAY.

"While the therapy, also known as "reparative therapy, " has been rejected and nounced by mastream medil and mental health anizatns for s, the practice is still nducted across the Williams Instute at the Universy of California, Los Angel, said s 2018 study that more than 20, 000 LGBTQ youth will unrgo nversn therapy of some kd before they turn lears of proment nversn therapy groups are g out as gay and nouncg their practicA poll nducted by Public Policy Pollg March found that 80 percent of polled rponrs believed that nversn therapy on mors should be illegal.

"In a study by San Francis State Universy, lbian, gay and bisexual youth who were rejected by their fai and regivers due to their inti were nearly six tim more likely to report high levels of prsn and more than eight tim more likely to have attempted suici when pared to youth om acceptg and affirmg fai and regivers, " the anizatn said.

His therapist blamed his parents for Arana's homosexualy, and urged him to distance himself om his female bt Lev, one of the men sug Jonah for ceptive practic, says that he qu nversn therapy after his therapist had him strip down and touch himself to "rennect wh his masculy, " acrdg to the New York Tim.

5 THGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

'Hefty electric shock'Homosexualy had only been -crimalised 1967, and mastream society was still eply disapprovg of the, now 74, remembers beg told that "even havg a sex change" would be better for him than ntug to live as a gay man, and so he mted to the prcribed treatment which he had been guaranteed would work. As explored the documentary, barely any lears had any kd of trag psychology, unselg or human the scen, the film shows a symbtic fancial relatnship formed between select psychologists and the nversn therapy movement: Exod required credibily, and psychologists required se you missed:Matt Damon's e of a gay slur any ntext 2021 is unacceptable and embarrassgIn rearchg "Pray Away, " director Kriste Stolakis disvered "the vast majory of nversn therapy anizatns are actually n by LGBTQ folks who claim that they have changed themselv, " she tells USA TODAY.

GAY 'NVERSN THERAPY': MAN GIVEN ELECTRIC SHOCKS MANDS APOLOGY

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe Cy Council fears that if a feral lawsu challengg the ban were to reach the Supreme Court, the panel uld issue a lg that protected the Sanrs for The New York TimNearly two years ago, the New York Cy Council celebrated when passed a far-reachg ban on nversn therapy, a discreded practice to change a person’s sexual orientatn or genr Thursday, Corey Johnson, the Council speaker, who is gay, said the Council would act swiftly to repeal the move is a gamb signed to ntralize a feral lawsu filed agast the cy by a nservative Christian legal anizatn; if the se were to be heard by the Supreme Court, advot for the L. Number (and percentage) by regn Number (and percentage) by stakeholr typeNumber by stakeholr type and by regnMember StatBosnia and HerzeaBrazilChileCosta RiDenmarkEcuadorFrance, missn d'rmatn « flash », synthèseGeiaGermany HondurasIraqIreland and annex ItalyLhuaniaLuxemburgMalta, statement at public nsultatnMexiPortugalSlovakiaSwenThe NetherlandsUguayNatnal Human Rights Instutns, Equaly Bodi and OmbudspersonsArgenta – Defensor l Pueblo la NaciónDenmark - Danish Instute for Human RightsFrance - Commissn natnale nsultative s dros l'Homme (CNCDH)India - Natnal Human Rights Commissn (NHRC)Luxembourg - Commissn nsultative s Dros l'Homme (CCDH) et Prise posn la Commissn Natnale d'ÉthiqueMexi - Comisión Nacnal los Derechos Humanos (CNDH)Niragua - Procuraduría para la Defensa los Derechos Humanos (PDDH)Portugal - OmbudsmanUkrae - Ukraian Parliament Commissner for Human RightsUned Kgdom - Equaly and Human Rights CommissnMembers of parliamentLrence Vancnebrock [France], missn d'rmatn « flash », synthèse, rapport d'rmatn Outre-merCivil Society Organisatns (cludg fah-based anisatns)Ambassadors & Bridge Builrs Internatnal [Atralia] and annex Asistencia Legal por los Derechos Humanos (AsiLEGAL) [Mexi] Associatn Legebra [Slovenia] Born Perfect and the Natnal Center for Lbian Rights [USA] Brave Network, SOGICE Survivors and Equal Voic (Melbourne Branch) Campaign Agast Homophobia [Poland] CHANGED Movement CHOICE for Youth and Sexualy [Global, The Netherlands, India, Kenya, Nigeria] COC Netherlands [The Netherlands] Comg out and Nuntiare et Recreare [Rsian Feratn] Corporación Promoción la Mujer / Taller Comunición Mujer [Ecuador] Egale Canada [Canada] Equaly Atralia [Atralia] Equaly for All Foundatn Jamai Ltd. (ReIME) [USA]Subversive Front [North Macedonia]The Aguda [Israel] and annexThe Conversn Therapy Actn Group [New Zealand]The Eastern European Coaln for LGBT+ Equaly [Eastern Europe]The Iranian Lbian and Transgenr Network (6Rang) [Iran]The Natnal Board of the Lbian and Gay Feratn Germany (LSVD) [Germany]The Trevor Project [USA]The Unarian Universalist Associatn [USA]Uned Stat Jot Statement agast "Conversn Therapy" (USJS) and annexVoice of the Voicels [USA]AmicsTyler Adamson, Stef Baral and Chris Beyrer [Global]Joel Anrson and Elise Holland [Global]Florence Ashley [Global] and annex 1, 2The Colombia Collaborative Project [Colombia], Spanish versnNancy Krieger [Global]La Trobe Universy and Human Rights Law Centre [Atralia]Dari Longaro [Cha]Arvd Narra and Vay Chandran [Global]Transgenr Health Rearch Lab [New Zealand], Executive summaryThe Williams Instute on Sexual Orientatn and Genr Inty Law and Public Policy [USA]Lysov, V.

This document was an important step the history of psychiatric engagement wh lbian, gay and bisexuali; was (rather belatedly) le wh the removal of homosexualy om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn 1973, and the Internatnal Classifitn of Diseas of the World Health Organisatn 1992.

NEW YORK CY IS ENDG A BAN ON GAY CONVERSN THERAPY. HERE’S WHY.

IS GAY CONVERSN THERAPY LEGAL?

THEY/THEM REVIEW: A SLASHER GO TO GAY CONVERSN CAMP CLEVER HORROR MOVIE