APA Halts Conversion Therapy Change

From 1994: The APA’S board of trustees endorsed a proposed resolution disapproving treatment based on “a psychiatrist’s intent to change a person’s sexual orientation.”

Should psychiatrists be permitted to provide counseling for persons seeking to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual? If the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Committee on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual issues had its way, the answer would be no.

Late last year the APA’S board of trustees endorsed a proposed resolution disapproving treatment based on “a psychiatrist’s intent to change a person’s sexual orientation.” Such treatment is known in the profession as reparative therapy.

The nearly 190 psychiatrists who attended this year’s annual meeting of the APA in Philadelphia in May were scheduled to vote on the resolution. However, after aggressive grassroots lobbying efforts by the resolution’s opponents, the issue was tabled.

Citing the rarity of the APA assembly turning back a board-recommended proposal, Charles Socarides, president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, characterized the outcome as “a major victory.”

Socarides says, “Had this resolution passed, it would in effect have outlawed treatment of homosexuals who want to change.”

According to Socarides, the APA’s 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders was attributable more to “the work of sociopolitical activists than to science.” He said homosexuality still is widely regarded among psychiatrists as a developmental disorder; he predicts the issue will resurface in the future.

Copyright © 1994 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

ctjul94mrw4T80185619

Also in this issue

Selling Out the House of God? Bill Hybels answers critics of the seeker-sensitive movement

Cover Story

Selling Out the House of God?, Part 2

Cover Story

Selling Out the House of God?, Part 1

'True Love Waits' Now Worldwide Effort

Sanctions Harm Mission Work

Pope Reaffirms Ban on Women Priests

News

Bankrupty Tests RFRA Statute

Church Names Leader, 86

Health Problems Sideline General

Baptists Resist EEOC Guidelines

Problems of Joint Action Are Detailed

Conflict Divides Countercult Leaders

World Scene: Rebels Kill Top Church Leaders

SBC Refuses Funding from Moderates

Rush Limbaugh: An Ego on Loan from God

Is the Fat Lady Singing?

Philosophers on Pilgrimage

Reclaiming the Strip Mines: A Writer's Calling

The Church's New McCarthyism

Canada’s Evangelical Face

Changing from the Inside Out

The Birth of a Megachurch

News

News Briefs: July 18, 1994

Listening to the Critics

LETTERS: Clarifying a Trend

Should Catholics and Evangelicals Join Ranks?

Christian Colleges’ Urgent Mission

The Burden of Celebrity

News

The Second Calling of Art

Ending the Cold War Between Theologians and Laypeople

What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics

Confronting Canada's Secular Slide

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from July 18, 1994

Healing Our Mean Streets

RE-Imagining Labeled 'Reckless'

75-Year-Old Graham a Hit with Youth

News

Leukemia Claims Evangelist Tom Skinner

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

NYC Mayoral Race, Trump Softens to Ukraine, and Can Horror Films Edify?

Mamdani leads NYC mayoral race, Trump-Putin relationship cools, and why horror movies might help you cope in a horrible world.

The Bigfoot and UFOs Podcast Introducing Listeners to Christ

“We want to make a space where people can scratch an itch about the weird stuff they’ve encountered, but our heart for this is for people to encounter God.”

News

What Would a Liberal Democracy in Lebanon Look Like?

An interfaith group created a Youth Mock Parliament to imagine a nonsectarian government.

News

Brazilian Evangelicals See God at Work Among the Working Class

Small Pentecostal churches across poor peripheral neighborhoods fuel Protestant growth nationwide.

Analysis

‘Drug Boat’ Strikes Prompt Questions about Human Dignity, Executive Power

When the president exercises lethal force without congressional authority, we all lose.

Wire Story

Top ACNA Leader Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations

Following a string of scandals, the accusations against Archbishop Steve Wood come amid plans for the denomination to overhaul its abuse response.

The Russell Moore Show

 Listener Question: Should Communion Be Open to All Believers?

Russell takes a listener’s question about church membership and the Communion table.

Anti-Fragile Faith in Chaotic Times

Slow Theology highlights how a long obedience in the same direction grows.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube