In response to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s issuing an executive order that bans state funding for “conversion therapy,” Jim Katsoudas, a licensed therapist in the state, had this to say. (A few minor edits have been made for smoothness and clarity; you can read Katsoudas’s original statement on Facebook here).
I am a Licensed Counselor and I do not know any Licensed Mental Care Professionals providing so called “Conversion Therapy.” The term “Conversion Therapy” is an old outdated method that does harm and Gay Activists would like Americans to think Professional Counselors are doing Conversion Therapy on clients, forcing them not be gay by using outdated, God-forsaken methods to force people to go from gay to straight.
However, most Licensed Mental Health Professionals would never use so called “Conversion Therapy” or any techniques considered harmful to assist a client with their unwanted Same Sex Attraction (SSA). Most counselors [and certainly all competent ones] use and apply time-tested, researched therapies that would help the client reach his or her desired goals. Of course, Gay Activists and their political allies would have you believe that counseling individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction is some form of medieval torture that causes great pain and harm to clients. This is so far from the truth.
Basically, gay activists’ identity is so fragile that when they see therapists counseling men and women and youth who are unhappy with their same-sex attraction, they feel threatened and are convinced the practice must be stopped. Truth is people change when they want to change and no counselor or anyone can force them to change. Most counselors use “Talk Therapy” which could be different, highly effective and respected time-tested modalities such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Psychodynamic, Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and list goes on. All of these different types of modalities have been used for years by clients helping people overcome many different types of problems and issues they face.
The Governor and those who support him on this issue are trying to stop people from overcoming unwanted same sex-attraction. This really goes against individual inherent rights. Any individual should have the right to choose how he or she wants to live. If a Person is happy with their Homosexuality, they should be allowed to live that way; but if a person is not happy with their same-sex attraction, that person also should be given the right to make changes according to his or her own desires.
Can you imagine going to see a Professional Mental Health Counselor and that person tells you, “I can’t help you”? Can you picture their telling you, “I would like to help you, but I can’t because it is against the law. How would you feel? Probably devastated, angry, sad, hopeless, rejected, and stuck. Such a scenario says to the client, “The problem you want help with is beyond help.” This translates into a message similar to this: “You are beyond help! You’re hopeless!”
This is what can happen when a counselor has to tell someone he or she is not allowed to help the client address an issue the client on which the client has sought the counselor’s help! That in itself can devastate a person. It is just plan in cruel!
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