The APA Weighs in on "Ex-Gays"

The American Psychological Association issued the following statement:

For over three decades the consensus of the mental health community has been that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure. The APA's concern about the positions espoused by NARTH and so-called conversation therapy is that they are not supported by the science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Our further concern is that the positions espoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.

This was in response to the "ex-gays" protesting the APA for rejecting conversion therapy. NARTH, the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality has no scientific evidence that people can alter sexual orientation yet they are demanding that the APA change its current position which says that such unsubstantiated efforts can often be destructive and damaging to patients.

According to Truth Wins Out some of the methods these "Conversion groups" use include exorcisms, repossessing a client's Calvin Klein underwear because it is deemed "too gay," taking Prozac and drinking Gatorade in an effort to make men more masculine. I saw some guy beating a pillow with a tennis racket on CNN then cuddling a man in his lap as a way to change his orientation, it was hilarious!