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Sometimes I find it hard to believe I live in the 21st century........ , there I was sat in a restaurant just checking the news on my smart phone when this article appeared on the Guardian website , the image above was to be used as adverting on London buses by a charity who claim that “ Homosexuality can be cured “ and more to the point that a therapist can help.
In my view there is nothing more sinister and downright depressing than an organisation giving the impression that being Gay is somehow wrong and with the right therapist you can be’ cured.’
This is not because I am ‘afraid ‘of what people will say or that I may bring myself in to ‘disrepute’, it is because I know quite a few committed believers from a wide range of faith positions that take the view being Gay is what it is and has no bearing on this life or any other existence in the ethereal realm.
I dare say had I asked in the restaurant what people thought of homosexuality, I could have found individuals with no faith position that share the same Ideas as the people who tried to run this miss informed and myopic advertising campaign on London buses.
One of the more worrying aspects of this campaign is that the general public may believe that Homosexuality is a choice, it is wrong, and that it can be cured...... like everybody knows heterosexuality can be cured (LOL) ... right?
I also worry about those clients who are being bullied about their sexuality may very well look for a ‘cure ‘ to become socially acceptable , if you think this does not happen try being a school counsellor for a year!!
The term ‘reorientation therapy ‘has entered the lexicon of therapy via the back door (yep that’s a pun’ ) finding its roots in the United States , Therapists who practice in this ‘modality’ work with clients who want to change and do not promote heterosexuality over Homosexuality.
Whilst this approach may look on the face of it to be ethical, what does not seem to get mentioned are the facts and research in to sexual orientation which for over three decades has pointed out that sexuality cannot be altered, being gay is not a mental illness , it is quite simply for some people part of who they are .
Yes, for some people ‘coming out’ can be difficult, however it usually about others ,introjected values and conditions of worth,’ , lets face it if you have numptys saying you are mentally ill or indicating that you be may be on the end of Beelzebub's red hot poker ( and another one !!), why would you not lock and bolt the closet door from the inside... Unless the Beelzebub offer rocks you boat.
In my humble opinion reorientation therapists are playing to those fears and clients are paying for those fears, after all you are not going to get reorientation therapy on the NHS are you?... quite..
Thankfully organisations like the BACP, UKIP, British psychological association have clear guidelines that have stopped reorientation therapy in it tracks in the UK , with at least one practitioner finding themselves sanctioned and named in the press . (no I am not going to put the boot in by providing a link ).
In conclusion I wonder if there is indeed a mental malaise or distortion of personality , which gives some individuals a fixation on Gay folk, or is the answer a little more simple that perpetrators of homophobic ideas are in reality still in the closet and afraid to fully engage with who they really are.
Perhaps they need a good therapist.........:)
Footnote
Boris Johnson London Mayor, has used his authority to stop the advertising campaign which won’t now appear.
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