A reminder: I have a page dedicated to an examination of evidence for reparative therapy. More accurately, the page addresses the flaws of the theory and finds it inadequate as a general theory of same-sex attraction.
Here is a sampling:
Posts on the theory
Reparative therapy for females – Discounts Janelle Hallman’s thesis that lesbians do not have “selves.”
Father – Son estrangement – This brief post quotes research on father-son relationships in general and how that relates to the thesis that male homosexuals have poor relationships with their fathers. Straights have such poor relationships too.
Queer theories for the straight guise
Many people want to know why they experience same-sex attraction. Reparative drive theory provides a narrative but it may not be correct. In Why Do I Have These Feelings? I examine how this pressure for a narrative may be misleading.
Masculinity and reparative therapy
Mankind Project clarifies stance on reparative therapy – Reparative therapists often refer clients to activities and groups which promise to enhance masculinity as a means of reducing same-sex attractions. Macho Man group Mankind Project clarifies that the New Warriors Training Adventure is not a form of reparative therapy.
I have not included some of the recent posts or articles off the site, such as this one at Huffington Post on the use of the discredited research by George Rekers by Joseph Nicolosi, but will over the next several weeks. For now, I hope this is a useful resource.
I admit to not having a complete understanding of the nuances of reparative therapy but does your position preclude the possibility that same sex attraction is sufficiently developmental that it can be addressed successfully with therapy or other approaches?
Do the reparative therapists actually only consider one theory on causation (father/son relationship) or do they acknowledge that there could be various factors involved (including possibly pre-birth)?
Isn’t Nicolosi’s main thrust that same sex attraction is mutable enough that it can be successfully treated to a patient’s satisfaction? Most of the criticism of Nicolosi seems to be on the margins.
I admit to not having a complete understanding of the nuances of reparative therapy but does your position preclude the possibility that same sex attraction is sufficiently developmental that it can be addressed successfully with therapy or other approaches?
Do the reparative therapists actually only consider one theory on causation (father/son relationship) or do they acknowledge that there could be various factors involved (including possibly pre-birth)?
Isn’t Nicolosi’s main thrust that same sex attraction is mutable enough that it can be successfully treated to a patient’s satisfaction? Most of the criticism of Nicolosi seems to be on the margins.
Thanks for all the work you have done on this subject. I regularly refer people to your site. There has been too much mis-information on this topic in the evangelical Christian world — for too long.
Thanks for all the work you have done on this subject. I regularly refer people to your site. There has been too much mis-information on this topic in the evangelical Christian world — for too long.