Interactions

Straight Talk About Therapy

I read "Vowing to Set the World Straight" [Aug. 16] and I started to tremble. I was involved in various types of reparative therapy for more than 15 years, and it made a mess of my life. While struggling desperately to change my sexual orientation, even going so far as having a series of electroconvulsive therapy treatments, I struggled with bouts of depression, hospitalizations, job loss and dropping out of school. Since I left reparative therapy, my life has become remarkably stable, and much happier.

Reparative therapy relies for its impetus on a deep sense of shame that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people feel about their sexual orientation. Responsible health organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, enjoin their professionals to help clients and patients come to grips with their sexual orientation, to accept themselves the way they are and get on with their lives. Reparative therapists rely on that sense of shame to keep people involved in self-defeating "therapies," often with disastrous consequences. I know I owe my happiness and even continued existence to the fact that I escaped from reparative therapy and transformational ministries.

Robert Rigby, Jr.

Arlington

"Vowing to Set the World Straight" illustrates the frequently taken American viewpoint that unflinchingly wants to categorize the cause of homosexuality in one extreme or another. One side explains the behavior as a choice and even as a dysfunctional condition while the opposition explains it as an inherent and unchangeable trait. Like many aspects of a person, personality and even conditions (if we were to categorize the same-sex attraction as pathology) are rarely explained in terms of distinct origins. Isn't it possible to view the issues of homosexual attraction as sometimes an inherent state of personhood and for others due to an environmental influence?

Mr. Cohen is correct in saying that frequently our modern-day therapists are pro-gay. Like any other counseling issue, it would be optimal if the counselor considered the individual and the personal circumstances of their client rather than adopting an extreme position that does not fit everyone's situation. It would be fundamental to assess whether the homosexual individual is unhappy and thus uncover any possibly related factors of influence. Ultimately, only those who claim the homosexual orientation have the ability to know whether this is a possibly changeable aspect of themselves. It would be fortunate (and refreshing) if society could understand the ambiguity of homosexuality and stop infringing on the individual's right to change or not.

Linda Oberleitner