WASHINGTON — A task force of the American Psychological Association (APA) set to revise policies on the interplay of homosexuality and psychology has refused to meet with a number of counselors and religious leaders who believe same-sex attraction can be altered.
Denominational leaders, practicing psychologists, counselors and organizations dedicated to assisting individuals who want to change their sexual orientation requested to meet with the task force to share their understanding of the issue. The APA denied their request for a meeting, citing the need “to keep the emphasis on the science” and to keep its distance from advocacy groups, according to a letter sent Sept. 7.
The conservative leaders, who say they represent 20 million people across the United States, expressed their disappointment that “our joint voice would be so categorically dismissed” in a Nov. 6 letter to the APA. The leaders are concerned that the majority of the task force members believe homosexuals cannot, and should not, attempt to change their sexual orientation.
The APA, based in Washington, decides the standards for psychologists across the country. The task force was created in May by the APA to update a resolution passed in 1997 on counseling homosexuals. The focus of the six-member panel is to address the “therapeutic interventions” used to change behaviors and same-sex attraction.
In 1973, the APA removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. The association considers it unethical for psychologists to treat homosexuality as such. The reorientation therapies under review are not officially condemned in current APA literature. However, the task force could implement policies that would deem them unethical psychological practices.
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