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Trembling Attacked in Jerusalem Post
Letter to the Editor
Jerusalem Post
Re: Think Again: Half the Story on Homosexuality (9/6/01)
Dr, Spitzer has discovered what we already know: “some highly motivated” gay and bisexual people can, for periods of time, change their sexual behavior with the assistance of a “variety of change efforts.” However, he offered no evidence to support his contention that sexual orientation itself can change. Spitzer’s sample was largely composed of people involved in the “ex-gay ministry”, a conservative Christian group devoted to converting homosexuals to heterosexuals and NARTH, the National Association for Research and Treatment of Homosexuals, well known for its biased view that homosexuals cannot live productive, happy lives as homosexuals.
His conclusions were based on phone interviews, not on in depth face to face interviews. Many of his respondents were married and they and their spouses are especially motivated to lie or deny that homosexual fantasies or behavior persist. His biased samples as well as the techniques for gathering information raise questions about both the reliability and validity of the results and have been widely criticized.
Those of us who have worked with gay people who had been in previous “reparative therapy” have seen that their attempts to give up their sexuality for prolonged periods are usually accompanied by anxiety and depression due to the undermining of self-esteem associated with the repudiation of this essential part of their nature. And although bisexuals are usually able to be happy in a traditional heterosexual marriage, homosexuals, ultimately, are not.
You are correct that Dr. Spitzer was important in the 1973 decision of the American Psychiatric Association to remove “homosexuality” from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. But one must also wonder why someone with his research credentials uses questionable methodology and a biased sample to suggest that sexual orientation can be changed, a view questioned by every mental health organization in the US.
Richard A. Isay, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Weil Medical College of Cornell University
To the Editor,
As Orthodox mental health professionals who have treated numerous observant Jews struggling with the issue of homosexuality, we were surprised and concerned after reading the Jessel article of September 6, 2001. In it, Jessel suggests that conversion therapy was a viable option and that the film "Trembling before G-d" was flawed because it did not include examples of its success. In fact, in 1997, the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Asscociation declared conversion therapy to be "ineffective and dangerrous" for most, if not all, and, therefore, not a legitimate therapeutic option. Even according to the statistics of the Christian Ministries themselves, only 30% of those attempting to shift their sexual orientation end up achieving success. It is interesting that "success" is defined as merely one year of celibacy or a heterosexual marriage. As therapists, we see the pain and fall-out of many of these marriages when often, years later, there is a regression to homosexuality despite a sincere attempt at heterosexual adaptation. Situations like these can have disastrous consequences for the spouses, the children and, of course, the individuals themselves. The fact that there are no long term follow-up studies that confirm the "success" of conversion therapy argues against guiding susceptible individuals towards this treatment. Perhaps change is possible but it remains unclear that there is a technique that works repeatedly in a manner that can be reproduced. What is clear is that there are terrible consequences for people who are misled.
Sincerely,
Abba E. Borowich, M.D.
Naomi S. Mark, A.C.S.W.
"Dissembling Before G-d" - The Agudath Israel Reponse
The Rabbis Respond
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