The new book Ex-gays? discusses a very thorough longitudinal study on ex-gay therapy, and confirms that
- therapeutically impressive results are provided by such therapies, and
- the therapies do no harm
I think this puts the nail in the coffin for the argument that such therapies should be suppressed or labeled as abusive. Here’s a review from EO, plus an excerpt from the first review at Amazon:
This study demonstrates with convincing scientific evidence that the Christian ministry interventions of Exodus International produced strong and clinically meaningful changes in homosexual orientation in a large percentage of individuals. Furthermore this careful clinical research investigation of a significant number of individuals yielded no evidence to support the common assumption that attempts to change sexual orientation causes harm or psychological distress.
–George A. Rekers, Ph.D., FAACP
Distinguished Professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science Emeritus
University of South Carolina School of Medicine