International Healing Foundation Urges Maryland Legislature To
Put Client Rights First
Politically Motivated Legislation to Ban Therapy
for Minors Lacks Scientific Credibility
Bowie, MD -- Today, Delegate Jon Cardin introduced House Bill 91,
legislation that would ban minors in the state of Maryland from seeing a
licensed mental health practitioner to resolve unwanted same-sex
attraction (SSA). International Healing Foundation (IHF), a non-profit
organization that has since 1990, helped thousands of individuals and
families struggling with sexual orientation issues, strongly opposes
this legislation and is asking the Maryland Legislature to consider all
viewpoints and review all the research on the efficacy of Sexual
Orientation Change Effort (SOCE) therapy.
“There is not one single peer-reviewed scientific study that has
researched the outcomes of minors that have undergone SOCE therapy, yet
this legislation makes unfounded claims that SOCE therapy is harmful and
ineffective,” commented Christopher Doyle, Licensed Clinical
Professional Counselor and the Director of IHF. “As a practicing
attorney, it is Delegate Cardin’s ethical duty to consider all the
evidence before introducing a bill that would take away the rights of
minors and their parents to see a counselor of their choice.”
The legislation comes at the heels of a groundbreaking new book by Dr. James Phelan, published on January 1, 2014 entitled: “Successful Outcomes of Sexual Orientation Change Effort Therapy: An Annotated Bibliography.”
Over the decades, various authors have documented successful outcomes
of efforts aimed at helping clients overcome unwanted homosexual
feelings, attractions, and identification. This book, citing 100 years
of scientific research, is the first of its kind revealing a
comprehensive bibliographic review of the literature documenting
success, showing that therapy has helped some clients resolve their
unwanted SSA and experience heterosexual attractions.
“House Bill 91 relies exclusively on policy statements from so-called
mainstream mental and medical health organizations such as the American
Psychological Association (APA), who formed a Task Force in 2009 made up
exclusively of gay-identified and gay-affirming psychologists. Not only
did the Task Force refuse to include psychologists and licensed
psychotherapists that actually worked with clients undergoing SOCE
therapy and/or were former homosexuals, but all of the members of this
Task Force had previously gone on the record as opposing SOCE therapy
for philosophical and political reasons,” commented Doyle.
The APA Task Force report advised parents to avoid SOCE therapy for
their children, and House Bill 91 chose only to include the APA and
other so-called mainstream mental and medical health organizations'
opinions, while ignoring the recommendations from the American
Association of Christian Counselors, National Association of Research
and Therapy of Homosexuality, Catholic Medical Association, and the
American College of Pediatricians, all who support a client’s right to
resolve unwanted SSA and for parents to decide what medical and mental
health treatment is best for their family and children. Collectively,
these organizations comprise over 50,000 licensed mental and medical
health practitioners, but have been completely marginalized by House
Bill 91.
“What the Task Force report actually said was that there is inadequate
research to make conclusions on the efficacy and safety of SOCE therapy,
and because of the methodological limitations of the research on SOCE
therapy, it may pose health risks,” commented Doyle. “Bill 91’s
interpretation of the APA report’s conclusions is inaccurate, and we are
calling on the APA to correct those inaccuracies, as it states in their
own 2002 Code of Conduct: ‘When its research is misinterpreted or
misquoted, it (APA) should take reasonable steps to correct the
misinterpretation’.”
“House Bill 91 threatens clients’ constitutional rights of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and their first amendment rights
to see a counselor who helps them resolve unwanted SSA while remaining
faithful to their deeply held spiritual beliefs. All parents, children,
and families in Maryland deserve the right to pursue their own
self-determination and should not be forced to choose between their
counselor and their faith values.”
|
|
| Counselor Training Programs
March 6--Online
Online Counselor Training Program
(10 sessions)
Thursdays from
1:00 - 2:30pm EST
Click here for more details
May 1-3--In Person Training
Baltimore, MD
|
| April 4-6
Key to Your Child's Heart Weekend for Mothers
Come
and share your burden. Feel lighter as you connect with other mothers
who understand. You will gain practical tools for healing your family.
Click here for more details.
|
| August TBD
Breakthrough Healing Weekend for Men with Unwanted Same-Sex Attractions
Breakthrough unhealthy relational
patterns and behaviors; learn to connect with men on a deeper level; and
move to a new place of healing in your journey.
Click here for more details.
|
| September 26-28
Key to Your Child's Heart Weekend for Fathers
This weekend will give you the
opportunity to connect with other fathers that are in the same position
as you, and learn together how you can rise up and face the challenges
that affect our families and children!
Click here for more details.
|
|
|
