“How much of his self-loathing is rooted in unrealistic expectations for changing his attractions and his failure to do so?”

Wasn’t it Mark Yarhouse who said:

“…it would seem that heightened expectations for categorical change increases the risk for disappointment, resentment, and shame for those who do not experience as many gains as they had hoped.”

I interact with many “ex-gay/reparative therapy” cast-offs and drop outs every day, and they all express that (years later) they continue to battle feelings of self-loathing, disappointment, resentment and shame because they failed to “change” as promised.

Fortunately, many also find support in coming to terms with their sexual orientation and go on to live productive, balanced and happy lives, intergrating their spirituality and homosexual orientation. I believe that should be the focus of pastoral and professional care — not orientation change.

Perhaps he was not aware of the research that shows the effectiveness of a dual-pronged approach to treating depression: a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy plus anti-depressant medication.

“…it’s also important to point out what most psychology majors learn their first year of college: correlation does not imply causality.”

Sometimes, I get the feeling that the folks at NARTH skipped class that day.

Does this make sense to anybody?

I guess it makes sense to people who believe that no one is really homosexual in orientation — that we are all intrinsically straight — and that gayness is some sort of “block” to one’s innate heterosexuality.