A college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues
Last week, I wrote about advice given by Nashville Statement signer Rosaria Butterfield to a heterosexually married woman who fell in love with a woman. In addition, this woman had come to dislike her husband greatly and had not been intimate with him for over a year. Butterfield’s answer to the intimacy problem was for … Continue reading “Mixed Orientation Couples and The Nashville Statement: What Would I Do?”
According to the New York Times, psychiatrist and author of the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual Robert Spitzer died on Christmas Day. Spitzer is credited with changing the way mental health professionals view diagnosis of mental disorders. By basing the assessment of mental disorder on personal distress and diminished functioning, Spitzer … Continue reading “Robert Spitzer, Father of Modern Psychiatric Diagnosis, Dies at 83”
Michael Glatze burst into the awareness of those in the ex-gay world in July 2007. He was a gay activist who in a panic turned to God. At that time, I had turned from my days supporting sexual reorientation change efforts and had established the sexual identity therapy framework as the better approach to traditionally … Continue reading “I Am Michael: The Retelling of Michael Glatze”
Julea Ward was kicked out of the MA program at Eastern Michigan University’s counseling program because she refused to counsel against what she said her religious beliefs required. She referred a gay student after consulting with her supervisor and the program faculty believed she had violated ethics. She sued over her dismissal and after losing … Continue reading “Ward vs. Eastern Michigan University Settled Out of Court”
Let me begin by saying that I endorsed the book, Ex-Gays, A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation, by Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse which contained the first report of their longitudinal study. Since the publication of the book, Jones and Yarhouse have released results of their final follow up, first in … Continue reading “The Jones and Yarhouse study: What does it mean?”