Gay Conversion Therapy and BYU

What is gay conversion therapy?

The term "conversion therapy" can refer to any type of effort to change or mitigate someone's sexual orientation and is typically referred to in contemporary literature as SOCE (sexual orientation change efforts.)[1]

From the 1950s through the mid-1970s, "homosexuality"[2] was classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as a disorder.[3] In this context, gay conversion therapy was a subject of research in various universities and hospitals in the US and UK that intended to find ways to treat or "cure" homosexuality through various therapeutic techniques, including aversion therapy,[4] hormonal therapy,[5] and psychotherapeutic methods such as reparative therapy.[6]

What's the therapy where they use electroshocks?

Electroshocks were sometimes used in aversion therapy.[7] Aversion therapy was used to treat a variety of disorders, including alcoholism, "sexual deviance," and obsessive behaviors—typically with emetic (nausea-inducing) and electroshock methods.[8]

An animated gif from the ABC, or Australian Broadcasting Corporation, from May of 1970, showing a doctor and patient using aversion therapy with slides of men and women and an electroshock device. Black and White archival footage. — A segment from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's archival footage showing one form of gay aversion therapy in May of 1970. The patient and doctor operate the projector and electroshock machine together.

Did BYU use electroshocks to try to change gay people?

Yes. Gay aversion research utilizing electroshocks was conducted at BYU in the 1970s.[9] In 1976, BYU accepted a dissertation from a psychology graduate student named Max Ford McBride which documented his research and experimentation with gay aversion therapy using electric shocks to the volunteers' biceps.[10]

Did other universities conduct studies like this at the time?

Yes. Harvard Medical School, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin, and other schools, hospitals, and laboratories conducted aversion therapy research, many of them utilizing electroshock methods.[11]

Timeline of events related to gay conversion therapy, scientific research, and the Church

Pre-1950s: Early Behaviorism Research

1913

Johns Hopkins psychologist John Watson[BIO] publishes "Psychology as the behaviorist views it," which proposes that psychology should be focused on changing human behavior rather than on consciousness.[12]

1935

The first experimental research related to gay aversion therapy utilizing electroshocks is presented at the Forty-third Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association.[13]

1940

Walter Voegtlin[BIO] publishes a report on one of the first treatment centers to utilize Behaviorist methods using emetic and electroshock aversion therapy on alcoholics.[14]

1950s: Scientific approach to the "problem of homosexuality"

1951

The Mattachine Society is formed, which is the first national gay rights organization in the US.[15]

1952

The American Psychiatric Association publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which designates homosexuality as a sexual deviance and a pathology.[16]

1955

The Council of the British Medical Association convenes a committee and calls for medical research on the prevention and treatment of prostitution and homosexuality because "it is inadequate for society merely to condemn the conduct of homosexuals and prostitutes."[17]

1956

Evelyn Hooker[BIO] from UCLA conducts Rorschach tests on homosexuals and challenges the idea that "homosexuality" is clinically identifiable.[18]

1957

Desmond Curran[BIO] publishes "Homosexuality: An Analysis of 100 Male Cases Seen in Private Practice" and reports that 15% of the follow-up cohort experienced a "change towards heterosexual preference," but also concluded that psychotherapy had "no apparent benefit" in terms of sexual orientation change.[19]

1957

The "Wolfenden Report" was published in the UK which recommended "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private be no longer a criminal offence" and advised research to be conducted on the efficacy of "various forms of treatment [for homosexuality]."[20]

January 1958

Martin Luther King Jr.[BIO] publishes advice to a young gay man and explains that his "problem is not at all an uncommon one" and encourages him to see a psychiatrist to help "solve" the "problem."[21]

1958

J. A. Hadfield[BIO] from the University of London publishes "The Cure of Homosexuality" and proposes that homosexuals can become "sexually normal persons" through psychotherapy.[22]

1958

Clifford Allen M.D.,[BIO] a clinical psychiatrist and author, wrote in Homosexuality: Its Nature, Causation and Treatment, “It definitely is not true that homosexuality is incurable. Those who make such statements have never tried to treat it.”[23]

May 21, 1959

BYU president, Ernest Wilkinson[BIO] meets with the Executive Committee of the Church Board of Education and discusses “the growing problem in our society of homosexuality” and agrees on a policy that "unrepentant" students will be suspended at BYU.[24]

1960s: Additional research, the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement, and BYU policy

May 1962

The British Medical Journal publishes "Case of homosexuality treated by aversion therapy" which describes a "6 Kinsey scale"[25] patient being treated with emetic[26] and hormonal methods and concludes that "results fulfil the criteria of cure."[27]

Sept 12, 1962

Apostles Spencer W. Kimball[BIO] and Mark E. Peterson[BIO] meet with Ernest Wilkinson, president of BYU, and decide "no one will be admitted at the B.Y.U. whom we have convincing evidence is a homosexual."[28]

1962–1969

Research hospitals and universities in the United Kingdom using various methods, including electroshock treatment, report "a significant number of successes" in treating unwanted homosexuality.[29]

1964

Apostle Spencer W. Kimball[BIO] instructs seminary and institute teachers at BYU on fornication and specifically homosexuality, citing a report from the New York Academy of Medicine that characterized homosexuality as a treatable illness.[30]

1965

The Church News reprints a digest of a speech by BYU President Ernest L. Wilkinson where he said that students who have not "completely abandoned" their "[homosexual] tendency" would not be allowed to enroll or remain as students.[31]

January 1969

The board of trustees rules that "homosexual students would not be admitted or retained at BYU without approval from the General Authorities."[32]

June 1969

Stonewall riots in New York City mark the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement.[33]

September 1969

BYU Psychology Department begins unspecified electroshock aversion therapy research.[34]

1970s: Science and the social movement collide

1970

The Gay Liberation Front "invades" the American Psychiatric Association conference in San Francisco and makes demands, including an end to aversion therapy.[35]

1970

The Church publishes "Hope for Transgressors," a pamphlet instructing bishops on how to counsel members experiencing homosexuality.[36]

1971

Harvard publishes "Avoidance Conditioning for Homosexuality," details gay aversion research utilizing electroshock methods, and reports "homosexual response suppression was produced" in over 60% of patients.[37]

1971

Dallin H. Oaks[BIO] begins service as President of BYU.[38]

1972

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee conducts gay aversion therapy research on a twenty-three-year-old subject utilizing a variety of methods, including electroshock methods, reporting "a marked increase in heterosexual arousal" in the subject after the 14-week treatment.[39]

1973

The Association for Gay Psychologists (AGP) is formed to lobby the American Psychological Association to form a gay rights task force.[40]

1973

The Church publishes a comprehensive internal training document "Homosexuality Welfare Services Packet 1" on how to minister to gay and lesbian members of the Church, and outlines policies related to temple recommends, disfellowship, and excommunication.[41]

1973–1995

Various accounts from students and faculty recall receiving electroshock therapy referred by the BYU counseling center.[42]

1974

The University of Pittsburgh conducts gay aversion therapy research utilizing various forms of therapy, including electroshock methods, and reports after a 40-week follow-up that the subject was in a "close and satisfying" heterosexual relationship.[43]

April 1974

The American Psychiatric Association votes to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder in the DSM-II and it passes 58% to 38% of the voting membership, with about half of the membership not casting votes.[44]

January 1975

The American Psychological Association votes and passes a resolution to support the 1974 American Psychiatric Association declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder and "urges the enactment of civil rights legislation" to give "citizens who engage in acts of homosexuality the same protections" as others "on the basis of race, creed, color, etc."[45]

January 1975

BYU reportedly takes action against suspected homosexuals in what would be referred to as the "Purge of '75" at the Harris Fine Arts Center.[46]

1975

BYU graduate student Max Ford McBride[BIO] conducts gay aversion therapy research utilizing electroshock methods. His dissertation "Effect of visual stimuli in electric aversion therapy”[47] reports his methodology to be "highly effective in changing subjective evaluation of sexual orientation."[48]

1975

Time Magazine features Air Force Sgt. Leonard Phillip Matlovich[BIO] on the cover with the caption "I am a Homosexual."[49] Matlovich was also a Latter-day Saint, although this was not featured in the story.[50]

October 1975

Robert Card,[BIO] a Latter-day Saint psychologist in private practice, publishes an article relating his use of electroshock methods in gay aversion therapy with Latter-day Saint clients.[51]

March 1976

BYU professor Carlyle Mardsen[BIO] dies by suicide after being arrested for "lewdness and sodomy stemming from alleged homosexual activity" at a public rest stop near Pleasant Grove, Utah.[52] There are several anecdotal accounts of suicides of gay men at BYU in the 1960s and 1970s, but Mardsen is the best documented.[53]

October 1976

Apostle Boyd K. Packer[BIO] gives a Priesthood Session talk and warns the youth against "physical mischief with another man" and includes an admonition to physically defend yourself from sexual advances from homosexuals.[54]

1977-1979

Various articles about homosexuality appear in the "Church News" section of the Deseret News.[55]

1977

Cloy Jenkins,[BIO] a gay BYU student, anonymously publishes a 52-page essay challenging BYU and Church policy relating to gay people referred to as the “Payne Papers” and sends it to Church General Authorities.[56] The Church responded with an internal document entitled "A Reply to Unfounded Assertions Regarding Homosexuality."[57]

1977

Steve Morin,[BIO] founder of the Association of Gay Psychologists, surveys research papers related to homosexuality, examines them for "heterosexual bias," and calls for new "priorities for future research on lesbianism and male homosexuality."[58]

January 1978

The Los Angeles chapter of Affirmation: Gay Mormons United is formed and becomes the "leading chapter" of the gay support group for Latter-day Saints.[59]

February 1978

Gerald Dye,[BIO] Chairman of the BYU Standards office, is interviewed and is reported as saying "[homosexual] students who remain are required to undergo therapy," but that "no student working through Standards will ever undergo aversion therapy."[60]

March 5, 1978

Apostle Boyd K. Packer gives a talk (later published as a pamphlet entitled "To the One") at a multi-stake fireside at BYU, specifically addressing members of the audience who were gay: "I speak to those few, those very few, who may be subject to homosexual temptation."[61]

1979

BYU dissertation by Elizabeth C. James[BIO] catalogs over 100 gay aversion therapy studies that treated over 900 patients from 1930–1975 and finds a qualified "improved or recovered" rate of 58%.[62]

1980-2000: The post-pathology era

1981

The Church publishes a booklet entitled Homosexuality for "stake presidents, bishops, mission presidents, branch presidents, quorum leaders, and others assigned to help individuals with this problem."[63]

1987

The American Psychological Association passes a resolution "urg[ing] its members" to reject the classification of "unwanted homosexuality" as a disorder.[64]

1989

Evergreen International, a gay ministry group that "sustains the doctrines and standards of the Church [of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] without reservation or exception," is founded.[65]

1991

Don Harryman,[BIO] a former BYU student, publishes his experience participating in the BYU McBride gay aversion therapy study in 1975.[66]

1992

The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) is founded "in response to the growing threat of scientific censorship" with the "primary goal [of making] effective psychological therapy available to all homosexual men and women who seek change."[67]

1994

The American Psychoanalytic Association surveys 285 therapists representing 1,215 homosexual patients and publishes a report that 23% of their patients "changed to heterosexual" through therapy.[68]

May 1994

"Ex-gay" protesters picket the Sesquicentennial Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association annual conference demanding that the APA stop opposing "reparative therapy."[69]

1995

The Exodus International Advisory Council is formed from various international ex-gay Christian groups that ministered to homosexuals.[70]

1996

"Legacies: a Documentary by Sean Weakland" is released which interviews four gay men who share their personal stories with aversion therapy, recounting trauma and abuses, some of them while at BYU.[71]

1998

The American Psychiatric Association adopts a policy that discourages "reparative" or "conversion" therapy, but concedes that "in the course of ongoing psychiatric treatment there may be appropriate clinical indications for attempting to change sexual behaviors."[72]

1998

Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) is founded, the first "Jewish-based organization specifically dealing with the healing of homosexuality" that "provides resources to those who choose to grow out of same-sex attraction."[73]

2000-present: Competing narratives

2000

The American Psychiatric Association expands on its 1998 statement with stronger language and questioning past research: "Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or 'repair' homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable."[74]

2000

The American Medical Association adopts Resolution 506, which states that "the AMA oppose the use of 'reparative' or 'conversion' therapy" and is integrated into AMA Health Policy H-160.991."[75]

June 2000

The University of Utah publishes a national survey of 882 "dissatisfied homosexual people," 45% of which made "major [heterosexual] shifts in their sexual orientation," reporting "improved psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual well-being."[76]

May 9, 2001

Robert Spitzer,[BIO] former American Psychiatric Association chair, presents the results of a 200-person study to the annual APA conference and indicates that there is "evidence that . . . core features of sexual orientation" are able to "change."[77] The APA responded that "APA maintains there is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of reparative therapy as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientation."[78]

2002

Ariel Shidlo,[BIO] a psychologist with the Columbia Center for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Mental Health, publishes a study of 202 subjects who underwent reparative therapy and determines that only 4% were successful in shifting exclusive homosexuality to heterosexuality, and many suffered from "spiritual harm."[79]

October 2003

Archives of Sexual Behavior publishes "Peer Commentaries on Spitzer," a collection of responses from 42 peers of Robert Spitzer, most criticizing or condemning the study.[80] Spitzer issued a response defending the validity of his research.[81]

2006

Dallin H. Oaks states in an interview about “same-gender attraction" that aversive therapies have contained "some serious abuses."[82]

2007

North Star is founded to "provide a place of community for Latter-day Saints who experience homosexual attraction."[83]

April 2007

BYU revises the text of the Honor Code to clarify that it "will respond to homosexual behavior rather than to feelings or orientation" but maintained that "homosexual behavior or advocacy of homosexual behavior are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code."[84]

2010

8: The Mormon Proposition, a documentary about the Latter-day Saints and California Proposition 8, is released featuring accounts of BYU aversion therapy as well as related suicides.[85]

2011

John Clarence Cameron[BIO] writes a play entitled "14" inspired by his experience as a participant in the BYU McBride study on gay aversion therapy in 1975.[86]

2012

Robert Spitzer disavows his 2001 study where he interviewed 200 formerly exclusive homosexuals and determined that the "core features of sexual orientation" can be changed, stating that the 200 subjects may have been "deceiving themselves" or "had been outright lying."[87]

2012

Researchers at Cornell University publish an analysis of a cohort of 12,287 people over 6 years and found that 34% of male and 37% of female sexual minorities reported that their sexual orientation shifted towards heterosexuality.[88]

2012

Exodus International, the "oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality," renounces reparative therapy, and apologizes to the LGBTQ community. Soon after, in 2013, they close operations.[89]

2014

Evergreen International, the Latter-day Saint gay ministry group, merges with North Star and ceases operations as an independent entity.[90]

2015

JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing) is sued for consumer fraud and ordered to pay restitution and close operations.[91]

2016

Lisa Diamond from the University of Utah publishes a meta-analysis of national and international surveys indicating that between 25% and 75% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual survey respondents report having experienced a change in their sexual orientation at some point in their lives.[92]

2019

Marty Stephens,[BIO] director of government and community relations for the Church, states the "[Church] opposes 'conversion therapy' and our therapists do not practice it."[93]

2021

In a Q&A session at the University of Virginia, Dallin H. Oaks mistakenly said that electric shock treatment "never went on under my administration.”[94]

Expand Timeline

Did BYU have some specific religious justification for conducting gay aversion therapy research?

Possibly, but there aren't any records related to gay aversion research in the Psychology Department at BYU that indicate that Church doctrine or theology was related to the research.

Eugene Thorne,[BIO] head of the Psychology Department at BYU in the 1970s, explained that BYU engaged in the research because various medical journals[95] were publishing "success" in gay aversion and conversion therapies and that it was "worthy of doing further research."[96]

How exactly was the aversion therapy administered in the BYU Psychology Department research?

In the McBride study, fourteen volunteers, each of whom reported "unwanted homosexual desires," were divided into two groups of seven.[97] Volunteers were shown images of clothed and nude males and asked to fantasize about the images.[98] Mildly painful electric shocks, at levels set by the subject, were delivered to the biceps of the volunteers at various times during the sessions.[99]

Is this like the electric shock that is depicted in some movies?

No. In movies like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the character played by Jack Nicholson[BIO] is given electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which is different than electroshock therapy.[100]

ECT is when electrical currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a seizure and sometimes causing violent convulsions.[101] Electroshock therapy applies a relatively mild, but very uncomfortable shock to usually an arm or leg.[102]

BYU did not use ECT in any gay aversion therapy research.

How long were the electroshocks applied?

In the BYU McBride study, sessions within the study applied shocks differently. During the calibration phase to find the appropriate level of milliamps for the individual, the electroshocks lasted three seconds.[103] In the conditioning phases, the individual could completely avoid electroshocks by pressing a button or the duration of the shocks would be administered randomly for up to 8 seconds, depending on the phase of the therapy.[104]

Were electric shocks ever applied to genitals?

No, probably not. There is no university or hospital that ever reported therapy methods that utilized electroshock to participants' genitals. The McBride dissertation and Dr. Eugene Thorne[BIO] stated that the BYU conversion therapy experiments used shocks on the biceps.[105]

In 2011, ABC news reported that genitals were shocked during the McBride study, but John Cameron, a participant in the study, reportedly refuted this claim.[106] It's possible that reports conflated the use of electrodes with a plethysmograph, a device used in the study to measure penile arousal.[107]

Did BYU utilize vomit-inducing aversion therapy?

Emetics (substances that cause nausea or vomiting) were used in aversion therapy at some institutions,[108] but there are no records indicating that BYU research used emetics in their studies. Faculty involved in gay aversion research at the time of the McBride study and a BYU spokeswoman both stated this method was never used.[109]

However, there are accounts of people receiving aversion therapy on BYU campus using emetics, but it's unclear if these were private practitioners or how they were related to BYU.[110]

Did BYU coerce people to participate in gay conversion therapy?

Probably. The research conducted at BYU by the Psychology Department used volunteers who were seeking "treatment for homosexuality."[111]

However, there are reports of the Honor Code Office (then called the Standards Office) giving students the option to participate in therapy with private practitioners or be expelled from BYU.[112] Gerald Dye, the head of the Standards Office in the 1970s, reportedly stated that the type of therapy that students were required to receive was non-aversion therapy.[113]

Wasn't this kind of conversion therapy basically torture?

For those who were coerced into unwanted aversion therapy, the treatment was reported to be painful and humiliating.[114]

Did the Church officially approve the research in the BYU Psychology department?

No, probably not. The Church isn't involved in reviewing and/or approving dissertations at BYU. However, nearly all faculty are members of the Church,[115] the Church makes up the BYU Board of Trustees,[116] and BYU did approve of the research.[117]

If the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, why did BYU approve the research?

The American Psychiatric Association ratified the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973[118] but the American Psychological Association did not endorse this change until 1975, and still considered "unwanted homosexuality" as a disorder until 1987.[119]

This research continued after the 1973 declassification by academic institutions such as Harvard Medical School, the University of Pittsburgh, and BYU.[120]

What was the Church's policy about gay conversion therapy?

During the 1970s the Church published internal documents that counseled bishops to work with "homosexuals" and, consistent with scientific research at the time,[121] that it was possible that they could be "cured" through therapeutic methods.[122]

Did BYU or the Church ever ask gay Latter-day Saints to provide names of other suspected gay people?

Yes. The Church published an internal guide in 1973 that directed Church leaders to require people experiencing homosexuality to disclose their sexual partners.[123]

There are also reports that BYU coerced students into reporting names of other gay students or they would be expelled.[124]

Did anybody involved in conversion therapy at BYU commit suicide?

There are several reports of gay students who were involved in some form of aversion therapy committing suicide while at BYU, though documentation is limited.[125]

Did any participants from the McBride Psychology Department experiment commit suicide?

No, probably not. In a 2007 speech made at an Affirmation conference, Connell O'Donovan[BIO] stated "[The BYU McBride study] started out with 16 Gay male BYU students and staff, but two committed suicide during the experiment, so the study only ended up with 14 subjects."[126] This claim was then repeated in 2008 by QSaltLake Magazine.[127]

However, there were seventeen participants, not sixteen, and there are no contemporary reports of suicide related to the McBride study in the documentary record.[128]

Does conversion therapy cause people to commit suicide?

The most recent research indicates that conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), is correlated with lower rates of suicidality.[129] However, there is no available data on this topic from the 1960s or 1970s that specifically relates to aversion therapy.

Read More Difficult Questions

187 Primary Sources

Footnotes

BIOJohn B. Watson
John B. Watson (1878-1958) was an American psychologist. He received a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1903. Watson is considered by many to be the founder of Behaviorism, which is an area of psychology that is concerned with manipulating human behavior through conditioning by positive or negative reinforcement. He is also known for conducting the controversial "Little Albert" experiment, where he attempted to condition an infant to fear soft and fluffy things.
BIOWalter Voegtlin
Walter Lyle Voegtlin (March 4, 1904 – 1975) was an American gastroenterologist. He studied at the University of Washington and Northwestern University Medical School. In the 1930s Voegtlin and psychiatrist Frederick Lemere practiced aversion therapy on alcoholics at the Shadel Sanatorium. In the 1970s he published a nutrition book about Paleolithic diets.
BIOEvelyn Hooker
Evelyn Hooker (September 2, 1907-November 18, 1996) received her PhD in psychology at John Hopkins University in 1932. She is best known for her research in the 1950s on homosexuality. In 1956 she published "The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual" in the Journal of Projective Techniques where she suggested that "homosexuality, as a clinical entity, does not exist." In 1967, Hooker became Chair of the NIMH Task Force on Homosexuality. She received various awards for her research on homosexuality.
BIODesmond Curran
Richard Desmond Curran (February 14, 1903-September 26, 1985) was a British clinical psychiatrist. He was educated at Wellington and Trinity College, Cambridge and later St. George's Hospital medical school. He served in the Royal Navy beginning in 1949. In 1943, he co-authored the textbook Psychological Medicine (Edinburgh: E & S Livingstone, 1943) with Erich Guttmann. Much of his research focused on personality disorders and sexual deviation. He was a member of the Franklin Committee on punishment in prisons and borstals, and the Wolfenden Commission on homosexuality.
BIOMartin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 -1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He attended Morehouse College, Crozer Theological College and Boston University. He championed the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was assassinated in 1968.
BIOJ. A. Hadfield
James Arthur Hadfield (1882–1967) was a pioneer of psychodynamic psychotherapy in Britain. His work included the article, "The Cure of Homosexuality," published in the British Medical Journal (June 7, 1958) where he reviewed cases of "cured" homosexuals, and the relationship between the mind, body, and soul in light of religion and his psychical research, including the chapter "The Mind and the Brain" in the book Immortality: An Essay in Discovery Co-Ordinating Scientific, Psychical, and Biblical Research.
BIOCharles Berg
Charles Berg (1892-1957) was a British psychiatrist and author of clinical texts including Fear, Punishment, Anxiety and the Wolfenden Report, Clinical Psychology: A Case Book of the Neuroses and their Treatment and The Problem of Homosexuality. Berg was a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Consultant Psychiatrist to the British Hospital for Functional Nervous Disorders.
BIOErnest L. Wilkinson
Ernest L. Wilkinson (1899-1978) served as the president of Brigham Young University from 1951 to 1971. He implemented the university's dress standards, established the first law school, and promoted a campus environment defined by mid-twentieth-century conservative values.
BIOSpencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reared in Thatcher, Arizona, Kimball founded and ran a securities business as a young man and became involved in several Thatcher-area community organizations. He became an apostle in 1943, where he became a leading advocate for ministry to and work with indigenous Americans. As Church president, he became an advocate for the global expansion of the Church. In 1978, President Kimball received the revelation to lift the priesthood/temple restriction on peoples with African ancestry.
BIOMark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen (1900-1984) served as an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Salt Lake City, Petersen served a mission to Nova Scotia and attended the University of Utah, where he studied journalism. He worked as a reporter for the Deseret News and soon became the Deseret News general manager. In 1944, he was appointed to the apostleship. He became the author of multiple short books on scriptural figures such as Moses and Joshua and moral issues such as alcohol consumption and sexual relationships. Petersen also was an ardent opponent of the Civil Rights Movement, warning that it would lead to racial intermarriage. Petersen died from cancer in 1984.
BIODallin H. Oaks
Dallin H. Oaks (1932–present) was born in Provo, Utah, and became an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1984. After the death of his first wife, June Dixon Oaks, in 1998, he married Kristen M. McMain in 2000. He graduated from Brigham Young University (1954) and the University of Chicago Law School (1957). After practicing and teaching law in Chicago, he became the president of Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1980. He was then a justice of the Utah Supreme Court (1980–1984) before resigning to become an apostle. He was made the first counselor in the First Presidency and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2018.
BIOMax Ford McBride
Max Ford McBride was the author of the PhD dissertation "Effect of visual stimuli in electric aversion therapy," Brigham Young University, Department of Psychology, 1976. As part of the research, he performed electroshock therapy on 14 gay male students of BYU. He graduated from BYU and runs a private practice in Utah County.
BIOLeonard Matlovich
Leonard Phillip Matlovich (July 6, 1943 – June 22, 1988) served in the Vietnam War for the U.S. army and was the recipient of both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1968 while serving in Vietnam. He was the first gay service member to purposely out himself to fight the ban against gays in the military. His photograph appeared on the cover of the September 8, 1975 issue of Time magazine. He would later be excommunicate twice for homosexual acts, the first on October 7, 1975, and the second on January 17, 1979. He died June 22, 1988, due to complications from HIV/AIDS.
BIORobert Duane Card
Robert Duane Card (1931-2020) was a therapist that operated a private practice in Utah County. Card received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Utah. Author of the article "Counseling the Homosexual In A Private Practice Setting," published in Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy (1975) where he explained his philosophy and methods for treating Latter-day Saint homosexuals with aversion therapy.
BIOCarlyle D. Mardsen
Carlyle Davenport Mardsen was born on December 9, 1921, in Parowan, Utah. He was a World War II veteran and taught music at a Jr. High as well as BYU. He served a mission in the New England States and had been a member of the bishopric and high council in Pomona, California. He was arrested in March 1976 for "public lewdness and sodomy" in Utah County. He committed suicide March 8, 1976. He was 54 years old.
BIOBoyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) was born in Brigham City, Utah. He enlisted in the army during World War II and trained as a bomber pilot in the Pacific. He attended Weber College and Utah State University. He earned an EdD from BYU. He worked in the Church Education System until he was called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelves Apostles in 1970. He served as an Apostle until his death in 2015. He served as acting president of that quorum from 1994–2008 and as president from 2008 until his death.
BIOCloy Jenkins
Cloy Jenkins was a gay student at BYU who, with assistance from BYU instructor Lee Williams and others, authored a document referred to as the "Payne Papers" which was published into a book entitled Prologue: An Examination of the Mormon Attitude toward Homosexuality (1977).
BIOStephen F. Morin
Stephen F. Morin is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. In 2007 he was the recipient of the "Distinguished Senior Psychologist Award" from the American Psychological Association National Multicultural Conference and Summit and the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2004 from the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. In June 1973, he was one of the founding members of the Association of Gay Psychologists.
BIOGerald Dye
Gerald J. Dye (1925-2021) was born in Firth, Idaho. He served as a B-29 crew member in WW2 and attended Utah State University. He earned a Masters Degree in Education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He served as a bishop in Warner Robins, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; and Orem, Utah. Gerald retired from active duty in the military in 1970 and served as Director of University Standards and later as Director of Academic Standards until 1985.
BIOElizabeth C. James
Elizabeth C. James was author of the dissertation "Treatment of Homosexuality: A Reanalysis and Synthesis of Outcome Studies," BYU Psychology Department, December 1978. Her thesis was a meta analysis of sexual orientation change efforts in the treatment of homosexuals.
BIODon D. Harryman
Don D. Harryman (May 21, 1951 - April 5, 2015) was born in Los Angeles. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1980 in Japanese language and Asian studies. While at BYU he was a participant in the McBride gay aversion study in the BYU Psychology Department. Upon graduation, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and worked as a travel and financial counselor for American Express and was involved in gay civil rights issues.
BIORobert L. Spitzer
Robert Leopold Spitzer (May 22, 1932 – December 25, 2015). Received his B.A. in psychology from Cornell University in 1953 and M.D. from New York University School of Medicine in 1957. He spent most of his professional career at Columbia University as Professor of Psychiatry. In June 1973 Spitzer proposed a resolution to the APA to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder in the DSM-II, which passed and was ratified in 1974. In 2003 he published a controversial paper entitled "Can Some Gay Men and Lesbians Change Their Sexual Orientation?" but in 2012 he retracted his 2003 publication.
BIOAriel Shidlo
Ariel Shidlo received his PhD from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1992. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, and Clinical Director of Well Clinic, San Francisco. He is the co-editor of the book Sexual Conversion Therapy: Ethical, Clinical and Research Perspectives.
BIOJohn Cameron
John Cameron is a playwright and Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa. He served a mission for the Church in Guatemala and El Salvador. While a student at Brigham Young University he participated in a study of electric aversion therapy in 1976, the results of which would later be published as "Effects of Visual Stimuli in Electric Aversion Therapy" by Max Ford McBride. Cameron received a PhD from Kent State University, and was a faculty member at Stony Brook University. In 2008 Cameron wrote a play entitled "14" based on his experiences with the Max Ford McBride experiments in 1976.
BIOMarty Stephens
Martin Stephens (March 26, 1954 – present) was born in Ogden, Utah. He is a former Utah House speaker (Republican) and was brought on by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in September 2017 on a volunteer basis to serve as the Director of Community and Government Relations. He served primarily as a lobbyist for the Church.
BIOEugene Thorne
Eugene Thorne (1934-2018) was a faculty member of the Psychology Department at BYU from 1966-1990 and was head of the department during the McBride dissertation on gay conversion therapy. He was also a partner in the Law Firm Taylor, Moody & Thorne (1979-1992), co-owner of Residential Treatment Schools; Provo Canyon School (1978-1986); and Discovery Academy (1989-2003), and co-owner of the Holiday Inn and Brass Hearth Restaurant in Provo, UT (1983-1992).
BIOJack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (b. April 22, 1937) is a retired American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his roles in Chinatown (1974), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Shining (1980). He is the recipient of three Acadamy Awards.
BIOConnell O'Donovan
Connell O'Donovan (b. 1961) also known as Rocky O'Donovan, is an amateur historian and LGBT activist. He has served on the Board of Director of Affirmation and is affiliated with the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, Mormon History Association. He is the author of various articles such as The Abominable and Detestable Crime Against Nature’: A Brief History of Homosexuality and Mormonism, 1840- 1980 and Ecce Homo: Ruminations on a Theology of My Queer Body and has spoken at various symposiums and conferences.
[1]↩︎
The terms "SOCE", "conversion therapy," and "reparative therapy" are generally interchangeable terms. However, the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Medical Association tend to use the term "SOCE" to describe therapies intended to alter sexual orientation.
[2]↩︎
Note that "homosexual" and "homosexuality" were the common terms used in scientific literature throughout most of the twentieth century, although it is not the preferred terminology today.
[3]↩︎
The DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was published in 1968 and classifies "homosexuality" as Sexual Deviation 302.0.
In 1980 the DSM-III continued to classify ego-dystonic ("unwanted") homosexuality as a disorder until 1987.
[4]↩︎
Aversion therapy is a type of therapy from the Behaviorist movement that attempted to associate negative stimuli (e.g. pain or nausea) with unwanted behavior to condition the patient to develop an aversion to the behavior.
For example, one of the first reports on gay aversion therapy was published in the British Medical Journal in 1962 utilizing emetic therapy which made the patient nauseous while viewing images of nude men.
- British Medical Journal publishes successful gay aversion therapy using emetics.
- John B. Watson presents the basis of behavioral psychology.
[5]↩︎
Hormonal therapy involved giving patients who had unwanted homosexuality doses of various types of hormones to attempt to mitigate their sexual attraction to members of the same sex.
One of the earliest examples of this form of treatment was reported in The British Journal of Delinquency in 1958.
- The British Journal of Delinquency published results of treatment of homosexuals with 65% (31 of 48) shifting towards heterosexuality from those that completed treatment.
[6]↩︎
Reparative therapy in the context of homosexuality is a term that was popularized in 1991 by the book Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality: A New Clinical Approach by Joseph Nicolosi.
It is a particular type of psychotherapy that is focused on the subject's relationship with their parents, particularly their father, and relationships with men in general.
This term is often used interchangeably with "conversion" therapy.
- Joseph Nicolosi popularizes the term "reparative therapy" as a new approach to mitigate unwanted homosexuality.
[7]↩︎
In 1913 John Hopkins University researcher, John Watson, published his essay entitled "Psychology as the behaviorist views it" which stated:
Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior.
- John B. Watson presents the basis of behavioral psychology.
[8]↩︎
For example, research on aversion therapy using a variety of methods was published in scientific journals such as Behaviour Research and Therapy, The British Journal of Psychiatry, and American Journal of the Medical Sciences starting in the 1940 through the 1970s.
[9]↩︎
The earliest record of electroshock therapy is found in the September 22, 1969 BYU Vice President minutes where the legal liabilities of electroshock therapy were discussed. The minutes do not indicate if these therapies were related to gay aversion therapy, or other types of aversion therapies.
In a 2018 interview, Eugene Thorne, a former researcher in the Psychology Department in the 1970s, recalled performing gay aversion research using electroshock methods while at BYU.
- BYU Vice President Minutes: reviewing material by Thorne and Howell concerning Electrical Aversive Therapy; Wilkinson requests further report on this treatment option.
- Interview of BYU professor who was involved in conversion therapy.
[10]↩︎
The Max Mcbride dissertation is the only research on gay aversion therapy conducted at BYU that led to an accessible, documented study.
- Dissertation from BYU that used electric shocks in aversion therapy.
- Interview of BYU professor who was involved in conversion therapy.
[11]↩︎
Many institutions in the 1960s and 1970s did research on gay aversion and conversion therapy, some of which used electric shocks or other physical and psychological aversion techniques.
For example, researchers at Crumpsall Hospital in Manchester, the University of Wisconsin, and Barnstead Hospital in Surrey, England utilized electric shocks in their gay aversion research.
Queens University in Ireland applied a "positive" aversion method by dehydrating subjects and later rewarding them with a lime drink.
The University of Pittsburgh used a variety of psychological aversion techniques.
Harvard Medical School also conducted gay aversion therapy using electric shocks.
[12]↩︎
Watson first expressed this idea through a 1913 address at Columbia University, later republished in the journal Psychological Review:
Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness.
- John B. Watson presents the basis of behavioral psychology.
[13]↩︎
Louis William Max from New York University presented his research "Breaking Up a Homosexual Fixation by the Condition Reaction Technique." Max indicated that the electroshocks were intended to "disconnect" the subject from the homosexual stimulus.
- Louis William Max reports using electroshock stimulus to treat homosexual neurosis in a patient.
[14]↩︎
Voegtlin's sanatorium where he conducted his research became the Schick Shadel Hospital and treated over 30,000 patients for alcoholism using emetic and electroshock aversion therapy and reported that 60% of patients reached four years of sobriety.
- Frederick Lemere reports on the success of aversion therapy for alcoholism using emetic and electroshock treatments.
- Walter Voegtlin reports success in using aversion therapy with alcoholics.
[15]↩︎
The Mattachine Foundation (later changed to Society) was founded in Los Angeles by Harry Hay, a gay communist and labor activist. Chapters were formed in San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.
The organization disbanded in 1961.
- Mattachine Society Board states their founding principle is the research and education of "the sex-variant himself" and society.
- Mattachine Review publication cover for March-April 1955.
[16]↩︎
In the 1952 DSM-I (the first edition), homosexuality is found under title 320.6 Sexual Deviation:
The term includes most of the cases formerly classed as "psychopathic personality with pathologic sexuality." The diagnosis will specify the type of the pathologic behavior, such as homosexuality, transvestism, pedophilia, fetishism and sexual sadism (including rape, sexual assault, mutilation).
- American Psychiatric Association 1952 DSM-I entry on sexual deviance classifies homosexuality as a pathology.
[17]↩︎
The purpose of the committee was to help the government understand ways to improve the laws and punishments related to prostitution and homosexuality. A report on various findings of the committee were published in the British Medical Journal.
On the subject of research, the committee states that a balanced view of homosexuality has not been generally obtained and that further work is necessary.
- British Medical Journal publishes a report from the Departmental Committee on homosexuality.
- British Medical Journal Supplement publishes a report from the Departmental Committee on homosexuality.
[18]↩︎
Hooker acquired thirty gay volunteers from the Mattachine Society, a gay organization in Los Angeles, and matched them with thirty heterosexual men of similar age, IQs, and education level. They then removed ten participants who seemed to show signs of "considerable disturbance."
After removing all participants that had signs of "considerable disturbance," Hooker found that the remaining participants had no psychological problems. Based on this results, Hooker "tentatively suggested" that "homosexuality as a clinical entity does not exist."
The use of Rorschach tests has been controversial since the 1950s and some professional regard it as a type of pseudoscience, whereas other professionals say that there is some value in the test.
- Evelyn Hooker "very tentatively suggests" that "homosexuality as a clinical entity does not exist" based on Rorschach experiments.
[19]↩︎
Desmond Curran et al. evaluated a variety of characteristics of their subjects, including socioeconomic status, criminal behavior, "paedophiliacs," and subjects with "psychiatric abnormalities." With respect to therapy they observed:
Twenty-five patients treated psychotherapeutically derived no apparent benefit in terms of changed sexual preference or behaviour as compared with 25 (matched) patients not so treated.
- Desmond Curran publishes research indicating that 1 in 6 patients changed sexual orientation, but that psychotherapy, by itself, is ineffective.
[20]↩︎
The report was commissioned by the Home Secretary to better understand the nature of homosexuality and prostitution:
"to consider the law and practice relating to homosexual offences and the treatment of persons convicted of such offences by the courts; and (b) the law and practice relating to offences against the criminal law in connection with prostitution and solicitation for immoral purposes, and to report what changes, if any, are desirable."
This landmark report recommending the decriminalization of homosexuality marked the beginning of legal consideration for LGBT rights.
- Wolfenden Report on commissioned by British Home Office recommending further research on homosexuality.
[21]↩︎
Ebony magazine featured an advice column from Martin Luther King, Jr. from September 1957 until December of 1958 entitled "Advice for Living".
This illustrates the commonly accepted views on treatment options for gay men at the time.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. advises a young gay man to see a psychiatrist to "solve" the "problem."
[22]↩︎
Hadfield's article was published in the British Medical Journal and reviewed several case studies of successful treatment of homosexuals. Hadfield called for more research and concluded that:
This process of cure is a long one, and cannot be considered a practical answer to the wide-spread incidence of homosexuality. Probably the main benefit in analysing these cases and the discovery of their causes is that we may find the means to prevent them.
- J. A. Hadfield reviews cases of "cured" homosexuals in the British Medical Journal.
[23]↩︎
Charles Berg, M.D. and Allen Clifford, M.D. were practicing psychotherapists in London, England in the 1950s. Their book explored the nature, causation and treatment of homosexuality and included discussion and criticism of the Wolfenden Report.
- Charles Berg claims that those that say homosexuality is incurable have never tried to treat it.
[24]↩︎
Wilkinson recorded this meeting in his journal entry for May 21, 1959. Referring to the problem of homosexuality and general immorality, Wilkinson said,
These two problems interested the Brethren very, very much . . . and so we had a long discussion on them.
- Ernest L. Wilkinson records the decision to suspend homosexual BYU students that are not "unrepentant" and "working on their problems".
[25]↩︎
The Kinsey scale is a seven-point scale for classifying sexual attraction. It was published in 1948 in the book Sexual Behavior of the Human Male:
0. Exclusively heterosexual with no homosexual 1. Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual 2. Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual 3. Equally heterosexual and homosexual 4. Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual 5. Predominantly homosexual, but incidentally heterosexual 6. Exclusively homosexual
- Original Kinsey Scale of sexual attraction published in 1948.
[26]↩︎
"Emetic" refers to a medicine or other substance which causes vomiting.
[27]↩︎
The research was conducted at the Glenside Hospital in Stapleton, Bristol and concludes:
The case is described of a 40-year-old 100% homosexual treated by aversion therapy. The results fulfil the criteria of cure as defined by Hadfield. The treatment is brief, is in no way analytical, and can be adapted to the individual patient. Although the period of follow-up is comparatively short, the patient's heterosexual attraction is increasing with time rather than decreasing, and it would be easy to give a "booster" course of treatment should he show signs of relapse. The method depends very largely on the co-operation of the patient and his desire to be rid of his homosexual feelings. In his case other methods of treatment had completely failed.
- British Medical Journal publishes successful gay aversion therapy using emetics.
[28]↩︎
Wilkinson recorded this meeting in his journal, September 12, 1962. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss homosexual students at BYU:
We worked out a cooperative plan whereby the General Authorities will give us any information they have and we will give them information as to individual cases.
- Ernest L. Wilkinson records in his journal that in a meeting with the Elders Kimball and Peterson a policy was decided that homosexuals would not be admitted to BYU.
[29]↩︎
The British Journal of Psychiatry published a research paper surveying various reports that detailed ten different case studies and reported "a significant number of successes" in treatment.
Researchers at Crumpsall Hospital in Manchester and Barnstead Hospital in Surrey, England utilized electric shocks in their gay aversion research.
Queens University in Ireland applied a "positive" aversion method by dehydrating subjects and then rewarding them with a lime drink.
[30]↩︎
Spencer W. Kimball was an apostle at the time he gave the speech "A Counseling Problem in the Church" at BYU. His talk outlined the scriptural support for condemning homosexuality and likened it to a disease:
The cure for this malady lies in self mastery which is the fundamental basis of the whole gospel program.
He cited the Medical World News, June 5, 1964 and the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medicine to support his assertion that homosexuality was treatable depending on the desire of the subject.
[31]↩︎
A digest of this address entitled "Make Honor Your Standard" was printed in the November 13, 1965 edition of the Church News. President Wilkinson stated:
. . . we [do not] intend to admit to our campus any homosexuals. If any of you have this tendency and have not completely abandoned it, may I suggest that you leave the University immediately after this assembly;
- Ernest Wilkinson speech stating BYU will not admit homosexuals.
- President Wilkinson states that active homosexuals will not be admitted to BYU.
[32]↩︎
This 1969 policy was elaborated on in 1973 to specify that students and faculty who had repented and "forsaken [homosexual behavior] for a suitably lengthy period of time" or had not acted in a way "equivalent to fornication" could remain if decided by BYU administration.
- BYU Board of Trustees minutes refer to a 1969 policy to not admit homosexual students to BYU unless approved by GAs.
[33]↩︎
The riots started June 28th and continued through July 3 after a routine police raid on a bar that was frequented by gay patrons.
Instead of letting themselves be herded into the paddy wagons, however, as had happened dozens of times in the past, the group in the bar resisted arrest, threw bottles and bricks at the police and required the officers to call for reinforcements.
- Newsweek reports on the "Gay Liberation Movement" and notes the "flash point" was the Stonewall Inn riot of 1969.
[34]↩︎
BYU President Ernest L. Wilkinson expressed some concern about electroshock therapy research in the psychology department. The minutes indicate that he wanted to meet with the Clyde Sandgren, the chief legal officer at BYU, to discuss it with BYU psychology faculty Eugene Thorne and Robert J. Howell further.
According to Gary James Bergera and Ronald Priddis:
In late 1969, university administrators curtailed the on-campus use of "electrical aversive therapy" in treating "sneezing, twitching, hiccups, thumb sucking, nail biting, bed wetting, and sexual deviancy" because of religious considerations (Vice-Presidents’ Minutes, 22 Sept. 1969).
However, the minutes do not seem to indicate this.
- BYU Vice President Minutes: reviewing material by Thorne and Howell concerning Electrical Aversive Therapy; Wilkinson requests further report on this treatment option.
- Gary James Bergera cites Sept. 22, 1969 BYU Vice-President's Minutes as the source for a claim that BYU curtailed "electrical aversive therapy" due to religious considerations.
[35]↩︎
Donn Teal, author of The Gay Militants, described the event:
On May 14, 1970, psychiatrists became the hunted. An invasion by a coalition of gay and women’s liberationists interrupted the national convention of the [APA] in San Francisco “to Protest the reading of a paper by an Australian psychiatrist on the subject of ‘aversion therapy' . . .By the time the meeting was over, the feminists and their gay cohorts were in charge.
- Donn Teal describes the "invasion" by gay activists to the APA conference in San Francisco in 1970.
[36]↩︎
The pamphlet offers bishops various methods of counseling, encouragement, and cautions in trying to help members of the Church.
It states that "Homosexuality CAN be cured, if the battle is well organized and pursued vigorously and continuously" and to contact President Spencer W. Kimball and Elder Mark E. Peterson if "additional assistance is needed."
- The Church publishes "Hope for Transgressors" booklet advising leadership on homosexuality and states it can be "cured" and "forgiven".
[37]↩︎
Sixty patients were referred to the researchers and sixteen were selected for homosexuality, desire for treatment and no history of psychosis. Half the subjects were set as a control group. The paper stated that:
In five of eight treated patients and in none of eight placebo treated patients, homosexual response suppression was produced.
The study included a two-year followu-p and found "two of eight patients achieved sustained happy heterosexual adjustments" and had married women.
- Harvard research study utilizing electric shocks in treatment for homosexuality.
[38]↩︎
In a short biography of Dallin H. Oaks on the Church's Website, it reads that he
is a graduate of Brigham Young University (1954) and of the University of Chicago Law School (1957). He practiced law and taught law in Chicago. He was president of Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1980, and a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1980 until his resignation in 1984 to accept his calling to the apostleship.
- Oaks served as BYU president from 1971 to 1980.
[39]↩︎
The Wisconsin-Milwaukee study "A multiple behavioral approach to male homosexual behavior: A case study" utilized electrical aversive methods as well as "masturbation training" and practice in "heterosexual social skills." A six-month follow-up indicated that the changes had been maintained.
After 14 weeks of treatment, the client reported a marked increase in heterosexual arousal, marked reductions in homosexual arousal and heterosexual anxiety, and exclusively heterosexual behavior.
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee conversion therapy research.
[40]↩︎
Steve Morin recalled the 1973 APA conference where the AGP was conceived:
The audience, which included a large number of gay persons, was outraged by the entire symposium. During the open discussion period which followed, many gay people stood to protest the lack of representation on the panel and the general nature of comments that had been made.
- Douglas Kimmel recounts the formation of the Association of Gay Psychologists in 1973.
- Stephen Morin recounts the formation of the Association of Gay Psychologists.
[41]↩︎
The twenty-one-page booklet begins with a letter from the First Presidency condemning homosexuality.
The booklet addresses possible causes of homosexuality, guidance about kindness and confidentiality, identification of suspected homosexuals, the role of physical and emotional problems, professional therapy, and many other related topics.
- Internal training document on homosexuality that states there is no easy "cure", emphasizes treating people with kindness, love and confidentiality, and outlines policies, including disclosure of sexual partners.
[42]↩︎
Some accounts are consistent with standard aversion therapy practices as found in the literature while others describe non-standard practices and are unable to be corroborated.
For example, in 2012 Blake Smith described his 1973 experience with aversion therapy. It is consistent with standard aversion therapy procedures as found in the literature:
I was essentially taping a bare electrical wire to the back of my calf, and he told that he would be very careful about how much he administered, an the goal was that the wanted me to feel it, he wanted it to feel uncomfortable but not painful. . . . I don’t ever recall it being painful.
Whereas in 2010 Bruce Barton recalled his experience sometimes in the 1970s that is inconsistent with standard documented practices:
. . .they made me take my clothes off. . .They gave me 60 CCs [of ipecac] And so, about the time I was throwing up. . .They put electrodes on me- on my wrists, and on a strap on my chest, and on my genitals. . . I was told if I didn't push the button strongly enough that they would push it for me.
Other late accounts claim that people were made to pay thousands of dollars to BYU for aversion therapy, or were made to view pornography as a fifteen-year-old, or treatment resulted in scars from electrodes on their torso and genitals.
[43]↩︎
Lynn P. Rehm at the University of Pittsburgh published "Multiple behavior therapy techniques with a homosexual client: A case study" which documents a single college-aged male subject given various forms of therapy for homosexuality. A variety of methods including assertive training, role playing, masturbatory and electroshock therapy were used.
The combined therapy was reported as reducing both "homosexual contacts" and fantasies of the subject and increasing "heterosexual contact." The subject was interviewed forty weeks later and found to have maintained the new behavior.
- University of Pittsburgh study utilizing shocks for aversion therapy.
[44]↩︎
The resolution was to classify homosexuality as a "sexual orientation disturbance" if the patient was disturbed by their sexual orientation and they wanted to change.
The proposal was made in June 1973 by Dr. Robert Spitzer and the resolution was voted on by the APA Board of Trustees in December of 1973.
The ratification of the resolution was then voted on by APA members in April of 1974 and passed with 58% of members (5,854) voting 'yes' and 38% members (3,810) voting 'no.' Additionally, 367 abstainined and 8,246 members did not cast votes.
[45]↩︎
This resolution differs from the DSM-II change of 1973 in that it includes political advocacy:
Further, the American Psychological Association supports and urges the enactment of civil rights legislation at the local, and state and federal level that would offer citizens who engage in acts of homosexuality the same protections now guaranteed to others on the basis of race, creed, color, etc.
- APA statement urges therapists to remove the stigma from homosexuality and advocates legislation to make homosexuals a protected class.
[46]↩︎
An anonymous former BYU student and former BYU faculty member described "the purge" in a 1982 story about homosexuality at BYU published by Seventh East Press, an off-campus BYU paper:
According to Jon, during the “Purge of "75" Security officers took male drama and ballet students out of their classes to interrogate them and to get the names of any homosexuals they knew.
- "Dave" and "Jon" describe the "the purge of 1975" at BYU as reported by Seventh East Press.
[47]↩︎
The primary difference between the McBride study and the 1971 Harvard study was using a much weaker electroshock (4.5mA vs. 20mA). The McBride study used clothed and nude images of males and females in the aversion therapy.
- McBride dissertation utilized clothed and nude images of males and females.
- Harvard research study utilizing electric shocks in treatment for homosexuality.
[48]↩︎
McBride published data indicating significant differences between pre- and post-treatment of the subjects.
At the conclusion of treatment, both treatment groups evaluated themselves as significantly less homosexual than heterosexual.
- Max McBride provides quantitative results of his aversion therapy experiments.
[49]↩︎
In 1974 Matlovich had teamed up with gay activist Frank Kameny and the ACLU to challenge the U.S. military ban on homosexuality. The case ended in a financial settlement for Matlovich in 1980.
- Time Magazine features Leonard Matlovich, gay decorated Air Force veteran and Latter-day Saint.
[50]↩︎
Matlovich was baptized in 1968 in Vietnam while serving in the military.
- Randy Shilts states that Leonard Matlovich was baptized as a Latter-day Saint in the summer of 1968 in Vietnam.
[51]↩︎
Robert Card saw many clients in the 1970s and 1980s for help with homosexuality. He was named as the counselor that oversaw treatment of three of the people interviewed about their experience with gay aversion therapy in the 1996 documentary Legacies.
- Robert D. Card explains his philosophy and methods for treating LDS homosexuals with aversion therapy.
- Various accounts of aversion therapy associated with BYU featured in the documentary Legacies.
[52]↩︎
Utah County Sheriff's department (with support from the Highway Patrol and the BYU police) arrested fourteen men for public lewdness at two rest stops in Utah County.
Mardsen was found dead days later in his car near his home in Fruit Heights, Utah with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- Ogden Standard-Examiner reports that Carlyle D. Mardsen (BYU instructor) committed suicide.
- Provo Daily Herald reports suicide of 54 year old gay man after arrest for "lewdness and sodomy".
[53]↩︎
For example, LGBT activist Robert McQueen wrote in 1975 that he knew of five gay BYU students who killed themselves in 1965.
The Vanguard, a student paper at Portland State University, reported on Mcqueen's article, adding that the five men were personally counseled by Spencer W. Kimball.
Raymond King, a gay student at BYU in the 1970s, said that three gay men hung themselves in the Harris Fine Arts building on BYU campus.
There are no names or further details available in the documentary record about any of these reports.
[54]↩︎
This was the first talk in the General Priesthood Session on October 2, 1975. Elder Packer shared an anecdote about a missionary that had punched his companion because of a sexual advance.
Now there are some men who entice young men to join them in these immoral acts. If you are ever approached to participate in anything like that, that is the time to vigorously resist. . .a missionary said he had something to confess. . .he finally blurted out, "I hit my companion,". . .my response was "Well, thanks, somebody had to do it. . ." Now, I'm not recommending that course to you, my young friends. But I'm not omitting it, you must protect yourselves.
- Boyd K. Packer shares a story in general conference about a missionary hitting another missionary who was making sexual advances towards him.
- Conference report of Boyd K. Packer sharing a story about a missionary hitting another missionary who was making sexual advances towards him.
[55]↩︎
- “Unnatural, without excuse,” 9 July 1977
- “The strong delusions,” 14 January 1978
- “On the safe side,” 4 February 1978
- “Calling the kettle clean,” 18 March 1978
- “Sin is not excuse,” 16 December 1978
- “Is it a menace?” 29 July 1979
These editorials references scriptural passage commonly interpreted as condemning homosexuality, such as Leviticus 18:13 and 20:23.
They also addressed the rise in homosexuality. Its acceptance was seen as one of the "strong delusions" of the Great Apostasy and one of the major errors of the modern era.
[56]↩︎
The essay was written in response to a lecture on homosexuality given by a BYU psychology professor, Dr. Reed Payne, and later published as "The Payne Papers."
The essay was reportedly sent by the BYU Psychology Department to "all General Authorities." This incident was discussed in the Executive Committee of the Church Board of Education of September 15, 1977 and it was determined that a response would be written. The response was published as an internal Church document entitled "A Reply to Unfounded Assertions Regarding Homosexuality."
The "Payne Papers" was later published as a multi-part series in the gay periodical "The Open Door" in 1977 and as a 1978 booklet entitled "Prologue: An examination of the Mormon attitude toward homosexuality."
[57]↩︎
The document was published August 22, 1977 and "Completed Under the Direction of LDS Social Services by The Institute for Studies in Values and Human Behavior and The BYU Comprehensive Clinic - LDS Social Services."
The minutes of the Executive Committee of the Church Board of Education of September 15, 1977 indicate that it was authored by Allen Bergin, a psychologist at BYU.
- Church Board of Education notes indicate that Allen Bergin authored the response to the anonymous letter about homosexuality sent to General Authorities.
- LDS Social Services publishes a response to the "Payne Papers" about homosexuality.
[58]↩︎
Published in American Psychologist, the paper reads:
This article assesses psychological research in the 8-year period prior to the enactment of the APA resolution in the context of historical and socio-political conceptualizations, and suggests priorities for future research on lesbianism and male homo-sexuality that (a) are consistent with the goal of "removing the stigma of mental illness long associated with homosexual orientations" and (b) respect the needs and rights of gay people.
- Morin advocates for a removal of "heterosexual bias" in research.
[59]↩︎
Paul Mortensen, one of the founding members, recalled the founding of the organization:
In mid-1977 and early 1978, a group of gay Mormons began meeting very quietly at BYU.
- Paul Mortensen states that the Los Angeles chapter of Affirmation was founded in January of 1978 and became the leading chapter of Affirmation.
[60]↩︎
Gerald Dye was interviewed by Gary Bergera in February 1978. Bergera reported the process as follows:
- The student was interviewed to understand the extent of their homosexual behavior.
- The individual’s branch president or home bishop is contacted.
- If the behavior involved repeated anal or oral intercourse, they were expelled.
- Otherwise, the student may remain at BYU on a probationary basis.
- Students who remain are required to undergo therapy (but not aversion therapy).
Gerald Dye was reported as stating that no students working through BYU Standards would be subjected to aversion therapy.
- Gerald Dye outlines the BYU Standards Office process of working with homosexual students in an interview with Gary James Bergera.
[61]↩︎
The talk included admonitions on how to overcome temptations related to homosexuality and also condemned transgenderism and gender reassignment surgery.
- Boyd K. Packer speaks directly to gay Latter-day Saints about the nature of homosexuality.
[62]↩︎
James writes in her introduction:
The extensive literature on the treatment of homosexuality reveals a vast array of differing opinions regarding outcome. . . Numerous complexities and inconsistencies in the existing literature on the treatment of homosexuality make the task of analysis and synthesis difficult. Yet such an endeavor is imperative if meaningful comparisons between studies are to be achieved and the state of the field evaluated.
- BYU Psych Department dissertation by Elizabeth C. James surveying reorientation efforts in treatment of homosexuals.
[63]↩︎
The Church booklet Homosexuality, published in 1981, gives instructions for priesthood leaders counseling individuals who experience same-sex attraction:
Members of the Church who engage in homosexual behavior need the help of an inspired priesthood leader. They must accept responsibility for their sinful behavior and develop the determination to change their lives. Priesthood leaders should use all possible energy, compassion, and wisdom to help members involved in homosexual activities change their behavior and achieve forgiveness and joy in the Lord's Kingdom.
- Instructions for priesthood leaders on how to counsel members about homosexuality.
[64]↩︎
In the "Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the year 1987," it stated:
BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association: Urge its members not to use the “302.0 Homosexuality” diagnosis in the current ICD-9-CM or the “302.00 Ego-dystonic Homosexuality” diagnosis in the current DSM-III or future editions of either document.
"Ego-dystonic Homosexuality" is homosexuality that is unwanted by the subject.
- Statement from American Psychological Association that ego-dystonic homosexuality should not be considered a dysfunction.
[65]↩︎
Evergreen International's Mission Statement included:
Evergreen is founded on the belief that the atonement of Jesus Christ enables every soul the opportunity to turn away from all sins or conditions that obstruct their temporal and eternal happiness and potential.
and
Evergreen attests that individuals can overcome homosexual behavior and can diminish same-sex attraction, and is committed to assisting individuals who wish to do so.
- Evergreen International, an unofficial Latter-day Saint gay ministry group, is founded in 1989.
[66]↩︎
Don Harryman wrote about his participation in the McBride study:
I would go to a room in the Smith Family Living Center where an electrode was attached to my arm and I was asked to ruminate or otherwise fantasize about sexual activity with men—no small task since I had never had the experience and was not too sure what two men did with each other. During the viewing, random and painful electric shocks would be sent through my arm. Later the procedure was modified. When shock was being introduced during the viewing of a male slide, I could stop the shock by pressing a plunger, which would cause a slide of a clothed woman to appear on the screen.
- Don Harryman gives his account of participating in the McBride gay aversion study.
[67]↩︎
NARTH stated that it was a "a professional organization devoted to scientific inquiry" and challenging the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations:
The pro-gay lobby has attempted to compel both the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations to declare as unethical any type of therapy which encourages homosexuals to change . . . NARTH has stood as the only organized voice against this lobby.
[68]↩︎
The study was based on a nationwide survey specifically about attitudes towards and experiences of working with homosexual patients. It was published in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
The survey also indicated that less than 1% of respondents indicated that homosexual patients "can and should" change to heterosexuals.
- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association publishes survey of 285 therapists reporting on 1,215 homosexual patients and report a 23% change to heterosexuality.
[69]↩︎
The sesquicentennial celebration was held in Philadelphia, Pennyslvania, which was where the APA was founded in 1844.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that twenty-five people picketed the meeting in front of the conference center where the meeting was held. One protestor was quoted as saying:
We want to tell the world that if you don't want to be gay, you can change.
- Philadelphia Inquirer reports that "ex-gay" picketers protested the 1994 APA conference.
[70]↩︎
Exodus International Advisory Council was formed at the June 1995 conference of Exodus North America, which was founded in 1976.
- Exodus International Global Alliance history timeline shows formation in 1995.
[71]↩︎
Some of the subjects of the documentary seem to conflate the BYU Psychology Department study administered by Max McBride with aversion therapy administered by private practioners such as Dr. Robert Card. It also reports various non-standard methods of therapy, suicides, and abuses, which have been unable to be corroborated.
It's unknown where the thirty-minute documentary was released, and Sean Weakland has not produced or published any further films or articles, but "Legacies" is currently available on YouTube.
- Various accounts of aversion therapy associated with BYU featured in the documentary Legacies.
[72]↩︎
This statement was approved by the Assembly in November 1998 and by the Board of Trustees in December 1998 .
- American Psychiatric Association 1998 statement condemning "reparitive" therapy if it is based on premise that homosexuality is a mental illness.
[73]↩︎
The JONAH website stated that:
JONAH believes that homosexuality is a learned behavior and that anyone can choose to disengage from their same-sex sexual fantasies, arousals, behavior and identity - if motivated and supported in that process . . . same-sex attractions can be reduced or eliminated followed by the subsequent development of one's innate opposite-sex attractions.
- JONAH International (Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing) is founded in 1998 and offers resources for "unwanted same-sex attractions" and other "sexual conflicts."
[74]↩︎
The 2000 position statement used even stronger language condemning "reparative" or "conversion" therapies. It characterized research in the past as "anecdotal" and said patients reported that the therapy was harmful. Others recanted the claim that it was helpful.
The statement also cited critiques of reparative therapy by religious organization based on "biblical interpretations that condemn homosexuality."
- American Psychiatric Association 2000 statement condemning "reparitive" therapy, stating it is questionable science and rejecting past research.
[75]↩︎
Health Policy H-160.991 is "Health Care Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Populations."
The full text of the adopted resolution 506:
RESOLVED, That the AMA oppose the use of “reparative” or “conversion” therapy that is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation.
This was later revised to remove any qualifications: "[AMA] opposes, the use of "reparative" or "conversion" therapy for sexual orientation or gender identity."
- American Medical Association resolution 506 Policy Statement opposes Sexual Orientation Reparative (Conversion) Therapy.
- American Medical Association first opposed reparative therapy in 2000.
[76]↩︎
The study was titled "Retrospective self-reports of changes in homosexual orientation: a consumer survey of conversion therapy clients," and published in the peer-reviewed publication Psychological Reports.
96% of the participants reported that religion or spirituality was very important to them. The demographics of the participants were 60% Protestant, 12% Catholic, 9% Mormon, 1% Jewish, and 18% other religions.
- University of Utah study indicates that 65% of homosexuals surveyed experienced a shift towards heterosexuality after participating in change efforts.
[77]↩︎
Robert Spitzer was the chair of the APA task force for the DSM-III and was instrumental in the 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the DSM.
The research, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2003, and concludes:
"...almost all of the participants reported substantial changes in the core aspects sexual orientation, not merely overt behavior. Even individuals who made a less substantial change in sexual orientation reported that the therapy was extremely beneficial in a variety of ways. . .This study provides evidence that some gay men and lesbians are able to also change the core features of sexual orientation."
- Robert L. Spitzer interviews 200 individuals who reported a change in sexual orientation and states that there is evidence that some forms of reparative therapy are effective.
[78]↩︎
The controversy was reported in the American Psychiatric Association news website, noting that the report received wide coverage in the press:
Spitzer’s report was startling enough that at least 30 newspapers and news magazines, 14 television programs, and 26 radio shows reported on the annual meeting presentation.
- Steven Mirin of the American Psychiatric Association responds to the Spitzer study and affirms that "there is no published scientific evidence supporting for the efficacy of reparitive therapy."
[79]↩︎
The subjects in this study were initially acquired through advertisements headlined with "Homophobic Therapies: Documenting the Damage" but the text of the advertisement was later modified to be more neutral.
The results from the five year study were published in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
- Ariel Shidlo reports that only 4% of 202 subjects were successful in shifting exclusive homosexuality to heterosexuality.
[80]↩︎
Most responses were harshly critical and included questions about the ethics of conducting the study:
Spitzer's study is methodologically flawed and disturbingly silent about ethic concerns. (Herek)
. . .there is a glaring oversight in his article: a failure to examine the ethical and philosophical underpinnings of sexual orientation modification. (Tye)
Spitzer's article, for all its dignified-looking data, scientific journal format, and partial disclaimers, is in essence irresponsible and unscientific. (Hartmann)
Other comments acknowledged the research as valid:
Spitzer presents face valid evidence that changes in homosexual behavior and feelings of desire and satisfaction can be achieved by some. . .(Klein)
Spitzer provides evidence that some gay men and lesbians are not only able to change self-identity, but are able to modify core featues of sexual orientation, including fantasies. (Byrd)
- Archives of Sexual Behavior publish responses from peers of Robert L. Spitzer to his 2003 study on subjects that report a change in their sexual orientation.
[81]↩︎
Robert Spitzer responded to major criticisms including terminology, selection bias, ethics, and the scope of the research. In his conclusion he states:
The conventional wisdom in the mental health profession is that reorientation therapy can get some gays to identify themselves as “heterosexual” and therefore “ex-gay,” but few, if any, will report changes in sexual attraction, fantasy, and desire consistent with true changes in sexual orientation. The study findings call this view into question.
- Robert L. Spitzer publishes a response to criticisms of his 2003 report on people that reported that their sexual orientation had changed.
[82]↩︎
In a 2006 interview with the Church Newsroom, Elder Oaks stated:
The aversive therapies that have been used in connection with same-sex attraction have contained some serious abuses that have been recognized over time within the professions. While we have no position about what the medical doctors do (except in very, very rare cases — abortion would be such an example), we are conscious that there are abuses and we don’t accept responsibility for those abuses. Even though they are addressed at helping people we would like to see helped, we can’t endorse every kind of technique that’s been used.
- Dallin H. Oaks states that the there have been abusive practices related to aversion therapy.
[83]↩︎
In 2007, the North Star website stated:
North Star takes no official position on the origin or mutability of homosexual feelings and attractions but supports all temporal efforts consistent with the gospel that help individuals live in more full harmony with their covenants. . .
- North Star is founded to "provide a place of community for Latter-day Saints who experience homosexual attraction."
[84]↩︎
The revision clarified that "sexual orientation is not an Honor Code issue" but that "homosexual behavior or advocacy" is a violation of the Honor Code.
BYU spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins said, "the BYU Honor Code has not changed. The application has been rewritten." She also stated:
There was confusion regarding the language of living a chaste and virtuous life. The new wording more accurately reflects what BYU has been telling its students and the public for many years.
- Carrie Jenkins, BYU spokeswoman, explains the Honor Code revision on "homosexual orientation" was not an Honor Code change, but a clarifying revision.
- Deseret Morning News reports on the revision to the text of the Honor Code with respect to gay students.
[85]↩︎
Bruce Barton recalled his experience at BYU in the 1970s:
They made me take my clothes off. . .They gave me 60 CCs [of ipecac] And so, about the time I was throwing up. . .They put electrodes on me- on my wrists, and on a strap on my chest, and on my genitals. . . I was told if I didn't push the button strongly enough that they would push it for me.
This account is inconsistent with standard aversion therapy practices as found in the literature and is unable to be corroborated.
Barton also claimed the "several others committed suicide."
The documentary was narrated by Dustin Lance Black, who also later wrote the FX miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.
- Bruce Barton recalls being stripped naked, forced to take emetics, place electrodes on his genitals and watch pornography by BYU faculty.
[86]↩︎
The play was written by Cameron while he taught drama at the University of Iowa. He participated in several interviews about the production.
About his participation in the McBride study, he said:
“I don’t think I’m a victim since I willingly participated in what happened. A lot of people made a lot of mistakes. I wrote the play just so people would know, and would think.”
[87]↩︎
In an interview with gay activist group Truth Wins Out, Spirtzer apologized to the LGBT community, asked people to stop promoting his 2001 study, and said that the subjects of his study might have been lying.
This contrasts with his 2005 interview with Christianity Today, where Spitzer said:
I guess it surprised me how convincing the accounts were. . .But from the very first people that I talked to, I had the feeling they were talking about something real. . .You talk to people and you get a sense of whether they're being candid or not. I had the sense that they were. Also, there was a consistency, the fact that the change was described as slow and not immediate.
[88]↩︎
The survey data was taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health and found that out of 5,527 males, 323 identified as either "mostly heterosexual," "bisexual," "mostly homosexual," and "homosexual." Out of 6,556 females, 907 identified as sexual minorities.
Six years separted "Wave 3" and "Wave 4" data sets following the cohort and found that 279 males and 1,126 had shifted their sexual orientation either towards heterosexuality or towards homosexuality.
- Researchers at Cornell University analyze a 6 year cohort of 12,287 young adults and find significant shifts in self identification of their sexual orientation.
[89]↩︎
Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus International, had several discussion with Lisa Ling on the Oprah Winfrey Network television program Our America about Christianity and LGBT people. During these discussions, he said he wanted to "carry this conversation even further" and that he "must apologize for being part of [a] system of ignorance that perpetuated. . .hurt."
He also said "I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents."
Exodus Internation announced on June 19, 2013 that they would cease operations.
[90]↩︎
KUER reported "A group that once helped gay Mormons attempt to eliminate their same-sex attractions has closed its doors."
Salt Lake City-based Evergreen International is turning over its resources and mailing list to an organization for gay Latter Day Saints called North Star International.
- KUER reports that Evergreen International merges with North Star and shuts down independent operations.
- Salt Lake Tribune reports that Evergreen International is merging with North Star and ceasing operations.
[91]↩︎
The New York times reported on the initial ruling in February of 2015, quoting David Dinielli from the Southern Poverty Law Center as saying:
For the first time, a court has ruled that it is fraudulent as a matter of law for conversion therapists to tell clients that they have a mental disorder that can be cured. This is the principal lie the conversion therapy industry uses throughout the country to peddle its quackery to vulnerable clients.
And in the final ruling in December of 2015, the judge ordered JONAH to cease:
"engaging, whether directly or through referrals, in any therapy, counseling, treatment or activity that has the goal of changing, affecting or influencing sexual orientation, 'same sex attraction' or 'gender wholeness.'"
- New York Times reports that State Superior Court in New Jersey ruled that JONAH committed consumer fraud by offering reparative therapy to gay clients.
- CBS/AP report that JONAH is ordered to pay restitution and cease operations and are barred from "treatment or activity that has the goal of changing. . .sexual orientation."
[92]↩︎
The analysis examined data from waves 2–3 and waves 3–4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; waves 1–2, 2–3, and 3–4 of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study; the Growing Up Today Study, and the National Survey of Midlife Development.
Diamond states:
The other major conclusion that we can draw from these studies is that change in patterns of same-sex and other-sex attraction is a relatively common experience among sexual minorities.
- University of Utah researcher Lisa M. Diamond states that 25-75% of sexual minorities report experiencing a change in sexual orientation at some point in their lives.
[93]↩︎
Marty Stephens, director of government and community relations, issued this statement: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes 'conversion therapy' and our therapists do not practice it."
In another statement from October 15, 2019, we read:
Family Services has a longstanding and express policy against using therapies that seek to ‘repair,’ ‘convert,’ or ‘change’ sexual orientation, such as from homosexual to heterosexual. Research demonstrates that electric shock, aversion and other analogous therapies are [ineffective] and harmful to youth who experience same-sex attraction. Those, including youth, who seek therapies that constitute sexual orientation change efforts will not receive them from Family Services counselors.
- The official Church statement (October 2019) on conversion therapy.
[94]↩︎
In an article published in the Salt Lake Tribune, Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote:
Oaks categorically denied that BYU had used electroshock therapies on gay students during his tenure from 1971 to 1980. “When I became president of BYU, that had been discontinued earlier,” Oaks said in answer to a question about those treatments, “and it never went on under my administration.”
- Stack reports that Oaks says electric shock treatment didn't happen at BYU while he was president, but records showed it did.
[95]↩︎
For example, the British Medical Journal published research about "successful" gay conversion therapy in 1962, as did the British Journal of Psychiatry in 1969.
Harvard Medical School also published "successfully conditioned patients" utilizing electric shocks in 1971.
[96]↩︎
Dr. Thorne stated:
I had become interested in publications that were occurring regarding aversion therapy in a variety of places throughout the world, in laboratories and in various other settings such as hospitals. Their impressive positive effect on changing the attraction of persons who had same-sex attractions and I thought that it may be worthy of doing further research, it had shown some promise, and I thought it would be worthy of my efforts along with others to figure out how to improve this kind of therapy. I conducted a couple of researches that I reported on at the time, probably prior to 1974, then I turned to a different subject almost altogether and became totally focused in that.
- Interview of BYU professor who was involved in conversion therapy.
[97]↩︎
Seventeen men initially volunteered, but fourteen proceeded with the treatment.
- McBride dissertation indicates 17 initial volunteers reduced to 14.
[98]↩︎
The images were designated as "visual-cue stimuli" and there were two sets of thirty images, one female and one male.
- McBride dissertation utilized clothed and nude images of males and females.
[99]↩︎
The Mcbride dissertation explains that each subject underwent twenty-two sessions:
The intensity of the first shock was .5mA [milliampere] and the intensity of each successive shock was increased by .5mA until either the shock was rates as "barely tolerable" or painful or a maximum level of 4.5mA was reached.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1 mA is a "faint tingle," and 5 mAs is described as "slight shock felt. Disturbing, but not painful. Most people can 'let go.' However, strong involuntary movements can cause injuries."
For comparison, the 1971 Harvard Medical School aversion experiments utilized a16 to 20 ma intensity level, explaining, "These shocks are completely safe and noninjurious to local tissue, but they are highly uncomfortable."
[100]↩︎
In the Scientific American article Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest: The Quest for Why Shock Therapy Can Work, the author cites the movie as an example of a horrifying depiction of ECT:
In contrast to the horrifying scenes dramatizing shock therapy in movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, violent seizures did not wrack the patient’s body when the high-voltage switch was thrown.
- Scientific American refers to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest when discussing Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT).
[101]↩︎
ECT is typically used when medications or other therapies are ineffective at treating severe disorders such as major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. It is applied when patients are under anesthesia.
ECT may have serious side effects such as memory loss, and, in rare cases, dislocated or fractured bones.
- APA releases statement on electroconvulsion therapy (ECT).
- Rudorfer et al overview of history and practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
[102]↩︎
Aversion therapy research utilizing electroshock methods typically applied shocks from 0.1mA up to 20mA to arms or legs.
- Harvard research study utilizing electric shocks in treatment for homosexuality.
- McBride study describes how electroshocks were applied; duration of electroshocks varied from 0 up to 8 seconds depending on the phase of the therapy.
[103]↩︎
This calibration phase was to dial in the appropriate level of shock. The subject would increase the shock by 0.5ma until it was "barely tolerable".
During the conditioning phase, if the subject decided the pain was too much, they would decrease it. Conversely, if the pain was too little, they would increase it.
- McBride study describes how electroshocks were applied; duration of electroshocks varied from 0 up to 8 seconds depending on the phase of the therapy.
[104]↩︎
There were seven phases of the therapy, five of which involved aversive conditioning with electroshocks.
- McBride study describes how electroshocks were applied; duration of electroshocks varied from 0 up to 8 seconds depending on the phase of the therapy.
[105]↩︎
The dissertation reported that "a graded series of discrete shocks were delivered to each S [subject] at the "belly" of the bicept. [sic]".
In a 2018 interview, Dr. Eugene Thorne was asked if anyone had shocks applied to their genitals in the Psychology Department at BYU. He stated:
That would be totally inappropriate. You’re not trying to condition the ways the genitals work, they are working perfectly properly. It shouldn’t be a part of any sensitive part of the body at all. The arm, the lower arm, the wrist, the ankle, maybe even the calf. Those are very simple and, I’ve never seen anything occur of an abrasive reaction.
[106]↩︎
The 2011 ABC news story read:
Twice a week for six months, he [John Cameron] jolted himself with painful shocks to the penis to rid himself of his attraction to men.
However, in 2019 it was reported that John Cameron stated:
ABC got it wrong. I asked then to retract it but they posted a correction separately. so that misinformation is still out there. The electrodes were placed on the soft part of the underarm - always.
- Exmormon subreddit user posts screenshot of John Cameron refuting the claim that electrodes were used on the penis.
- ABC news reporter states that BYU aversion therapy study involved electroshocks to the penis.
[107]↩︎
There are several different types of plethysmograph devices that have been used by various researchers, but none of them involve electrodes on the penis.
[108]↩︎
For example, one of the first reports on gay aversion therapy was published in the British Medical Journal in 1962. It described research conducted at Glendale Hospital, where emetic therapy was used to make the patient nauseous while viewing images of nude men.
- British Medical Journal publishes successful gay aversion therapy using emetics.
[109]↩︎
Eugene Thorne, the professor who served as McBride's dissertation adviser, said that emetic therapy was not used.
In an ABC News article, a BYU spokeswoman stated that emetic therapy was ever used:
Carri P. Jenkins, assistant to the president of BYU, confirmed that McBride did study the effects of aversion therapy in the 1970s. . . "The BYU Counseling Center never practiced therapy that would involve chemical or induced vomiting," she said.
[110]↩︎
For example, Bruce Barton reports that he was given emetics during gay aversion therapy at BYU. It's unclear if this was through the Standards Office or Campus Police.
Connell O'Donovan also recalled receiving emetics on BYU campus as a high school student for some type of aversion therapy.
[111]↩︎
Seventeen men volunteered for the 1976 study, fourteen participated. Years later, two participants, John Cameron and Don Harryman, shared their experience with the therapy.
Cameron said, "I don’t think I’m a victim since I willingly participated in what happened. A lot of people made a lot of mistakes."
Harryman said, "I was determined to change. Without hesitation I signed the forms which released the Psychology Clinic and BYU from any liability."
Both Cameron and Harryman expressed regret in participation in the study and reflected that in hindsight it caused emotional and spiritual damage to them.
- Don Harryman gives his account of participating in the McBride gay aversion study.
- Mercury News reports on BYU aversion therapy and includes various interviews.
[112]↩︎
In the documentary Legacies, Raymond King, a student who attended BYU in 1978, stated:
A lot of times, like, BYU security would catch people, like, in compromising positions or whatever, and they could have the choice of either being kicked out of school and their families called and informed about what they had done, or they could undergo this therapy.
Gary Bergera interviewed Gerald Dye in 1978 about the Standards Office policies relating to homosexuals. The interview notes state, "If [the homosexual offense was] less serious, the student may remain at BYU on a probationary basis" and that "Standards also acts as in intermediary between the student who remains and a counseling service; Students who remains are required to undergo therapy."
- Gerald Dye outlines the BYU Standards Office process of working with homosexual students in an interview with Gary James Bergera.
- Various accounts of aversion therapy associated with BYU featured in the documentary Legacies.
[113]↩︎
Gary Bergera interviewed Gerald Dye in 1978 about the Standards Office policies relating to homosexuals. The interview notes state that Dye "promised" that "no student working through Standards will ever undergo aversion therapy."
- Gerald Dye outlines the BYU Standards Office process of working with homosexual students in an interview with Gary James Bergera.
[114]↩︎
For example, Bruce Barton and Rocky O'Donovan both recalled feeling "horrified" with their aversion therapy experience.
Raymond King recalled observing aversion therapy at BYU and saying that participants were burned, vomited, and became "desperate" to "get out of that situation."
- Various accounts of aversion therapy associated with BYU featured in the documentary Legacies.
[115]↩︎
A 1999 Deseret News article reported that "as of fall semester, of the 1,500 full-time faculty and visiting professors at BYU, 77 (5 percent) are non-LDS."
- Jeff Call in Deseret News article reports 5% of BYU faculty are not LDS.
[116]↩︎
The BYU Board of Trustees is composed of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.
- BYU web page listing the presidency of the Church is over the BYU Board of Trustees.
[117]↩︎
The dissertation states that "this dissertation, by Max Ford McBride is accepted in its present form by the Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy."
- Dissertation from BYU that used electric shocks in aversion therapy.
[118]↩︎
The proposal to ratify the removal of homosexuality per se as a psychiatric disorder in the DSM-II, 6th Printing was approved by the APA Assembly and Reference Committee in November 1973 and by the APA Board of Trustees in December 1973.
In the position statement of the change the APA stated:
Clearly homosexuality, per se, does not meet the requirements for a psychiatric disorder since. . .many homosexuals are quite satisfied with their sexual orientation and demonstrate no generalized impairment in social effectiveness or functioning.
- American Psychiatric Association proposal for removal of homosexuality as a disorder in the DSM-II.
[119]↩︎
The 1975 change by the American Psychology Association applied specifically to homosexuality per se, which meant that patients who had unwanted homosexuality ("ego-dystonic homosexuality") were to still be treated with psychotherapy.
- APA statement urges therapists to remove the stigma from homosexuality and advocates legislation to make homosexuals a protected class.
- Statement from American Psychological Association that ego-dystonic homosexuality should not be considered a dysfunction.
[120]↩︎
Ego-dystonic homosexuality was still considered a disorder by the American Psychological Association until 1987. Research by various universities on the subject continued throughout the 1970s.
[121]↩︎
The Church often cited current scientific support for their positions on homosexuality.
For example, in a talk to the Seminary and Institute of Religion faculty, President Kimball referred to a 1964 study by New York Academy of Medicine. This study reported that homosexuality could be "treated with improvement and success in some cases."
A 1977 internal document entitled "A Reply to Unfounded Assertions Regarding Homosexuality" cited numerous scientific studies that indicated therapy was effective in treating homosexuality.
[122]↩︎
For example, a 1973 internal Church document entitled "Homosexuality Welfare Services Packet 1" was published, giving guidance to leadership on working with gay Latter-day Saints.
A 1977 an internal document entitled "A Reply to Unfounded Assertions Regarding Homosexuality" was circulated to Church personnel.
- LDS Social Services publishes a response to the "Payne Papers" about homosexuality.
- Internal training document on homosexuality that states there is no easy "cure", emphasizes treating people with kindness, love and confidentiality, and outlines policies, including disclosure of sexual partners.
[123]↩︎
The "Homosexuality: Welfare Services Packet 1" document stated:
Since homosexuality is possible only with others, disclosure of sexual partners is considered an essential part of repentance. The purpose is to help save others. Priesthood leaders must be careful not to reveal their sources as they make contact with those whose names they are given.
- Internal training document on homosexuality that states there is no easy "cure", emphasizes treating people with kindness, love and confidentiality, and outlines policies, including disclosure of sexual partners.
[124]↩︎
The April 1982 edition of the Seventh East Press, an off-campus BYU newspaper, reported:
Dave, a former BYU student, said he knew two gay students in 1973 who, threatened with expulsion from the university, were persuaded to work for security as spies.
The October 28, 1975 issue of the Vanguard student paper from Portland State Univeristy reported:
An infiltrating practice has been developed at BYU. . .campus security was responsible for the surveillance and personal interviews which continually added names to their "lists."
- Vanguard (Portland State University) reports that at least five gay men committed suicide at BYU.
- Seventh East Press writes about homosexuality at BYU, part 2 of the series.
[125]↩︎
Various accounts from off-campus student papers such as Seventh East Press and Vanguard, as well as interviews in the documentary Legacies and 8: The Mormon Proposition refer to gay suicides related to BYU and aversion therapy.
The only gay suicide related to BYU in the 1970s that was independently documented was of Carlyle Mardsen, a BYU faculty member, who had been arrested for "lewdness and sodomy" in 1976. His arrest and subsequent suicide was reported by the Provo Daily Herald.
[126]↩︎
The speech was given at the Holladay United Church of Christ in Utah to celebrate thirty years of the Affirmation organization. O'Donovan indicated that Stephan "Zak" Zakharias, the founder of Affirmation, had personal knowledge about the suicides.
- QSaltLake Magazine states that two participants of the BYU/McBride gay aversion therapy research, "committed suicide during the experiment."
- Connell O'Donovan states that two participants of the BYU/McBride gay aversion therapy research, "committed suicide during the experiment."
[127]↩︎
In the September 14, 2009 article entitled "Mo’s vs. ’Mos: The battle between Mormons and Gays," QSaltLake Magazine stated, "They study started out with 16 gay male BYU students and staff, but two committed suicide during the experiment, so the study ended up with 14 subjects."
The QSaltLake article did not provide a source, but the wording is identical to Connell O'Donovan's 2007 Affirmation speech.
- QSaltLake Magazine states that two participants of the BYU/McBride gay aversion therapy research, "committed suicide during the experiment."
- Connell O'Donovan states that two participants of the BYU/McBride gay aversion therapy research, "committed suicide during the experiment."
[128]↩︎
The McBride dissertation states that 17 participants enrolled for the study and 14 completed the study.
- Dissertation from BYU that used electric shocks in aversion therapy.
[129]↩︎
In 2020, researchers from USC published an analysis of 1,518 sexual minorities from the Generations survey, indicating that there was a high correlation between sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) and suicidality.
However, in 2022 it was discovered that this research did not differentiate between suicidality before SOCE versus suicidality after SOCE.
In 2022 D. Paul Sullins from Catholic University of America published an analysis of the same data, correcting for pre-existing suicidality in subjects, and found that the data indicates that SOCE was negatively associated with suicidality.
- John R. Blosnich publishes research which correlates sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) with suicidality based on the Generations survey.
- D. Paul Sullins publishes research which refutes the claim from Blosnich(2020) that sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) correlate with suicidality.
[130]↩︎
There are accounts of students receiving aversion therapy in the 1980s and 1990s either on BYU campus or by therapists who received referrals from the BYU Honor Code Office.
[131]↩︎
In 2011, ABC News published a story about the 1970s BYU gay aversion therapy research and quoted BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins as saying that this methodology "was an outgrowth of the behaviorist movement, which believed that any behavior could be modified. Our understanding is that most behaviorists no longer believe this is an appropriate treatment for those who are seeking change.”
- ABC news reporter states that BYU aversion therapy study involved electroshocks to the penis.
[132]↩︎
The Salt Lake Tribune reported:
“When I became president of BYU, that had been discontinued earlier,” Oaks said in answer to a question about those treatments, “and it never went on under my administration.”
- Stack reports that Oaks says electric shock treatment didn't happen at BYU while he was president, but records showed it did.
[133]↩︎
President Oaks appeared to be aware that aversion therapy research had happened at BYU, but stated that it happened before he became president. He said:
“When I became president of BYU, that had been discontinued earlier."
- Stack reports that Oaks says electric shock treatment didn't happen at BYU while he was president, but records showed it did.
[134]↩︎
The date on the dissertation is August 1976.
- Dissertation from BYU that used electric shocks in aversion therapy.
[135]↩︎
After serving as BYU president, Oaks served as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1980 until resigning in 1984 to accept his calling to the apostleship.
- Oaks served as BYU president from 1971 to 1980.
[136]↩︎
A significant number of these studies were catalogued by Elizabeth James in her 1979 dissertation at Brigham Young University. James counted 921 participants across 101 studies utilizing various therapeutic methods intended to change the sexual orientation of the subjects.
- BYU Psych Department dissertation by Elizabeth C. James surveying reorientation efforts in treatment of homosexuals.
[137]↩︎
James's thesis "Treatment of Homosexuality: A Reanalysis and Synthesis of Outcome Studies" aggregated the results of numerous studies and commented on the difficulty:
Numerous complexities and inconsistencies in the existing literature on the treatment of homosexuality make the task of analysis and synthesis difficult.
- BYU Psych Department dissertation by Elizabeth C. James surveying reorientation efforts in treatment of homosexuals.
[138]↩︎
Denis Parr worked out of the Department of Psychiatry, St. George's Hospital, London at the time of publication.
- Desmond Curran publishes research indicating that 1 in 6 patients changed sexual orientation, but that psychotherapy, by itself, is ineffective.
[139]↩︎
The 100 cases examined were selected from 5,000 cases of homosexuality based on which cases had the best documentation.
Average age was 28 years old. 30% of the cases were from criminal charges (homosexuality was illegal at the time) and 25% were cases of men wanting to change.
43% had a history of "psychiatric" or "gross personality" problems, 21% had "obvious homosexual personality traits".
15% had been involved in sexual acts with boys under 16 years of age.
The mean time to followup was 4.5 years.
- Desmond Curran publishes research indicating that 1 in 6 patients changed sexual orientation, but that psychotherapy, by itself, is ineffective.
[140]↩︎
The 1958 paper was published in the British Journal of Delinquency.
The original data was included in an appendix to a report given to the Departmental Committee on Homosexuality and Prostitution and was sourced from the Portman Clinic in London.
- The British Journal of Delinquency published results of treatment of homosexuals with 65% (31 of 48) shifting towards heterosexuality from those that completed treatment.
[141]↩︎
Factors considered included age, homosexuality vs. bisexuality, the Kinsey scale, and years of "habit".
Results of treatment were categorized into five groups ranging from "No homosexual impulse and increased heterosexual interest" to "No change."
- The British Journal of Delinquency published results of treatment of homosexuals with 65% (31 of 48) shifting towards heterosexuality from those that completed treatment.
[142]↩︎
Kurt Freund published a corrected version of his 1958 study entitled "Some problems in the treatment of homosexuality" in the 1960 book Behaviour Therapy and the Neuroses. The original paper was published in Acta Neuropsiquiátrica Argentina.
- Kurt Freund reviews 47 patients treated with various forms of psychotherapy for homosexuality and report 25% gained "heterosexual adaptation lasting several years."
[143]↩︎
These subjects received aversion therapy using emetics and testosterone therapy. Patients received three and five-year follow-ups.
The therapy was "only used on patients who erotic desires were exclusively or almost exclusively directed towards homosexual experiences..."
- Kurt Freund reviews 47 patients treated with various forms of psychotherapy for homosexuality and report 25% gained "heterosexual adaptation lasting several years."
[144]↩︎
The study was published in the British Medical Journal in 1967 and was primarily focused on differentiating between electroshock aversion therapy and methods that exclusively used psychoanalytics or apomorphine.
- M. J. MacCulloch and M. P. Feldman reports a 58% success rate utilizing electroshock therapy on 43 subjects in a 3 year study.
[145]↩︎
The study considered age, degree of homosexuality (utilizing Kinsey scale ratings), and personality disorders in their analysis. The majority of subjects had "overtly practiced homosexuality" for more than ten years.
Thirty-six of the forty-three subjects completed the study. Twenty-five of them shifted their sexual attraction toward heterosexuality, as indicated by the Kinsey scale. The study does not detail how the scale placement of subjects was determined.
- M. J. MacCulloch and M. P. Feldman reports a 58% success rate utilizing electroshock therapy on 43 subjects in a 3 year study.
- Original Kinsey Scale of sexual attraction published in 1948.
[146]↩︎
Lee Birk was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School at the time of the study.
- Lee Birk (Harvard researcher) publishes paper on conversion therapy post 1973 APA resolution.
[147]↩︎
The initial group consisted of sixty-six patients, twenty-six of whom continued for eighteen months. The group therapy was led by a "male-female cotherapy team" and included topics of "heterosexual interest and activity" and "increased assertiveness."
The study stated that of the twenty-six patients
85 percent experienced at least partial heterosexual shifts and 52 percent striking, nearly complete heterosexual shifts.
- Lee Birk (Harvard researcher) publishes paper on conversion therapy post 1973 APA resolution.
[148]↩︎
The data from this study was acquired by responses to a survey sent by the American Psychoanalytic Association to their members, as well as members from the Washington Psychoanalytic Society.
- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association publishes survey of 285 therapists reporting on 1,215 homosexual patients and report a 23% change to heterosexuality.
[149]↩︎
Although a significant number of the therapists reported that their patients experienced a change in their sexual orientation, nearly all the therapists did not believe that change was possible or appropriate.
Virtually all of the respondents rejected the idea that a homosexual patient in analysis "can and should" change to heterosexuality. . .
- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association publishes survey of 285 therapists reporting on 1,215 homosexual patients and report a 23% change to heterosexuality.
[150]↩︎
Authors Joseph Nicolosi was the founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. A. Dean Byrd was a faculty member at the University of Utah. Richard W. Potts was a psychologist at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
- University of Utah study indicates that 65% of homosexuals surveyed experienced a shift towards heterosexuality after participating in change efforts.
[151]↩︎
Participants from the survey were gathered from "ex-gay ministry groups, e.g., Courage, Exodus International, Evergreen International, and Homosexuals Anonymous."
Of the participants in the study, 78% were men and 22% were women. The median age was thirty-seven years and 32% of participants were married to a member of the opposite sex. The average number of sexual partners was 121. The average age of first sexual contact was eleven years with the average age of their first partner being seventeen.
- University of Utah study indicates that 65% of homosexuals surveyed experienced a shift towards heterosexuality after participating in change efforts.
[152]↩︎
According to the study, the original title of the project was "Homophobic Therapies: Documenting the Damage".
Ariel Shidlo was a psychologist at the Columbia Center for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Mental Health of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.
- Ariel Shidlo reports that only 4% of 202 subjects were successful in shifting exclusive homosexuality to heterosexuality.
[153]↩︎
The study acknowledges that the original title of the project was "Homophobic Therapies: Documenting the Damage" and subjects were acquired through advertisements specifically seeking people who had been harmed by conversion therapies.
The study concludes:
We found evidence that many consumers of failed sexual orientation therapies experienced them as harmful. Areas of perceived psychological harm included depression, suicidality, and self-esteem.
- Ariel Shidlo reports that only 4% of 202 subjects were successful in shifting exclusive homosexuality to heterosexuality.
[154]↩︎
This study was initially reported at the 2001 annual meeting of theAmerican Psychiatric Association on May 9, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Robert L. Spitzer interviews 200 individuals who reported a change in sexual orientation and states that there is evidence that some forms of reparative therapy are effective.
[155]↩︎
66% of the participants in the study learned of it from ex-gay ministry groups or the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.
67% percent of the men and 47% of the women were married to members of the opposite sex at the time of the interview.
The study concludes:
In this self-selected sample, almost all of the participants reported substantial changes in the core aspects sexual orientation, not merely overt behavior. . .Change in sexual orientation should be seen as complex and on a continuum.
- Robert L. Spitzer interviews 200 individuals who reported a change in sexual orientation and states that there is evidence that some forms of reparative therapy are effective.
[156]↩︎
In a 2005 interview with Christianity Today, Spitzer said:
. . .from the very first people that I talked to, I had the feeling they were talking about something real. . .You talk to people and you get a sense of whether they're being candid or not. I had the sense that they were. Also, there was a consistency, the fact that the change was described as slow and not immediate.
However, in a 2012 interview with gay activist group, "Truth Wins Out" Spitzer stated:
The basic problem with this study was that I asked a bunch of people who claim they had changed from homosexual to heterosexual. . .I had no way really of knowing when I examined any particular subject, whether they really had changed or whether they were deceiving themselves, or even outright lying when they claimed that they had changed.
[157]↩︎
For example, Lisa Diamond of the University of Utah, Sabra L. Katz-Wise of Harvard Medical School, R. C. Savin-Williams of Cornell University, and others have published research about changes in sexual orientation, also called "sexual fluidity."
The American Psychological Association also recognizes changes in sexual orientation as a valid occurrence, and refers to them as "sexual fluidity."
[158]↩︎
For example, in 2014, the LGBT magazine The Advocate published an article titled "Exploring the Umbrella: Bisexuality and Fluidity." The article stated:
. . .an increasing body of social science research posits that a sizable number of people experience some degree of fluidity in their sexual and romantic attractions: being drawn to the same gender at one point in their life, the opposite gender at another.
A 2016 article published by the American Institute of Bisexuality states:
For the first time in decades, the "Born This Way" approach to sexual identity is losing its popularity among queer folks. . .We believe that certain things, environments, and people can influence the way that we express and identify sexually. We're also beginning to believe that sexuality is fluid.
- American Institute of Bisexuality publishes article in bi.org stating that "born this way" is losing popularity amongst "queer folks" and that "sexuality is fluid."
- Trudy Ring writes for the Advocate.com about changes in science indicating that sexual orientation changes ("sexual fluidity").
[159]↩︎
For example, a 2016 meta analysis of national and international surveys conducted by Lisa M. Diamond at the University of Utah indicated that between 25% and 75% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual survey respondents reported having experienced a change in their sexual orientation at some point in their lives.
In 2012, Cornell University published an analysis on the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health that indicated significant movement between sexual orientation identifiers in cohorts. In analyzing the data of changes in sexual orientation within the cohort, they stated:
. . .there was little evidence that bisexuality (and mostly heterosexuality) is simply a "transitional stage" from heterosexuality to gay/lesbian status.
- Researchers at Cornell University analyze a 6 year cohort of 12,287 young adults and find significant shifts in self identification of their sexual orientation.
- University of Utah researcher Lisa M. Diamond states that 25-75% of sexual minorities report experiencing a change in sexual orientation at some point in their lives.
[160]↩︎
For example, the American Psychological Association states that sexual fluidity does not imply that conversion therapy is a valid practice:
. . .that sexual orientation can evolve and change for some does not mean that it can be altered through intervention or that it is advisable to try.
Whereas Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, writes:
To say that sexual orientation can change, but never by therapeutic means, is like saying that overweight people can lose weight spontaneously—but never by adopting a diet and exercise regimen!
- American Psychological Association recognizes sexual orientation change does occur, but thinks it does not justify conversion therapy as a practice.
- Family Research Council publishes report that argues that the science of sexual fluidity is evidence that sexual orientation may change through therapy.
[161]↩︎
The American Psychiatric Association stated:
In the last four decades, ‘reparative’ therapists have not produced any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure. . .The potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. . . .ethical practitioners [should] refrain from attempts to change individuals’ sexual orientation.
- American Psychiatric Association official revision of the 1998 statement on "reparative or conversion therapies," stating that "ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation."
[162]↩︎
In 2009, the American Psychological Association stated in Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts:
There are no studies of adequate scientific rigor to conclude whether or not recent [sexual orientation change efforts] do or do not work to change a person’s sexual orientation. . .
. . .some individuals reported being harmed by [sexual orientation change efforts]. Distress and depression were exacerbated. Belief in the hope of sexual orientation change followed by the failure of the treatment was identified as a significant cause of distress and negative self-image.
. . .the American Psychological Association affirms that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality regardless of sexual orientation identity;
- American Psychological Association 2009 statement on sexual orientation change efforts.
[163]↩︎
The American Medical Association published a brief entitled "Sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (so-called “conversion therapy”)." This brief states:
Evidence does not support the purported “efficacy” of SOCE in changing sexual orientation. To the contrary, these practices may cause significant psychological distress. . .All leading professional medical and mental health associations reject “conversion therapy” as a legitimate medical treatment. . .[The] AMA advocate for federal legislation to ban “reparative” or “conversion” therapy for sexual orientation or gender identity.
- American Medical Association issues a report stating that gay "conversion therapy" is not based on science or medical evidence.
[164]↩︎
The American Psychology Association 2009 Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts states:
There are no studies of adequate scientific rigor to conclude whether or not recent SOCE do or do not work to change a person’s sexual orientation.
The American Medical Association 2022 Issue Brief: Sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (so-called “conversion therapy”) states:
. . .administering change efforts is an inherently discriminatory practice often administered coercively and fraught with ethical problems. . .
The American Psychiatry Association July 2000 Position Statement on Issues Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Minority Status states:
Efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender expression have been shown to be harmful and potentially deadly.
[165]↩︎
For example, in 2022, the IFTCC published "An International Declaration on ‘Conversion Therapy’ and Therapeutic Choice," stating that "sexual fluidity happens in both directions but this is being ignored" and that "potential causal links between trauma and same-sex attractions and ‘gender dysphoria’ remain unexamined."
The Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (Alliance) published a position statement in 2012 on sexual orientation change, referring to numerous reports of patients changing their orientation:
Attempts to invalidate all reports of [sexual orientation] shifts by presuming they are not grounded in actual experience insults the integrity of these individuals and posits wishful thinking on an untenably massive scale.
- The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI) publishes their statement on sexual orientation change, which advocates for protection of patients rights to choose therapy.
- The International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) publishes "An International Declaration on "Conversion Therapy" and Therapeutic Choice."
[166]↩︎
Ego-dystonic homosexuality, or "unwanted homosexuality," was recognized in the DSM-III in 1980.
In 1987 the American Psychologist Association passed a resolution urging practitioners to no longer diagnose patients with "ego-dystonic homosexuality." This diagnosis was excluded from the revised version of the DSM published in 1987, the DSM-III-R.
- Statement from American Psychological Association that ego-dystonic homosexuality should not be considered a dysfunction.
- American Psychiatric Association 1980 DSM-III entry on ego-dystonic homosexuality.
[167]↩︎
In the 1960s and 1970s, many universities, research centers, and hospitals conducted research to assist patients who had a desire to "cure" themselves of homosexuality, including the New York Academy of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
[168]↩︎
For example, the American Medical Association stated in 2022:
Professional consensus rejects pathologizing sexual and gender identities. In addition, empirical evidence has demonstrated a diversity of sexual and gender identities that are normal variations of human identity and expression, and not inherently linked to mental illness.
The American Psychiatric Association published a "Position Statement on Conversion Therapy and LGBTQ Patients" in 2018, which states:
APA encourages psychotherapies which affirm individuals’ sexual orientations and gender identities.
American Psychological Association stated in 2009:
. . .some individuals reported being harmed by SOCE. Distress and depression were exacerbated. . . [SOCE] treatment was identified as a significant cause of distress and negative self-image
[169]↩︎
For example, organizations such as the International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) and the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (Alliance) have lobbied for "client self-determination" in the mental health field.
Some organizations have argued that for certain individuals, some types of sexual attraction can be a result of trauma or abuse and that patients should have the right to explore options to mitigate unwanted aspects of their sexuality.
- The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI) states their mission includes "preserving the right of individuals" to have choice in therapy related to sexual orientation change efforts.
- The International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) states their mission is to promote rights and freedoms of self determination for therapy.
[170]↩︎
For example, in the February 2021 document "APA Resolution on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts," the American Psychological Association says that self-determination has limits and compares the ethics of complying to a sexual orientation change effort requested by a patient to an anorexic patient requesting weight loss guidance:
There are a number of patient requests a psychologist would decline (e.g., a request for a behavioral weight loss program from a patient with anorexia nervosa) in the interest of the patient’s health and well-being. . . Self-determination does not necessitate or justify dispensing with other ethical obligations regarding patient care.
- American Psychological Association compares the ethics of sexual orientation change efforts to assisting an anorexic with weight loss.
[171]↩︎
Prior to the October 2019 statement, the Church took a position against "any therapy, including conversion and reparative therapies, that subject an individual to abusive practices" (emphasis added).
In a 2006 interview on the subject, Dallin H. Oaks said that "the Church rarely takes a position on which treatment techniques are appropriate, for medical doctors or for psychiatrists or psychologists" but that "the aversive therapies that have been used in connection with same-sex attraction have contained some serious abuses that have been recognized over time within the professions."
- Dallin H. Oaks states that the there have been abusive practices related to aversion therapy.
- The official Church statement (October 2019) on conversion therapy.

Institution	Year, Study, Publication, and Author	Reported Results
Department of Psychiatry, St. George's Hospital, London	1957, "Homosexuality: An Analysis of 100 Male Cases Seen in Private Practice," Desmond Curran and Denis Parr, British Medical Journal[138]	A subset (59) of the 100 were followed up with and 15% "reported a change in the direction of heterosexuality."[139]
Institute for the Scientific Treatment of Delinquency, London, England	1958, "Diagnosis and Treatment of Homosexual Offenders," Mary Woodward, British Journal of Delinquency[140]	Of 64 subjects treated for homosexuality, 48 completed treatment, and 31 (65%) of those who completed treatment reported an "increase in heterosexual interest."[141]
University of London	1960, "Some Problems in the Treatment of Homosexuality," Kurt Freund, Behavior Therapy and the Neuroses, edited by H. J. Eysenck[142]	Of 47 subjects, 15% of the 47 had short-term "heterosexual adaptation" and 26% of the 47 lasted "several years."[143]
Department of Psychiatry, Crumpsall Hospital, Manchester, England	1967, "Aversion Therapy in Management of 43 Homosexuals," M. J. MacCulloch, British Medical Journal[144]	43 patients were treated over a three-year period with a one-year follow-up. 58% reported a shift in their sexual orientation towards heterosexuality as measured by the Kinsey scale.[145]
Harvard Medical School	1974, "Group Psychotherapy For Men Who Are Homosexual," Lee Birk, Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy[146]	Of the 26 patients that participated in group therapy for the treatment of homosexuality for eighteen months, 52% reported "nearly complete heterosexual shifts."[147]
American Psychoanalytic Association	1994, "Attitude and Experiences of Psychoanalysts in Analyzing Homosexual Patients," Houston MacIntosh, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association[148]	285 therapists representing 1,215 homosexual patients were surveyed and researchers indicates 23% of their patients "changing to heterosexuality" and 84% receiving "significant therapeutic benefit."[149]
NARTH, University of Utah	2000, "Retrospective Self-Reports of Changes in Homosexual Orientation: A Consumer Survey of Conversion Therapy Clients," Joseph Nicolosi, Psychological Reports[150]	Of the 882 subjects* surveyed, 89% of those that had been "exclusively" or "almost entirely homosexual" or "more homosexual" than not, reported that after therapy, only 35% continued to view themselves as homosexual.[151]
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York	2002, "Changing Sexual Orientation: A Consumers’ Report," Ariel Shidlo, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice[152]	Of 202 subjects* surveyed who had some form of "sexual orientation conversion intervention," the study found that only 4% experienced a shift in their sexual orientation.[153]
Columbia University, New York	2003, "Can Some Gay Men and Lesbians Change Their Sexual Orientation? 200 Participants Reporting a Change from Homosexual to Heterosexual Orientation," Robert Spitzer, Archives of Sexual Behavior[154]	Of 200 subjects* surveyed who reported having changed their orientation at least five years prior, 29% of the males and 67% of the females reported homosexual feelings only "a few times a year".[155] In 2013 Spitzer apologized to the "gay community" for the study and said that it's possible that the 200 subjects may have been "lying".[156]
* Note that this reported rate of change was based on a self-selected group (eg. subjects that tended to identify as former homosexuals, or subjects that rejected conversion therapy) rather than a random sampling.