Comments for Ted Haggard and the S.S.A.D. “Ex-Gay” Fraud at http://atlanticfreepress.com , comment 1 to 5 out of 5 comments http://atlanticfreepress.com Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:48:26 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/947-ted-haggard-and-the-ssad-ex-gay-fraud.html#comment-1398 Why are christians so obsessed with other peoples sexuality..so obsessed with sex, gender and genitals…really, don’t they worry about real stuff , like poverty, famine, environmental degradation, war and pestilence, the rich gettting richer and the poor getting more destitute. Why do they get so obessed with homosexuals, claiming it is a threat to the family ..HOW? if your husband runs off with the hussy next door, how can it be the fault of gays/lesbians? How can gays/lesbians be responsible for 50% divorce rate ( incidentally highest divorce are in the bible belt ha ha ). If your son does drug and your daughter gets laid while on booze - how is that the fault of gays/lesbians. Christians historically sought out scape-goats..they used to blame Jews, then blacks, then gypsies , then women and now since it is no longer fashionable to blame jews or blacks etc, they have to pick on vulnerable minorities like gays and lesbians. Hitler did not kill 6 million jews in a vacuum. Centuries of marginalization and denigration and demonizing of jews as Jesus killer enable common german citizens to exercise false moral authority in killing jews. In like fashion centuries of demonizing and denigration of homosexuals embolden wicked and otherwise morally bankrupt ‘straight’ bigots to descrimiaate and do violence to gay and lesbian and other sexual minorities . Furthermore picking on a scape-goat makes christians feel superior and ‘saved’. Denigrating others is easier than exercising love,charity and compassion which is actually the most basic teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Sadly Christians hardly practise the most important commandemt of Jesus ie. Love God then immediately love your neighbour as yourself ( be he/she gay or staight). It is AMAZING HOW MANY PEOPLE CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS WHEN THEY IN FACT DO NOT PRACTISE THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT OF JESUS !!! THEY WOULD RATHER BE HYPOCRITES AND BE LIKE THE PHARASEES OF OLD DUUUH ! mikhail - a child of the Universe - a guest Sat, 24 Feb 2007 06:40:17 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/947-ted-haggard-and-the-ssad-ex-gay-fraud.html#comment-1278 It appears that the writer and those in opposition to the ex-gayphenomena can't seem to find any legal cases of anysubstance that would back their claims of quackery regarding reparative therapy, they desperately resort to the fantasy world of Hollywood to meet their wish-fulfillment needs. You can watch a portion depicting the courtroom drama of this episode at Although, I didn't see this episode, I am told the story goes that this older gentleman is suing his former reparative therapist(s) for malpractice, since they promised him that he would change his SSA inclinations to predominantly OSA ones. He spent an approximate total $40,000 for this mode of therapy over the years. How many, I don't know. Of course, this did not occur and he indubitably suffered many adverse affects and symptoms as a result. Again, what they were claiming, I don't know either. However, even before I got a chance to see it, I can tell you this. And, this is not fantasy, nor Hollywood propoganda: 1) No reparative therapist, at least as a member of NARTH, or even in the Exodus coalition of ministries, promises a client that he or she will experience change. This is very misleading. In fact, it is the duty of all reparative therapists to inform clients while any therapeutic contract is formulated in the therapy's initial phase, that this is the case. In fact, the therapists will not contract until that is made crystal clear. And, if the client chooses no longer to pursue reparative therapy, and then requests assistance regarding their sexual issues, then many, if not most NARTH therapists will refer them to a gay affirmative therapist! Even if this isn't the case, then the NARTH therapist is obligated to at least refer them elsewhere. 2) Let's just use our common sense on this next one. Why would anyone continue to spend their hard working money, in this case, $40K, unless they at least experienced some compensatory benefit eventually along the path of the duration of therapy? This gentleman's testimony just goes against the law and principles of classical and operant conditioning. You know, the one where the rat discontinues hitting the lever because it doesn't get its reward; that being the piece of cheese. Well, the same goes for us, even though we are much more sophisticated creatures, being the pinnacle of God's creation. We will become discouraged and tire out easily and speedily, and eventually cease going to any more sessions, if there isn't anything beneficial concerning a therapeutic alliance that should inevitably develop. Do you know just how many sessions a total cost of $40K would be? Again, I don't know how much he spent per session, but let's just give him the benefit of the doubt, that it was quite expensive, say at least $125.00 for one hour for a weekly session, given that he apparently would have resided in a much more expensive cost of living area of the country than the mean, given it probably would have been in the urban setting of Boston. (Remember, no insurance will approve this kind of therapy because of the political mess in which the major mental health and medical professional guilds got themselves, unless there is evidence that the client agreed to undergo treatment of an approved disorder, and credible interventions are executed and documented that lead to at least the alleviation of a symptom listed under this aforesaid and approved disorder (i.e., depression and anxiety). Well, that's a total cost of approximately ($125 X 52 weeks)$6,450. 00 per year. This means that, at the least, this gentleman spent 6 years in therapy; and no benefit? Come on! No hoax, amount of cojoling, or quackery can get a client to stay for that long, without some kind of satisfying change of life experience occurs. (Of course, this could be something of a more furtive, clandestine nature with their therapist, such as a sexual relationship. ) In the latest research shows that this is the case. According to Spitzer (2000), over one-third of those subjects he interviewed did report experiencing either significant change or at least satisfactory functioning in a heterosexual relationship. Even more to the point, over 30% of the clients he interviewed, that underwent reparative therapy, indeed did not experience any significant change in their sexual inclinations, nor a satisfactory functioning in a heterosexual relationship, but they did stay in the therapy on account of these lowest common denominators; personal benefit and satisfactory functioning in life due to resolution or alleviation of other interrelated personal issues (i.e., alleviation of depression, getting beyond sexual compulsion, family conflicts and loneliness via the maintenance of a solid network of friends). This last category, although they did not experience what was one of their original goals in therapy, they stuck it out because of the other goals, that may even have been added along the path and process of the therapeutic alliance. Those who don't experience any benefit drop out. And, Spitzer mentions this in his research! - a guest Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:57:52 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/947-ted-haggard-and-the-ssad-ex-gay-fraud.html#comment-1266 Given that the issue of the religious right's backing for the insane capo and his mafia mob, illegally lodged in the white house is relevant, your point is well taken, and in retrospect I withdraw to a degree. But yes, there are more pressing issues IMH than trying to destroy the credibility of a movement which any sane person already knows has no credibility, and yes, the framing of Iran is one of those issues. - a guest Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:31:59 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/947-ted-haggard-and-the-ssad-ex-gay-fraud.html#comment-1248 I see that Mel specialized in writing about the Religious Right. Should he be writing about Iran? - a guest Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:34:26 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/947-ted-haggard-and-the-ssad-ex-gay-fraud.html#comment-1246 As a homosexual male my only response to this diversion from the issues at hand is *Yawn! - a guest Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:21:45 +0100