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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyAugust 7th, 2014
The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality announced yesterday that it will be rebranding itself as the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI), with NARTH functioning as a “separate Insitute” within ATCSI. According to an emailed announcement from NARTH President Christopher Rosik:
In recent years NARTH has been increasingly involved in legal and professional efforts to defend the rights of clients to pursue change-oriented psychological care as well as the rights of licensed mental health professionals to provide such care. In this context, it has been alarming to encounter frequent distortions and omissions pertaining to the scientific record regarding change in sexual orientation and the harms alleged to occur from professional assistance with such change.
In order to respond to these important developments more clearly in our mission, the NARTH board voted in January of this year to create a new organization, titled Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI). NARTH will remain and function within ATCSI as a separate Institute that will continue to focus on matters pertaining to the psychological care of clients with unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors. Nothing in our mission changes, but we anticipate that our outreach will be significantly expanded.
You can see the ATSCI’s new web site here. NARTH styles itself a professional organization, but the ATSCI has a specific section for with religious outreach.
Faced with more state legislatures considering bans on change orientation therapy for minors, NARTH has been unsuccessful in its campaigns to stop those drives. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from newly-appointed NARTH board member David Pickup to overturn lower court rulings that upheld California’s ban on ex-gay therapy for minors. NARTH co-founder Joseph Nicolosi admitted that about half of all clients are teens and they represent a growing customer base. NARTH has been operating for several years on a minuscule shoe-string budget. It’s hard to see how this latest move will have much of an impact.
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Sharon B
August 7th, 2014
Same small set of clowns get out of the car, race around the car, get back into the car. Still clowns. Still a clown-car.
bill johnson
August 7th, 2014
The law in California is now in effect right? if so do we have any information on how that has impacted Nicolosi if half of his client base was comprised of minors? If he is breaking the law by continuing to work with minors it would be nice to bust him in the act.
Priya Lynn
August 7th, 2014
“Joseph Nicolosi admitted that about half of all clients are teens and they represent a growing customer base.”.
It seems unlikely that any portion of Narth’s customer base is growing.
Nathaniel
August 7th, 2014
Why is it groups that have something to hide always use words like “Truth” and “Integrity” in their name? For example, why is there not group promoting the science behind evolution that calls itself the Alliance for Scientific Truth?
On a different note, Jim, you describe teens as “a growing customer base” for these “therapies.” That would imply they are receiving more teens as patients, which may be true. However, I wonder if it is more that they are not getting as many adult clients, so increasingly the only clients they can get are newly-out teens dragged there by their parents. Is there any data on this?
Gene in L.A.
August 7th, 2014
Nicolosi has been a persistent thorn in our side for too long. It would not do to let him rebrand himself and re-emerge as a force against us. However unlikely that is, it’s important for those of us who know his history to prevent such a revitalization of his campaign.
Richard Rush
August 7th, 2014
ATCSI:
Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific IntegrityAlliance for Thuggish Coercion and Scientific Imposture
William Fisher
August 7th, 2014
@ Nathaniel:
‘Why is it groups that have something to hide always use words like “Truth†and “Integrity†in their name?’
Their reasons are presumably similar to those of a despotic tyranny which calls itself a “People’s Democratic Republicâ€.
GLBTQ Jamaica Modera
August 7th, 2014
when will these people learn? …….. tsk
Bose in St. Peter MN
August 7th, 2014
The “Medical Division” page affirms the youth-focused orientation:
“Many of our Alliance member partners are caring medical professionals who joined ATCSI because they are concerned that their patients, particularly their early adolescent and teen patients, may not fully appreciate the health risks associated with indiscriminate or promiscuous sexual behavior.
But, wait a minute, what the heck is up with using a sultry babe with deep cleavage as their fake newscaster? That’s just creepy, as if the message to parents is, Bring us your 13-y/o Christian sons who adore Chris Colfer, and we’ll return them to you lusting after women like this???? Or even creepier, that they’ll flip athletic, makeup-averse daughters to become her?
Based on comparably-sized rebranding/web projects I’ve worked on, this is the kind of work that would require buckets of cash and numerous review/approval cycles by the best and brightest NARTH leaders over many months. Congrats to them for ending up with a disturbing, cheap final product.
marcus
August 7th, 2014
Did anyone else notice that the opening and closing sequences for this “breaking news” segment both describe it as “live?”
I think that “live” does not mean what they think it means.
enough already
August 8th, 2014
How many more children and teens must they torture and murder before our country finally says: Enough!
I notice you folks removed the article on the ‘good Christians’ showing ‘remorse’ for their torture of gay people.
Nothing makes me angrier than to have a ‘good Christian’ get into my face and try to justify their actions towards me and other gays who were tortured by them.
Jim Burroway
August 8th, 2014
I don’t know which article you’re referring to, but we have not removed any posts.
enough already
August 8th, 2014
Strange, can’t find it. I’ll look again, thanks.
Dave H
August 9th, 2014
How can an organization be “separate” and still be “within?”
Hunter
August 11th, 2014
“. . . the rights of licensed mental health professionals to provide such care.”
Take on the whole medical establishment while you’re at it. Good luck.
Regan DuCasse
August 11th, 2014
“…are concerned that their patients, particularly their early adolescent and teen patients may not fully appreciate the health risks associated with indiscriminate or promiscuous behavior…”
1. The inference being that they’d tell a gay kid that being gay makes you ‘more prone to’ such behavior.
2. That being heterosexual or affecting heterosexuality will make you immune to such behaviors.
3. That otherwise remaining homosexual will define you as mentally, emotionally and sexually dysfunctional, broken and without social value.
There is absolutely NO “caring medical professionals” that would foment such vicious lies. Outright DANGEROUS pejorative LYING.
This would be morally, socially and especially mentally and emotionally confusing and contradictory to a teen. To make them believe this, is what makes them more depressed, confused and at risk.
WTH?!
A gay kid KNOWS they are NONE of the things that NARTH proports them to be. And forces them to deny the hypocrisy right before their eyes, then suffer the result of exploitation of anti gay discrimination and threat.
Het teens are at just (or more) risk from promiscuity and indiscriminate sexual behavior because a child can result.
And girls certainly get a hypocritical and contradictory message too, for that matter.
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