Psychology Today Now Ex-Ex-Gay

Popular psychology magazine Psychology Today is changing its classified ad policy after a challenge by LGBT activists.

The Human Rights Campaign this week announced it had attempted to convince the popular decades-old magazine Psychology Today to stop accepting advertisements for therapists who practice harmful and dangerous “reparative therapy,” also known as “conversion therapy” or “ex-gay therapy.” It tried, but was not successful.

Until now.

Yesterday, NCRM published an article documenting HRC’s attempt, and the magazine’s refusal, but added one important caveat to the debate: Psychology Today’s former owner and publisher was, in fact, the American Psychological Association. The APA long-ago deemed conversion therapy – which claims to turn gay people straight – possibly harmful, dangerous, and ineffective.

We also pointed out the important fact that Psychology Today is endorsed by the National Board for Certified Counselors, an organization whose main purpose is to maintain the reputation of the practice of psychology by ensuring the highest standards and ethics of its certified practitioners.

While we don’t know what caused Psychology Today to change course, the magazine has now changed its policy and will no longer accept ads from practitioners of harmful conversion therapy.

In an update to its policy, the magazine writes, “Psychology Today does not endorse or publish ads for reparative therapy in print, online or in professionals’ profiles.”

The Therapy Directory has removed the individual whose profile included a discussion of conversion therapy. We have informed all Directory professionals that those whose profiles offer conversion therapy will be delisted. 

This is an important step in the public perception that homosexuality is not a disease or disorder. Just this morning, the well-known retired neurosurgeon and likely Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson stated wrongly, that homosexuality is “absolutely” a choice, and pointed to prison rape as “proof” of his claim.

A New Jersey judge recently ruled that claiming to be able to “cure” homosexuality, as practitioners of conversion therapy claim, is “fraud.”

NCRM applauds HRC’s efforts and this update to its policy by Psychology Today.

 

Image by Will Choi via Flickr and a CC license