Our Chance For Progress. The APA has an opportunity to help end damaging therapy provided by homophobes.

The American Psychological Association is reviewing its 10-year-old policy on counseling gays and lesbians. It’s a process that may help stop reparative therapy provided by ex-gays. The current APA policy, adopted in 1997, opposes any counseling that treats homosexuality as a mental illness, but does not explicitly denounce reparative therapy.

Clinton Anderson, director of the APA’s Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Office, said the panel would base its findings on scientific research, not ideology. He defended the decision to reject certain conservative applicants to the task force.

“We cannot take into account what are fundamentally negative religious perceptions of homosexuality — they don’t fit into our world view,” Anderson said.