Medics attacked for trying to 'convert' gays

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 15:55

DOCTORS have condemned the use of "conversion therapy" to try to change the sexuality of gay patients.

The British Medical Association conference in Brighton heard of research which suggested the treatment was being used in the UK, including cases where it had been funded by the NHS.

Doctors told the conference that such therapy had been discredited and could be harmful.

They voted in favour of professional standards to be set to reject the treatments and for mental health workers to be warned against providing them to patients.

The doctors also called for an investigation to establish number of cases where treatment had apparently been funded by the NHS.

A survey by University College London last year found that a significant minority of psychiatrists and therapists were still attempting to help lesbian, gay and bisexual clients become heterosexual, despite a lack of evidence that such treatment is effective or even safe.

The researchers questioned more than 1,400 mental health professionals on whether they would attempt to change a client's sexual orientation, if requested to do so.

One in six (17 per cent) reported having assisted at least one client to reduce their gay or lesbian feelings, usually through therapy.

Dr Tom Dolphin, a member of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said a third of these patients had been referred by their NHS GP.

He also said an undercover investigation at a UK conference of therapists found those willing to offer treatment for homosexuality. One therapist said they had taken referrals from their local GP, though they had denied this.

Dr Dolphin said: "This isn't about therapy designed to help to reconcile people to their sexuality, which is laudable and appropriate.

"I'm talking about therapy aimed at changing that sexual orientation."

Dr Dolphin said that conversion therapy did not work and could be harmful.

"Sexual orientation is such a fundamental part of who someone is that to attempt to change it will just result in significant conflict and depression, and even sometimes suicide," he said.

"You can't just wish away same-sex attraction, no matter how socially inconvenient it is."

He added: "Treating same-sex attraction as a disease that can be cured has an insidious effect to pathologise what is part of the normal spectrum of human sexuality."

Dr Gareth Payne, from Cardiff, said there was a lack of "gold-standard" evidence that the current treatments were discredited or harmful. He called for more research in this area to best support people who were struggling with their sexuality.

Dr Antony Lempert, from the West Midlands, said: "The main impetus for attempts to change sexual orientation or activity is religious interference in the private activities of other people." He urged doctors to also vote against any attempts to "treat" homosexuality as a disease.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Government and the NHS do not recognise homosexuality as a mental illness and do not endorse or provide ‘conversion therapy' or any such similar therapies."