Taking homophobia out of psychotherapy
'Reparative therapy' survivor and ex-pastor will address Pink Therapy/UKCP sexual minority event
London, 29 April 2009: A pioneering conference on May 15 and 16 will look at how homophobia in health care and mental health services continues to impact on lesbian, gay and transgender people and other sexual minorities.
The joint Pink Therapy/UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) conference, Working with Gender and Sexual Minorities, comes in the wake of a recent conference, hosted by evangelical splinter group Anglican Mainstream, promoting 'reparative therapy', which aims to help people become heterosexual.
The first evening of the conference will feature the findings of London's professor Mike King, whose research recently found that one in six therapists still regard homosexuality as a curable affliction.
A Lutheran pastor who sought out therapy and hypnosis to turn him heterosexual is another of the speakers at the opening evening of the conference. When Maris Sants finally accepted his homosexuality, he was excommunicated from his local church in his adoptive country of Latvia and forced to leave the country because of verbal and physical attacks.
Maris will introduce two other gay psychotherapists from Serbia and Colombia who will add an international flavour to the opening night of the conference.
Milan Djuric has won three international awards for his work with multiply-oppressed minorities in Serbia including gay Roma (gypsies). He organised the first Gay Pride day in Belgrade (which ended in severe violence) and organised the country's first radio show on gay issues.
Miguel Rueda-Sáenz has been working with lesbians and gay men in Colombia since 1996 and has run a course training psychologists in gay issues at a pioneering LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community centre in Bogotá.
Pink Therapy director Dominic Davies commented: "We're immensely pleased to have these three courageous pioneers who can share their experiences with us. The UK is a very multi-cultural society and I believe it will be helpful for therapists to know more about how homosexuality is dealt with around the world as well as sharing their experiences of being virtually sole out gay therapists in their respective countries. We all have much to learn from each other."
Tom Warnecke, vice-chair of UKCP, said: "Mental health professionals helped create the discrimination against sexual minorities that dominated the last century. The mainstream mental health professions have moved on from these dark ages, but sadly, this has not yet lead to a more profound culture change."
"Mike King's findings suggest to me that there is a serious lack of adequate training. We need to ensure that psychotherapists and counsellors in private and public mental health services can respond appropriately to people who are distressed about some aspect of their sexuality or gender."
The Working with Gender and Sexual Minorities Conference will take place on 15 and 16 May 2009.
Further details about the conference and a booking form are on www.psychotherapy.org.uk/conferences_events.html
Friday 15 will look at the socio-political aspects of homosexuality and psychology while Saturday 16 will focus on the clinical work. A limited number of concessionary places are available to non-therapists at £25 each for Friday.
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Press Contacts
Pink Therapy: Dominic Davies 07971 205323
UKCP: Tom Warnecke 07956 970509
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