The California Senate voted 23-13 today to ban psychotherapy that aims to reverse or eliminate homosexuality. The bill is headed to the state Assembly next. If it passes, California would be the first state in the country to legally prohibit gay rehabilitation therapy.

I wholeheartedly support this legislation. Homosexual rehabilitation therapy is ineffective, insulting, and dangerous. Plenty of people – gay and straight alike – struggle with their sexual identities. Therapy can help you examine your relationship with your identity, manage grief around feeling unaccepted by your family or community, feel more comfortable in your own skin, learn to soothe your anxieties, and experiment with different ways of embodying and expressing your sexuality. However, I firmly believe that therapy should not hold the explicit goal of changing your sexual identity.

Have you been through gay rehabilitation therapy, or been pressured to go? Are you struggling with coming to terms with your sexual identity? Call (415) 658-5738 or visit my Appointments page to set up a consultation.