Thanks to an undercover investigation by Truth Wins Out, TWO, a group that exposes the “ex-gay” movement, it appears that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, lied when he asserted that the Christian psychology clinics he and his wife own, routinely conduct so-called “reparative therapy” on gay Christians:
During a week-long Truth Wins Out undercover investigation inside Bachmann & Associates, Truth Wins Out discovered that the clinic actually does practice textbook “reparative therapy.” With two hidden cameras in tow, TWO’s Director of Communications and Development, John Becker, attended five private sessions with Bachmann & Associates counselor Timothy Wiertzema, MA LMFT.
The explicit goal of the sessions was transforming Becker from homosexual to heterosexual. To his credit, the counselor did not promise that change would be instantaneous or even complete. However, he did explicitly promise that sexual conversion could occur as a result of prayer and therapy at the clinic.
Undoubtedly, people will want to know what criteria Truth Wins Out used to define “reparative therapy?” Here are six indicators that taken together leave no doubt that Bachmann & Associates engages in this discredited practice:
- False promise of healing
- Homosexuality portrayed as unnatural
- The risks of reparative therapy downplayed
- Homosexuality blamed on environment
- Accountability Partner
- Focus on developing masculinity
Writing at the mainstream, liberal Republican site, FrumForum, Ron Hill suggests that the TWO investigation also revealed ethical violations by Bachmann & Associates:
[The investigation] raises serious ethical and legal questions about Mr. Bachmann’s practice. Buried in the details in the source material provided by the gay rights organization Truth Wins Out; one finds that at no time did employees of Mr. Bachmann’s clinics ever educate the client on the dangers of reparative therapy (such as suicidal ideation), its historical lack of success in changing sexual orientation, or that the practice has been denounced by mainstream medical and mental health associations. Additionally, the client should have been informed that reparative therapy is considered “experimental,” he should have been told of the availability of other therapy options, and had the risk and benefits of each option explained.
This “informed consent” is required by the ethics code of the American Psychological Association (Mr. Bachman holds a doctoral degree in psychology) and informed consent is also a requirement of the ethics code of the American Association of Christian Counselors. This latter group mandates written informed consents as well as special written consent prior to initiating therapy when the goal is a change in sexual orientation. The undercover investigator with Truth Wins Out, who videotaped five counseling sessions in Mr. Bachmann’s clinic, has confirmed that at no time was he given an informed consent either verbally or in writing.
Thus it appears that Ms. Bachmann’s spouse and lead advisor owns a clinic that is practicing unethically in a way that is known to harm patients. This break from traditional evidence-based practice and Mr. Bachmann’s previous insistence that his clinic does not engage in the discredited therapy, raises legitimate questions about the integrity of one of Michele Bachmann’s chief advisors.
It also appears that, like his wife, Marcus Bachmann is a practiced liar:
In November 2005, Marcus Bachmann delivered a presentation called “The Truth About the Homosexual Agenda” at the Minnesota Pastors’ Summit. According to a gay activist who attended and spoke to City Pages, Bachmann’s presentation ended with testimony from three people who claimed they’d been gay and had been “cured” and become straight. But Bachmann has denied that he works to turn gay patients straight. “If someone is interested in talking to us about their homosexuality, we are open to talking about that,” he told the newspaper. “But if someone comes in a homosexual and they want to stay homosexual, I don’t have a problem with that.”
That’s hard to reconcile with other statements he’s made, however. “Barbarians need to be educated, they need to be disciplined, and just because someone feels it or thinks it, doesn’t mean we need to go down that road,” he said while discussing homosexuality during the radio interview. “We have a responsibility as parents and authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings.”
The American Psychological Association has officially denounced [PDF] reparative therapy, saying it found “[E]nduring change to an individual’s sexual orientation is uncommon. The participants in this body of research continued to experience same-sex attractions following SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] and did not report significant change to other-sex attractions that could be empirically validated, though some showed lessened physiological arousal to all sexual stimuli. Compelling evidence of decreased same-sex sexual behavior and of engagement in sexual behavior with the other sex was rare. Few studies provided strong evidence that any changes produced in laboratory conditions translated to daily life. Thus, the results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through SOCE.”
