Not the best of writers but here it goes...


ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Reparative Therapy must not be confused with gαy Affirmation Therapy. ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Reparative Therapy, which will be referred to as HRT, is aimed towards helping individuals to understand why they have sɛҳuąƖ attractions towards the same sex, and to guide them, through these realizations, so that they may grow out of or overcome these attractions.  gαy Affirmation Therapy (GAT) is aimed towards helping an individual become comfortable with a ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ identity so that they may pursue a gαy lifestyle with no feeling of shame. Many people eventually learn that they are not happy with the gαy lifestyle for many different reasons. With a greater understanding of the causes of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, the possibility of overcoming same sex attraction is becoming more likely.
At one point in time, ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity was recognized as a psychological disorder by the American Psychological Association. As the gαy agenda started to form in the 1960's, society's attitude towards ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs started to change. gαy writers expressed themselves in articles, gαy artists painted their feelings on canvas, and gαy musicians started to open up about how they felt. Society, as a whole, began to accept people who called themselves "gαy". Because of this overall change in attitude towards these people, the American Psychological Association (APA) began to change it's perspective as well. Little was known about the causes of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity at the time, and as pressure from the gαy agenda started to grow, the APA eventually removed ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity from it's list of disorders. This opened doors for a new type of therapy. gαy Affirmation Therapy became the new wave for people who sought therapy for their same sex attraction. However, GAT faced criticism from many different groups. Religious groups had always been against ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, and these groups were particularly outraged that psychologists were helping people to become gαy. Amidst the differences in opinion regarding ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, theories started to arise about the causes of it.
Questions began to come to light about whether ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is genetic or psychological. Over the past 30 years, scientists have conducted many different studies on the possibility that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is genetic. In 1993, a genetic study began based on a claim that gαy men shared a common genetic feature in the X chromosome. After 6 years of research, the gene was never discovered. Other similar genetic studies have been conducted, and nobody has come close to finding a gene that is directly responsible for ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity. Another way scientists have examined the genetics behind ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is identical twin studies. Two major studies on ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, in identical twins, have occurred in Minnesota and Australia. "Using the 14,000+ Australian twin collection, they found that if one twin was ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ, 38% of the time his identical brother was too. For lesbianism the concordance was 30%. Whether 30% or 50% concordance (snowball samples), all the studies agree it is clearly not 100%" (Whitehead 1). Given that identical twins share the same exact genetic make up, it is likely that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is, at least, not entirely genetic and may not be genetic at all. If ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity were entirely genetic, then both twins would be ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ 100% of the time. Because it is proven that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is not entirely genetic, ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity can be looked at from a psychological perspective, and ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Reparative Therapy can be a valid option for same sex attracted individuals.
ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Reparative Therapy began with the pioneer of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. "The early work of Stekel (1930) reports a number of cases of complete cure, including one in detail, through Freudian psychoanalysis" (Nicolosi, Reparative Therapy for Male ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity 18).  Amongst other psychoanalysts, L.H. Rubenstein, in the British Journal of Medical Psychology notes, "a fair number of patients can be helped to a certain extent; some can improve well beyond original expectations" (Nicolosi, Reparative Therapy of Male ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity 18). Rubenstein was referring to his success in HRT. Little do most know, HRT has existed for over one hundred years. Why is it that there were success stories, in changing an individuals sɛҳuąƖ orientation, yet nobody really knew about it? The answer is simple. ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity was treated no differently than any other disorder. Through psychoanalysis, a therapist would guide an individual through a logical thought process which would help the individual effectively deal with his or her disorder. Also, over time, therapy has changed, and therapy, these days, has become more about going with how an individual feels rather than logically dealing with an issue. Not to mention, psychologists, back in the early days of psychology, did not collaborate with one another on how they successfully helped their patients. It wasn't until years later that people started to research old records of case studies that revealed the truth about HRT. These case studies not only revealed logical thinking within therapy, but also addressed emotional needs that were unmet in the individual.
Much of an individuals sɛҳuąƖ attraction is based on the mysterious or what is lacking. What women have men don't have and vice versa. We are attracted to what we don't have. A vast majority of HRT case studies reveal a missing component within the being of the individual. ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ men typically report a lack of male affirmation or sense of being a male. They generally feel inadequate as a man, and acting sɛҳuąƖly with other males is an attempt to fulfill this inadequacy. The following case study reveals a glimpse into a therapy session between an HRT therapist and a young man named Albert:
"The shame that his mother conveyed to him only deepened his sense of alienation from maleness. 'You need to feel more relaxed and
accepting toward your body, ' I told him. 'I know,' Albert said. 'I feel like I'm behind the wheel of a big truck, but I don't have a driver's
license. I feel like a little boy in a man's body.' Then his boyish voice harshened and grew louder. 'It really is hard for me, damn hard. I've
always felt so goddamn guilty when I can't control myself.' 'You've felt your male body was never accepted by your parents.' "(Nicolosi,
Healing ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity 5).
This particular passage reveals an incompleteness, experienced by the client, in his male identity. This incompleteness was traced back to his earlier childhood. Not only did he not feel affirmed as a male by his parents, but he never had any healthy relationships with other male peers. There was a sense of disconnection from the male world for Albert, and this disconnection turned into mystery which further progressed into attraction for men. Deep down it was a longing to be complete in his maleness, and this longing became so powerful that it sɛҳuąƖized. For an individual to have success at dealing with his same sex attraction, he or she must recognize this need for same sex affirmation. By forming healthy and non-sɛҳuąƖ relationships with same sex peers, an individual can overcome his or her same sex attraction.
Many people have successfully overcome their same sex attraction through same sex affirmation in a non-sɛҳuąƖ way. In forming healthy relationships with same sex peers, an individual gains a sense of completeness in their own gender identity. By gaining this sense of completeness, the mysteriousness of the same sex starts to become more familiar. As this familiarity with the same sex grows stronger, the embodiment of a new mysteriousness, in the opposite sex, starts to take place. ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity can be overcome.