Changes in Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Among Mental Health Professionals

Abstract

This essay discusses changes in the way that associations of psychologists and psychiatrists have treated homosexuality in their deliberations and official statements. Of particular interest has been the fact that editions of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have altered their views over the past fifty years. Although the earliest edition of this publication reflected the sentiment that homosexuality was a mental disorder, later editions have moved toward a rejection of this view. These changes are discussed in terms of their import for pastoral counselors. Of special concern is the fact that the great majority of church bodies continue to view homosexual behavior as sinful. Some suggestions are made for how pastoral counselors can function in the midst of these tensions.

Key Words:

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)
• ego dystonic
• ego syntonic
• reparative therapy