Failed Reparative Therapy of Orthodox Jewish Homosexuals

ABSTRACT

The author is an Orthodox Jewish psychiatrist who, at the time of this presentation, had spent thirty-six years in the general practice of psychiatry, primarily among the broad spectrum of Orthodox Jewish patients. As a part of this general practice, the author encountered a number of Orthodox patients with homosexual attractions who desired to change their orientation. Since the author's initial results seemed encouraging as he found that all of his patients moved at least one point towards heterosexuality on the Kinsey scale, he began accepting more referrals to achieve significant change in homosexual orientation.

The author's therapeutic goals, at the time, were to counteract the homosexual patient's self-loathing; provide a warm, hopeful and accepting therapeutic environment; explain that human approaches to sexuality were variable and not monolithic and provide alternatives to a gay community lifestyle. The author believed a nurturing relationship with a straight male therapist, who understood the person's religious sensibilities and feelings, might help detoxify corrosive masculine influences of the past and provide some role-modeling for future identification.

The author describes several long-term cases in which he treated Orthodox Jewish patients who wished to be rid of their homosexual feelings and attractions. All of the author's male homosexual patients in intensive therapy moved at least one point on the Kinsey scale towards heterosexuality. However, that movement was not unidirectional. Reversions occurred in response to stressful events of various sorts—at times compromising an intact and extensive nuclear family and leading to catastrophic results. In contrast to the men, the author found it virtually impossible to achieve significant movement toward heterosexuality with homosexual women. The author believes more was accomplished when there was no direct expectation that change in sexual orientation be the specific goal. In those cases, sexual reorientation happened as a result of organic change as a part of a successful therapy for mutually agreed emotional problems.

KEYWORDS:

• AIDS
• community
• developmental theory
• gay
• homosexuality
• lesbian
• mental health
• Orthodox Judaism
• psychotherapy
• religion
• reparative therapy
• sexual conversion therapy
• stigma

Abba E. Borowich is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Founder and Emeritus President of the Mesorah Society for Traditional Judaism and Psychiatry, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

An earlier draft of this paperwas originally presented in a Scientific Symposium entitled “Gay and Lesbian Orthodox Jews: A Primer for Clinicians” at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, in New York City on May 5, 2004.