Not all parents are at peace with having a gay child. Some of these parents go so far as sending their children to “gay correctional therapy,” in which the children undergo psychotherapy to try to change their sexual orientation. Gay correctional therapy for minors should be illegal due to its harmful effects, no matter the parents’ beliefs.

In a session of correctional therapy, the patient talks with a therapist and discusses ways to repress or reverse homosexual thoughts and urges. These therapists are usually counselors and are rarely medical doctors.

            “All major national mental health organizations have officially expressed concerns about therapies promoted to modify sexual orientation. To date, there has been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation is safe or effective,” according to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) website.

            No parent should put their child through therapy that has been proven to be neither safe nor effective. The state of California deemed this therapy dangerous enough to make it illegal. Parents are risking their children’s mental and emotional health when dealing with unproven methods of therapy.

            The South Coast Recovery Gay and Lesbian Treatment Center is an example of one such institution. They claim to cure “gay addiction,” however, neither the APA nor the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize a disease related to addiction to a sexual orientation.

            Addiction is “a condition in which the body must have a drug to avoid physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms,” according to the APA. Homosexuality is not dependent on or in any way related to drugs; therefore by definition it cannot be an addiction.

Some parents who are against homosexuality or believe their child is “addicted to being gay” force their child to undergo correctional therapy. This sends a message to the child that there is something wrong with him or her. In most cases, this causes stress or feelings of depression.

Adolescence is a stressful time in itself. No teen needs the added pressure of trying to change something that comes as naturally as sexual orientation. For some, the stressful feelings are too much to handle.

“I personally attempted suicide six times over this nonsense. It needs to go,” commented Shannon Barber, huffpost user, on a May Huffington Post article.

Gay teens are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Youth Pride Inc. website. People more likely to have suicidal tendencies should not have to deal with parents who are bullying their children into changing a fundamental part of themselves.

Not all parents intend to bully their children. Many people still believe homosexuality to be unnatural to humans; however, these people are also in the wrong.

“Same-sex sexual attractions, behavior and orientations per se are normal and positive variants of human sexuality: in other words, they do not indicate either mental or developmental disorders,” according to the APA. “Lesbian, gay, and bisexual orientations are not disorders.”

Sexuality is not a skill that can be worked on or a test that be studied for; it is as much a part of someone as their personality or what foods they like.   Sexual orientation cannot be changed by any doctor or therapist.
            The fact remains that no matter one’s personal beliefs, homosexuality is both normal and healthy. Homosexuality is not a disease, addiction, or any other mental ailment. No matter what steps are taken, no therapist or psychiatrist can cure what is not a disease.