Richard Cohen (therapist)

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Richard Cohen is an American psychotherapist who conducts reparative therapy aimed at transitioning homosexual persons voluntarily to heterosexuality under the auspices of his International Healing Foundation.

1 Biography
2 Criticism
3 Books
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Cohen's 2001 book Coming Out Straight calls homosexuality a "same-sex attachment disorder" and details the theoretical basis and methods of reparative therapy, including a theory of the causes of same-sex attraction, a model for recovery, and real-life stories of people who have undergone reparative therapy.

Cohen describes the "hidden meanings" of same-sex attraction as:

need for same-sex parent's love
need for gender identification
fear of intimacy with the opposite sex [1]

Cohen claims several root causes of same-sex attraction including heredity, temperament, wounds from the same sex parent, wounds from the opposite sex parent, sibling wounds and family dynamics, body image wounds, sexual abuse, social and peer wounds, and cultural wounds. He employs as many as 22 therapeutic tools in the healing process including family systems therapy, cognitive therapy, meditation and affirmations, inner child healing, journaling and bioenergetics. In his 16 years of therapy, Cohen claims an 85 percent success rate with his patients.

After transitioning from homosexuality to heterosexuality, Cohen joined the Unification Church in 1975. After nearly a decade of celibacy, he married a woman, Jae Sook, in 1982, and they now have three children.[2] He later earned a degree in psychology. In 1995 he left the Unification Church.

Cohen states that he has made the transition from homosexuality to heterosexuality. He has used his own experiences as proof that a person's sexuality can change and that homosexuals are not born as such but rather become so through complex life experiences.

[edit] Criticism

Cohen's techniques include family systems therapy, bibliotherapy, cognitive therapy, meditations and affirmations, bioenergetics and core energetics, as well as many others. Bioenergetics, which may include hitting a pillow with a tennis racket, uses therapeutic body work to release pent-up bodily tension and pain to get down to deeper emotions and needs. [3]

In the past, American Psychiatric Association has explicitly rejected the validity of reparative therapy.[4] However, at a recent town-hall meeting during the APA's convention in New Orleans, APA President Gerald P. Koocher responded to questions about the organization's pro-homosexual positions — and its lack of recognition of former homosexuals and their therapists by saying: "The APA has no conflict with psychologists who help those distressed by unwanted homosexual attraction."

The American Counseling Association expelled Cohen in 2003. Cohen claims that he was expelled on the basis of one client's complaints, though he elected not to contest the decision.[5] The APA states in their Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues Fact Sheet:

No one knows what causes heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.... To date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting specific biological etiology for homosexuality. Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse. Sexual abuse does not appear to be more prevalent in children who grow up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, than in children who identify as heterosexual.

The APA's Year 2000 position statement on reparative therapies states, among other criticisms:

As a general principle, a therapist should not determine the goal of treatment either coercively or through subtle influence. Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or "repair" homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable. Furthermore, anecdotal reports of "cures" are counterbalanced by anecdotal claims of psychological harm. In the last four decades, "reparative" therapists have not produced any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure. Until there is such research available, APA recommends that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm.

[edit] Books

Alfie's Home (1993) ISBN 0-9637058-0-6
Coming Out Straight (2001) ISBN 1-886939-41-1
Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing (2006) ISBN 0-9637058-2-2