Richard A. Cohen

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For other persons of the same name, see Richard Cohen.

Richard Cohen (born 1952) is a writer and reparative therapist[1], assisting men and women[2] with unwanted same-sex attractions.[1] He has been called one of America's leading practitioners of conversion therapy.[3] Cohen gives lectures and runs seminars and workshops where he sells his books. [4] Cohen's theories differ from mainstream medical views of sexual orientation. [5] The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) strongly opposes the use of holding techniques.[6]

Cohen lives in Washington, D.C. with his family.[7] He offers commercial teleconferencing classes on topics such as "assist[ing parents] help their children who experience same-sex attractions... [to] heal and fulfill their innate heterosexual potential" and "present[ing]... a clear and comprehensive plan for transitioning from a homosexual to a heterosexual orientation."[8] He also travels on a lecture circuit discussing similar topics.[9]

Contents

[edit] Biography

A family friend repeatedly molested Cohen when he was 6 years old.[1] Cohen said that this provided the affection he craved from his father, and that he repressed the memories of molestation until he was 30 and in therapy. He was openly and actively gay while attending Boston University as an undergraduate, but spent years in intensive psychiatric treatment trying to change his sexual orientation,[1] beginning psychotherapy twice weekly with a traditional Freudian psychoanalyst.[10]

For 20 years Cohen was a member of the Unification Church[1] whose leader, Sun Myung Moon stated that homosexuals are "like dirty dung eating dogs."[11] Cohen married a woman of the same religion in 1982.[1] He left the Unification Church in 1995,[7] and has said that "If someone wants to live a gay life, that needs to be respected. If someone wants to change and come out straight, that too needs to be respected. Let us practice true tolerance, real diversity, and equality for all."[2]

After two of his three children were born, Cohen began an affair with a man in New York whom he described as his "boyfriend" and whom he frequently traveled to see. The affair lasted three years.[1] Cohen references this time as a period of turmoil that led him to pursue healing from his past.[12] He states that he changed his sexual orientation from gay to straight and cites his own experiences as proof that a person's sexual orientation can change and that gay people are not born that way but rather become so through complex life experiences.

[edit] Education

Cohen earned a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University, and a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology from Antioch University.

[edit] Work

Before practicing reparative therapy, Cohen worked in child abuse treatment services, family reconciliation services, and as an HIV/AIDS educator for the American Red Cross.[7]

He is not licensed as a therapist, because he said he "didn't want to jump through the hoops and deal with the heterophobia and anti-ex-gay attitudes." Cohen avoids State licensing requirements by asking for donations to his foundations instead of payment.[1]

[edit] Permanent expulsion from the American Counseling Association

In 2002 Cohen was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association for six violations of its ethics code, which bars members from actions which "seek to meet their personal needs at the expense of clients, those that exploit the trust and dependency of clients, and for soliciting testimonials or promoting products in a deceptive manner."[1][13]

Cohen said he believes the expulsion was for his efforts in the ex-gay movement, specifically for the book Coming Out Straight, and for one complaint. He did not appeal, calling the ACA "a biased organization"[14] and "gay-affirming club."[1]

[edit] Media appearances

Cohen debated Wayne Besen, a gay rights advocate, on television in 2005. Cohen later advanced his theories on Penn and Teller's show Bullshit!,[15] on shock jock Howard Stern's radio program,[16] and on Paula Zahn's CNN program (see image). Following his appearance on Paula Zahn, NARTH issued a statement opposing "holding therapy" as a therapeutic approach.[17]

Cohen was then interviewed by Jason Jones on the March 19, 2007 episode of The Daily Show. Cohen was, for a time, the president of PFOX.[18]

[edit] International Healing Foundation

In 1990, Cohen established the International Healing Foundation. It is a non-profit organization which advocates using conversion therapy to change the sexual orientation of lesbians and gay men.[19] It is part of the ex-gay movement and is a signatory member of Positive Alternatives To Homosexuality, a coalition of 11 ex-gay organizations seeking to support those with unwanted homosexual desires.[20][21] It gained some notoriety for calling homosexuality a Same-Sex Attachment Disorder (SSAD) and for developing a program that says it enables lesbians and gay men to transition to heterosexual behavior.[citation needed]

A subsidiary organization, the Institute for Effective Therapy of Homosexuality (IETH) was created by the International Healing Foundation "for the purpose of developing, implementing and teaching successful methods for healing homosexuality."[citation needed]

[edit] Beliefs about sexual orientation

Cohen hugging a male client as part of his "holding" technique.
Cohen hugging a male client as part of his "holding" technique.

Cohen's 2001 book Coming Out Straight calls homosexuality a "same-sex attachment disorder" and details his methods of sexual reorientation therapy, including his theory of the causes of same-sex attraction, his methods of changing sexual orientation, and stories of people who have undergone his therapies.

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

  1. need for same-sex parent's love
  2. need for gender identification
  3. fear of intimacy with the opposite sex[22]

Cohen claims several root causes of same-sex attraction including heredity; temperament; family dynamics; "wounds" from a parent or sibling; social, peer, or cultural "wounds"; body image "wounds"; and sexual abuse. Cohen employs as many as 22 techniques including family systems therapy, cognitive therapy, meditation and affirmations, "inner child healing," and journaling.

Cohen uses a technique called bioenergetics, which involves physical exercises that is purported to facilitate the resurgence of repressed feelings. The International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis states that this activity allows the client to confront and process these feelings, working towards forgiveness and reconciliation.[1][23] He demonstrated this by smashing a tennis racket into a pillow while screaming "Mom! Why did you do that to me?". Cohen also uses holding therapy, which involves cuddling and repeating affirming words to attempt to establish healthy, non-sexual male bonding that may have been absent during childhood.[24]

[edit] Mainstream medical view of conversion therapy

Main article: Conversion therapy#Mainstream medical view on changing sexual orientation

The medical and scientific consensus is that reparative therapy is potentially harmful and that there is no evidence it is effective.[25][5][26] No mainstream medical organization endorses reparative therapy.[5] The ethics guidelines of these organizations discourage, and sometimes prohibit, its practice.[27] NARTH, a mental health organization, disputes the mainstream view.[25]

[edit] Books written

[edit] Further reading

See generally Besen, W. Anything but Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies behind the Ex-Gay Myth, Harrington Park Press. ISBN 1-56023-445-8

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Boodman, Sandra G. (2005-08-16). A conversion therapist's unusual ddyssey. Washington Post HE04. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Richard (2007-07-20). Born gay? No way!. New Statesman. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
  3. ^ Transcript of "USA - Gay Conversion, ABC TV Foreign Correspondent, 08-22-2006. Retrieved 04-07-2007.
  4. ^ Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing: Books: Richard Cohen. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  5. ^ a b c Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel, American Psychological Association, et al., 1999. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  6. ^ "Holding Therapy" as a Therapeutic Approach: NARTH Official Position Statement, NARTH, 06-05-2006. Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  7. ^ a b c Meet Richard Cohen (from Cohen's website). Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  8. ^ Teleconferencing Classes (from Cohen's website). Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
  9. ^ Calendar (from Cohen's website). Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
  10. ^ Cohen, Richard. Richard Cohen's story: "Coming Out Straight". Retrieved on 2007-07-27. excerpt from the book, Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality by Richard Cohen
  11. ^ The Family Federation for Cosmic Peace and Unification and the Cosmic Era of Blessed Family. Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
  12. ^ Cohen, R. Coming Out Straight. Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  13. ^ Notification of Results Letter, American Counseling Association. Retrieved 04-07-2007.
  14. ^ Najafi, Yusef (2005-03-04). Activist calls ex-gay leader "dishonest". Besen criticizes PFOX president for not disclosing past. Washington Blade. Window Media. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  15. ^ Showtime website. Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  16. ^ Exgay Richard Cohen + Howard Stern = Tawdry Circus (blog entry), Ex-Gay Watch, 08-16-2005. Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  17. ^ NARTH website, "'Holding Therapy' as a Therapeutic Approach". Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  18. ^ "Richard Cohen’s Vanishing Act… Well Sort Of". Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
  19. ^ International Healing Foundation
  20. ^ "Diverse Coalition Forms to Support People Seeking 'Non-Gay' Alternatives to Unwanted Homosexuality", Marketwire, July 2003. 
  21. ^ PATH non-profit coalition of organizations
  22. ^ Audio Tapes and CDs (order page from Richard Cohen's website). Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  23. ^ Cf. [1] What is Bioenergetic Analysis?], The International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis. Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
  24. ^ Brown, J. Experts Split Over 'Bizarre' Sexual Orientation Therapy Techniques, Agape Press, 06-20-2006. Retrieved on 04-07-2007.
  25. ^ a b Yoshino, Kenji (2002-01). "Covering". Yale Law Journal 111 (4): 179 et seq.. 
  26. ^ APA Maintains Reparative Therapy Not Effective, Psychiatric News (news division of the American Psychiatric Association), 01-15-1999. Retrieved 04-06-2007.
  27. ^ See Reparative therapy#Ethics issues.

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