In yet another example of the type of thinking that alienates reasonable people, NARTH’s Dr. Joseph Nicolosi had this to say about fallen evangelist Ted Haggard:

“If this man is saying, ‘This is a part of me that I abhor,’ why can’t we respect that?” Nicolosi asked. “Why do we have to attribute that to something external and take away the dignity of the individual to express how he feels?”

Most therapists would not suggest that the appropriate response to self-abhorrence is affirmation, but Nicolosi is not most therapists. Ignoring Haggard’s claims that he had “sought assistance in a variety of ways”, Nicolosi claims that he knows the answer.

Nicolosi suggested that he could help Haggard if the evangelist was prepared for “deep, emotional work.”

“We’re talking about looking at your life squarely in the eye – facing the realities that you did not get certain central affirmations from your mother or your father,” Nicolosi said.

Yep. There it is. Do some deep emotional work to face the reality that you did not get affirmations from your parents and hey, presto, all is better. Oh, and also embrace your self-abhorrence.

It’s little wonder that NARTH and Nicolosi receive no respect outside of anti-gay activist circles.

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