Jul 01, 2005  |  By: EARTHA MELZE  | COMMENTS     

The state of Tennessee continues to probe Love in Action, the Memphis facility that has drawn protests since a 16-year-old known as “Zach” blogged that his parents were sending him there for treatment intended to change his sexual orientation.

The Tennessee Department of Health has sent a letter to Love in Action notifying the group that it is suspected of operating illegally, according to Andrea Turner, communications director for the department.

Turner said that if the program is strictly faith-based it would not require licensing by the state, but that according to the group’s Web site, Love in Action has licensed counselors and provides services related to alcohol and drug addiction on site.

“If this is the case, they are required to be licensed as a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Tennessee,” Turner said.

If employees there are providing counseling on homosexuality, it is possible that they are operating outside their area of expertise, Turner added.

Legislation giving the health department the authority to issue cease-and-desist orders to unlicensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities goes into effect July 1. Turner said that the health department is considering whether the Love in Action facility is causing harm.

Rachel Lassiter, of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen’s communications office, said that the Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities has also begun research on Love in Action and is writing a letter of inquiry to the facility to determine whether an official investigation is warranted.

Lassiter said that only licensed professionals should provide mental health care in Tennessee and that the state has an interest in making sure that whatever services are offered are beneficial.

Last week, the Department of Child Services investigated allegations of child abuse at the facility and determined that the allegations were unfounded.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at faith-based Grove City College in Pennsylvania and a leading advocate for the view that sexual orientation can be changed, said that he believes that Love in Action is mixing ministry with treatment and that people can be damaged by sexual reorientation therapies offered by unprofessional practitioners.

Throckmorton emphasized that while a parent might compel a teen to attend church, a professional counselor is bound to obtain informed consent from a client and should not treat a minor solely because his parents are upset about his sexual orientation.

Love in Action advertises a therapeutic environment in which professional counselors help people overcome “addictive behaviors including homosexuality.”

Insurance covers ex-gays?
Throckmorton serves on the professional advisory board of Magellan, the country’s largest behavioral health insurance manager. Magellan handles behavioral health coverage for hundreds of health care plans and Medicaid.

This year, Magellan removed Throckmorton from his advisory role after critics expressed concerns about Throckmorton’s efforts to advance the idea that sexual reorientation counseling should be available to gays.

Magellan restored Throckmorton to his post after pressure from LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, a Christian products and services company based in Nashville. Throckmorton said that he believes the fact that he was reinstated means that Magellan would cover patients’ costs associated with sexual re-orientation therapy.

Although homosexuality is not an illness, Jack Dresher, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual issues Committee, said that he believes some counselors offer therapies intended to reorient gays and bill insurance companies with the diagnosis “sexual disorder not otherwise specified.”

It is not clear how widespread this practice is. Magellan could not provide statistics on how frequently people are diagnosed with “sexual disorder NOS.” Some providers, including Throckmorton, do not accept insurance, and therefore would not be subject to monitoring by managed health plans.

Throckmorton said that most people who seek reorientation counseling are referred to practitioners through Exodus International, an umbrella group for “ex-gay” projects.

There is no referral system that guides people to professionals that specialize in sexual reorientation counseling. No schools provide specialized training in this area and so it is outside the area of expertise for most professionals.

Sexual reorientation and reparative therapy counseling presents ethical, legal and regulatory challenges.

The idea that sexual orientation is changeable is advanced by conservative groups like Exodus International and Focus on the Family.

In “Calculated Compassion: How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right’s Attack on Democracy,” Surina Khan writes that the ex-gay movement provides political cover for anti-gay ...