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.”
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
campaigns
by
repackaging
them
in
kinder,
gentler
terms
and
attempting
to
ally
itself
with
religious
groups.
“The
ex-gay
movement
is
an
integral
part
of
the
Christian
Right,
which
promotes
Christian
nationalism,
an
ideology
that
seeks
to
use
government
laws
and
regulations
to
impose
fundamentalist
Christian
values
on
the
entire
nation.”
Indeed,
money
from
James
Dobson’s
Focus
on
the
Family
has
funded
both
Exodus
and
the
Alliance
Defense
Fund,
a
leading
legal
group
opposing
recognition
of
gay
relationships.
In
her
1998
report
Khan
points
out
that
Robert
Knight
of
the
Family
Research
Council
has
characterized
the
beginning
of
a
major
ex-gay
publicity
campaign
as
“the
Normandy
landing
in
the
larger
cultural
wars.”
But
not
even
those
who
support
making
sexual
reorientation
available
to
adults
believe
that
it
is
right
to
coerce
a
minor
into
undergoing
such
treatment.
Dr.
Mark
Yarhouse
is
often
cited
by
the
ex-gay
movement.
Yarhouse
runs
the
Institute
for
the
Study
of
Sexual
Identity
at
the
religious
Regent
University
in
Virginia
Beach.
Yarhouse
said
that
it
is
unethical
to
treat
a
minor
against
his
or
her
will.
Arthur
Goldberg
is
a
board
member
of
...
