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| | Christopher Doyle, a traveler from homosexual to heterosexual who counsels others on that journey, describes in frightening detail the weaponization of psychotherapy to enact laws prohibiting the attempt to choose religious conviction over homosexual attraction for those who experience the two as incompatible. It is a riveting story of malicious professional and governmental authorities that manipulate science, distort therapy, demean religious motivation, and ignore genuine successes in the interest of eliminating politically inconvenient change that contradicts the cherished notion that homosexual orientation is immutable.
As an active therapist for persons with distress that may be related to their sexual orientation, Doyle speaks from a depth of passion and personal experience that gives his narrative a first-person authenticity. He shows us just what happens in a therapy session dealing with trauma that may (or may not) be related to unwanted same-sex attraction, and takes us with him into an unjust trial of a religiously-based center helping men with sexual issues.
Doyle is particularly effective in debunking the false narratives, fake science and scare tactics which distorts the gentle accompaniment of persons who voluntarily seek help for existential distress into the false bogeyman of forced “conversion therapy” of children. As Doyle points out, “no licensed therapist in the United States has ever had a state licensing board take action against his or her professional license for using coercion or forcing an LGBT youth into therapy.” The goal of gay activists is not eliminating the coercion of children, but “making therapy illegal for anyone, minor or adult, to reduce or eliminate same sex attractions or gender identity conflicts.” The war on psychotherapy which Doyle so ably reveals is a war on humans in their most intimate personhood. The real tragedy is the collateral damage for persons banned from finding relief for their suffering. From turning spouses against each other, then mothers against their children, the legal elites of the sexual revolution have come to turn persons against themselves. In this war on persons themselves, Doyle offers valuable and hard-won reconnaissance.
~ Dr. Paul Sullins Professor of Sociology (Retired), The Catholic University of America Senior Research Associate, The Ruth Institute |
| | Key to Your Child's Heart Healing Weekend mothers with children who experience SSA September 13-15, 2019
This weekend is designed for mothers of a same-sex attracted or gay-identified child. The goal is for each mother to grow personally and as a Parent/Coach, to learn how to better love and understand your struggling child, and to uncover how your own unresolved issues may be blocking your family’s path to healing. |
| | Key to Your Child's Heart Healing Weekend fathers with children who experience SSA November 15-17, 2019
This weekend will give you the opportunity to connect with other fathers that are in the same position as you, and learn together how you can rise up and face the challenges that affect our families and children! You will gain great insight into your child’s needs by learning, growing, and taking part in group activities with each other during this interactive weekend! |
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| Institute for Healthy Families and Christopher Doyle in the Media |
| | | Listen to Linda Harvey interview Christopher Doyle on Mission: America on his upcoming book: The War on Psychotherapy: When Sexual Politics, Gender Ideology, and Mental Health Collide. Click here to listen. |
| | Gay activists don't really care about child abuse
by Christopher Doyle, MA, LPC, LCPC
Last week, gay activists working with legislators in Utah held a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee to ban so-called “conversion therapy” for minors. It was a bold move to push this bill in such a conservative, religious state. Historically, Republicans have opposed these “Must Stay Gay” bills and Democrats have supported them. Activists knew bi-partisan support was necessary for their bill to stand a chance in Utah.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints miraculously said it would not oppose the legislation, as long as it didn’t interfere with the church’s standards on sexuality, such as abstinence before marriage. The bill’s sponsors – Rep. Craig Hall and Sen. Daniel McCay – were amazingly, both Republicans. Even Governor Gary Herbert, also a Republican, enthusiastically supported the measure. The legislation appeared to be a slam dunk! Click here to read more at The Christian Post.
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'I know personally it works': Man who sued Maryland to overturn gay conversion ban at center of new film
Whether as the plaintiff in a recently filed lawsuit or a central figure in a new documentary, therapist Christopher Doyle portrays himself as both healer and healed.
“The same-sex desires, just like it was in my case, just went away. And today, I’m married, I have two kids and I’m so happy,” Doyle says in a 2012 Dr. Oz appearance that opens the documentary, “The Sunday Sessions.” The movie will be screened at the Creative Alliance on Sunday.
He and a client gave Baltimore-based filmmaker Richard Yeagley broad access to months of sessions, and the often-wrenching footage from them forms the heart of the 1 1/2-hour documentary, which was released for streaming on iTunes, Amazon and Kanopy on Feb. 5 and previously screened in other cities. It depicts the client, Nathan Gniewek, struggling, often tearfully and angrily, to deal with his attraction to men.
The power of the film comes from its fly-on-the-wall approach — there are no voiceovers or interviews, and Yeagley kept his belief that gay people shouldn’t have to feel a need to “convert” on his side of the camera. Click here to read more in The Baltimore Sun. |
| | Review of "The Sunday Sessions" on 1More Film Blog
. . . the most counter-cultural thing in this portrait of a conflicted gay man is his insistence that his religious identity is not some choice that can be jettisoned to make his life healthier and happier in the eyes of those who fundamentally agree with some of its assumptions.
The documentary also contrasts sharply with Boy Erased in the way it presents those doing the therapy. Chris Doyle may well be held in contempt by the film for persisting in a practice that is not endorsed by any credible psychiatric association and is now banned in Maryland but is consistently shown, unlike the counselors in Boy Erased, telling (Nathan) that he is in charge of his own therapy. If Doyle is wrong, either about his own sexual preference conversion or about what is best for (Nathan), he appears to be sincerely wrong.
That sincerity creates a fascinating subtext in The Sunday Sessions, one in which the documentary appears to conflate not intervening with being neutral. Towards the end of the documentary, (Nathan) shares an answer to prayer that he believes he received by means of a spiritually intense experience while taking the Eucharist. Ironically, while both his therapist and the film seem to be agreed that his Christian identity and his gay identity are not compatible (just disagreed about which he should give up), (Nathan) bravely persists at trying to reconcile the two. Does that make him foolish or brave? Click here to read more.
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| | MD Counseling Ban on Trial
BALTIMORE, MD (January 21, 2019) – Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against Maryland's new law which prohibits minors from receiving voluntary counseling from licensed professionals to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion.
In Doyle v. Hogan, Liberty Counsel represents Christopher Doyle, a licensed professional counselor in Virginia and Maryland. Doyle is challenging Maryland's SB 1028, which was signed into law by Maryland governor Larry Hogan and went into effect on October 1, 2018. SB 1028 is modeled after similar laws in California, New Jersey and other states that prohibit licensed counselors from providing talk therapy to children and adolescents who want to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion. These professionals provide life-saving counsel to minors who desperately desire to conform their attractions, behaviors, and identity to their sincerely held religious beliefs. The sacred trust between counselors and clients is a unique alliance that permits clients to inform the counselors of their own goals and receive counseling consistent with those goals. Click here to read more of Liberty Counsel's press release.
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| | Dr. Michelle Cretella on Transgender Ideology: 'Institutionalized Large-Scale Child Abuse'
"For most of human history, it has been pretty obvious that we determine our gender by our bodies. But today, more are beginning to believe it starts in the mind. It's troubling when an adult chooses this, but when children become involved, it's dangerous," stated Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, who moderated a panel on gender ideology and children at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Click here to read Christopher Doyle's interview with Dr. Michelle Cretella at The Christian Post. |
| | Institute for Healthy Families (IHF) specializes in counseling solutions for individuals, couples, families, therapists, and ministry leaders. IHF is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit therapeutic organization located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. As a Judeo-Christian organization, IHF believes that the family is the foundation for healthy individuals, relationships, communities, and places of worship. While IHF is non-sectarian, we believe that God reveals His truth in both the Bible and Creation and that we can use this wisdom to help facilitate healing. IHF believes that through this synthesis of science and faith, we can help our clients form and maintain healthy families that will be able to help their children become the best versions of themselves and fulfill God’s will for their lives. For more information, visit our website at: www.InstituteforHealthyFamilies.org.
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