Psychology

In reference to the ethics related to conversion or reparative therapy, the American Counseling Association members thought-out a hypothetical scenario individually in which a client approached a counselor and reported that he is gay. The man wanted to change his way of life by getting married to a woman with whom he could get children. He wanted the counselor to assist him on how to avoid being sexually attracted to men. The gay man had heard about reparative therapy which could assist him from a friend then read about it and decided that the therapy would assist him in changing his life. However, to his disappointment, the counselor told him that she does not believe the therapy works and may be harmful therefore she can not offer it to him.

Although the American Counseling Association and other organization believes that being attracted to an individual of the same sex is not a mental disease and therefore do not support reparative or conversion therapy as a form of treatment, the autonomous of a clients request to a counselor must be respected. The counselors should therefore respect the dignity of the client and promote their welfare. The counselor ensures that he or she respect the decision of the client even if the proposed therapy have potential harm, the counselor should be able to use evidence from the literature to make the client more informed. By this, the counselor will ensure that he or she does not instill his or her values and beliefs to the client. Instilling ones values and beliefs into the client is unethical and is not the goals of counseling.