Ex-gay ministries (Exodus International)

Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful · Frank Worthen · 1976

What it is

Ex-gay ministries are religious (mostly evangelical Christian) organisations that told gay, lesbian and bisexual people that their sexual orientation could or should be changed or suppressed through faith, and offered support groups, discipleship and, in some cases, residential and youth programmes…

Format

• This is not a therapy with a manual. The framework below describes the phases of the psychotherapist's own work, followed by the historical phases of the ministries in outline. Session numbers are not fixed; length depends on risk, trauma load and the client's goals.
• Ex-gay ministries are religious (mostly evangelical Christian) organisations that told gay, lesbian and bisexual people that their sexual orientation could or should be changed or suppressed through faith, and offered support groups, discipleship and, in some cases, residential and youth programmes…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Stabilisation and psychoeducation. Goal: give accurate information about what professional bodies state, normalise the client's reactions, and reduce shame. Move on when the client can hold the information without acute destabilisation.
• Integration, advocacy and follow-up. Goal: consolidate identity and relationships, address legal or complaint routes if wanted, plan for triggers (family events, religious holidays, contact with former ministry members), and end or taper.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• The ministries' own idea of change was religious: that same-sex attraction was a problem to be healed or overcome through faith, discipline and community. Professional and international bodies state the opposite conclusion. The APA 2021 resolution states there is "no evidence of sexual orientation…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• a return of shame or suicidal thinking after a trigger. Working signs: the client uses the plan and recovers.
• exposure fears; public pressure; collapse into self-blame. Working signs: guilt moves from paralysis to action.
• retaliation against the client; your own conflict of interest. Working signs: concerns are logged with the right body.
• one partner pressing the other back into a ministry; domestic abuse indicators. Working signs: decisions taken with mutual honesty.
• pressure to adopt the therapist's view of religion; premature disclosure without support. Working signs: a narrative the client owns.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.