National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality

The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), formerly the National Association for Research and Treatment of Homosexuality, is a non-profit organization dedicated to "affirming a complementary, male-female model of gender and sexuality".

NARTH is part of the ex-gay movement that advocates using reparative therapy to convert people who experience same-sex sexual attraction to a heterosexual orientation. NARTH advocates questioning the circumstances surrounding the American Psychiatric Association's 1973 declaration that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.

NARTH was founded in 1992 by Joseph Nicolosi, Benjamin Kaufman, and the late Charles Socarides. Its headquarters are in Encino, California, at the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic.

Formation
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and condemned all attempts at reparative therapy, whether voluntary or coerced, for people experiencing same-sex sexual attraction.

Dr. Benjamin Kaufman says that he, Socarides, and Nicolosi founded NARTH because the APA and similar professional organizations "had totally stifled the scientific inquiry that would be necessary to stimulate a discussion [of understanding the nature of homosexuality]." NARTH claims that it has become "politically incorrect" to make even the suggestion of a dialogue that opens up the question of the normality of homosexuality. He states the reason they formed NARTH was in response to "censorship of a politically unpopular position." NARTH argues that there is today a widespread propaganda in favour of normalizing homosexualily in law and education.

Criticism and counter-arguments
The medical and scientific consensus is that homosexuality is not a disorder and attempts at eliminating same-sex attractions are not effective and are potentially harmful.

The ethics and efficacy of these methods are rejected by all mainstream mental health associations that have taken a position on the topic. Their stance is that sexual orientation is unchangeable, and that attempts to do so are often damaging to the person's well-being. The American Psychiatric Association states that "ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation."

Major organizations that reject reparative therapy include the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Education Association.

The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, issued a press release that in 1999 NARTH President, Charles Socarides, had

run into trouble with the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), of which he is a member. According to a letter from Dr. Ralph Roughton of the APsaA, Socarides misrepresented the position of the APsaA in a published paper and a court affidavit. Socarides attempted to make it appear that the APsaA agrees with his positions on homosexuality. He did this by quoting an APsaA document written in 1968, which supported his views and which he called the "official position" of the APsaA, while ignoring a 1990 revised statement that drastically contradicted his views. The Executive Committee of the APsaA instructed the organization's attorney to write a letter to Socarides asking him to cease this misrepresentation and threatening legal action if he continued. Additionally, the APsaA newsletter decided to stop printing advertisements for NARTH meetings because the organization does not adhere to APsaA's policy of non-discrimination and because their activities are demeaning to our members who are gay and lesbian, according to Roughton.

NARTH has also received criticism for Gerald Schoenewolf's essay "Gay Rights and Political Correctness: A Brief History", in which the member of NARTH's Science Advisory Committee argued that "Africa at the time of slavery was still primarily a jungle... Life there was savage ... and those brought to America, and other countries, were in many ways better off." He also stated that the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, and the gay rights movement were all "irrational" and "destructive." Dr. Gerald Schoenewolf later on clarified that "'No person is better off enslaved, obviously... What I tried to say, before my words were twisted by that reporter, is that despite the clear and obvious evil of that practice, we tend to forget that many of the enslaved people had been first been sold into bondage by their fellow countrymen; so coming to America did bring about some eventual good. No social issue has all the 'good guys' lined up on one side and 'bad guys' on the other.'"

NARTH counters, arguing the psychological/psychiatric professional associations have become little more than the research arms of the gay rights movement. "Gay advocates have created fraudulent studies and misused, misquoted, and mischaracterized other research studies for political gain. These reports are frequently used in court cases to bring about victories for gay activism."

At the APA Annual Convention in 2001, Robert Perloff, Ph.D., past president of the American Psychological Association and a fellow of the APA’s Lesbian and Gay division, said of reparative therapy "It is considered unethical...That's all wrong. First, the data are not fully in yet. Second, if the client wants a change, listen to the client. Third, you're barring research." Perloff expanded on that in correspondence in 2002 to NARTH, saying "I believe that APA is flat out wrong, undemocratic, and shamefully unprofessional in denying NARTH the opportunity to express its views and programs in the APA Monitor and otherwise under APA's purview." As the keynote speaker at NARTH's 2004 Annual Conference, he said "The individual's right for self-determination of sexuality -- or sexual autonomy -- is, I am happy to see, inherent in NARTH's position statement: 'NARTH respects each client's dignity, autonomy, and free agency...every individual has the right to claim a gay identity, or to develop their heterosexual potential. The right to seek therapy to change one's sexual adaptation is considered self-evident and inalienable.' I subscribe fully to the aforementioned NARTH position statement."