Homosexuals Anonymous

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12-step program, HA has 14 steps which are used by about 50 chapters of HA throughout North America. Nine of the steps were based on the experiences of founder Cook, while the other five are adaptations of AA steps. One analysis of the 14 steps commented on the "alleged generosity" of the HA approach, noting that while both approaches emphasize avoidance of undesired behaviors, "AA groups accept the person along with their problems, Homosexuals Anonymous stresses that the person is guilty of the

178:, began an investigation by interviewing Cook's former clients and writing a letter to church officials outlining his indiscretions. Lawson interviewed 14 individuals counselled by Cook as part of the HA program; none reported any change in sexual orientation as a consequence of HA, and all but two reported having sex with Cook. Cook resigned from HA and shut down Quest; the Adventists withdrew their funding support. With Cook's departure, McIntyre took over as executive director of HA. 313:

controversial even within the GLBT community. Besen has accused HA of re-writing history, omitting details of Cook's past from its web site. While "reading the group's Web page, one would think that Cook was a smashing success and paragon of heterosexuality," he writes. Haldeman has described the response of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the 1986 Cook revelations as a

294:, who states that "the message that homosexuality can be 'repaired' doesn't just ruin lives – it ends them". She describes the expansion of ex-gay organizations around the world as "rearing ugly heads," specifically citing HA's expansion into El Salvador, New Zealand, and Germany, and criticising HA executive director McIntyre's Kenyan conference. 278:

group who had been going to HA for four, five, six, seven years and they seemed to be at the exact same spot I was. I didn't see any graduates. I saw people that were still there, that hadn't changed. They were still struggling. ... I don't know anybody from my ex-gay group ... who claims to be ex-gay now."

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Wayne Besen states that former HA clients have reported that the program is ineffective. Besen quotes one former client "One thing that really clued me in was with my sponsor every week and hearing him talk about his struggles and talking to other people in the group, and there were people in that

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The HA program relies on belief in Jesus Christ to effect sexual orientation change. Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, the change takes place over a lifetime, according to HA. Local chapters conduct meetings at regular intervals where members provide fellowship and support to one another. Unlike AA's

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community needs to challenge the propaganda presented at ex-gay events including those run by HA. He also advocates covert operations against HA and other ex-gay ministries in an attempt to "catch ex-gay leaders engaging in not so ex-gay behavior", though such attempts to discredit the industry are

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program and basing the other nine on his personal experience. HA was supported by $ 47,000 in annual support from the Adventist Church, plus fees paid for treatment. McIntyre (who, when growing up, identified as gay) said he founded HA based on his belief that "homosexuality is not something you're

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reported that counselees' reactions to the Cook revelations followed a common pattern: "a loss of faith, loss of trust in other human beings, and a lack of motivation to get on with their lives". In addition, many of the counselees stayed in Reading, "unwilling or unable to go home to families who

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Counseling sessions with Cook included giving his clients nude massages, ostensibly to desensitize them to male–male contact and homosexual desires; however, this was counter-productive since counselees began having sexual encounters with each other. Cook admitted in a 1987 interview that he "fell

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reported Cook was engaging in phone sex and asking "patients to bring homosexual pornography to sessions so that he could help desensitize them against it". As recently as 2007, Cook has still been promoting the ability to "heal homosexuals". Under McIntyre, HA has also taken on more political

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describes practitioners of sexual orientation conversion through religion as often being "individuals deeply troubled about their own sexual orientation, or whose own sexual conversion is incomplete". Blair reports a host of problems with such counselors, including the sexual abuse of clients;

158:, as a ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to "help people find freedom from homosexuality." HA was one of seven programs offered by Quest, and people came from around the US seeking assistance from Cook. Cook developed the 14-step program used by HA, modifying five of the standard 333:, HA, Exodus International and NARTH are described as organizations that "particularly target teenagers' burgeoning sexuality, and feed into a wider fundamentalist view that all forms of 'sexual immorality' are destroying the moral fabric of the nation". 182:

into the delusion" that such actions were a legitimate part of his HA counseling activities, stating: "I allowed myself to hug and hold my counselees thinking I was helping them... But I needed it more than they did." Psychiatrist

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denomination. HA uses a 14-step program developed by Cook, based on his own experiences. Cook resigned in 1986 following a scandal involving him allegedly having sex with 12 out of the 14 male clients interviewed from 1980 to 1986.

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Despite his 1974 defrocking and the 1986 revelations of his client abuse, Cook remains dedicated to the belief that homosexuality can be changed. In 1993 he moved to Colorado and returned to counseling, which ended in 1995 when

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advocacy. In 2009 he led a conference held in Kenya promoting the ex-gay movement, controversial to homosexuals as an example of ex-gay advocacy events held in Africa which are followed by incidents of

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and describes itself as "a fellowship of men and women, who through their common emotional experience, have chosen to help each other live in freedom from homosexuality." HA regards

234:(PATH) group. HA is affiliated with JASON Ministries, headquartered in Germany. It publishes a newsletter and web site and organizes a "Homosexuals Anonymous Annual Conference". 406: 840: 323:

Scandal in the Adventist-funded program to 'heal' homosexuals: Failure, sexual exploitation, official silence, and attempts to rehabilitate the exploiter and his methods.

1522: 831:"Both Sides Now; One Of The Christian Activists Debating Orlando's Gay-Rights Law Brings A Unique Perspective To The Fight. 'I'm Not Gay Anymore,' Says Alan Chambers" 129:

Christopher Melilo, Colin Cook and Douglas McIntyre, who all claimed to have struggled with same-sex attractions, founded HA in 1980 with financial support from the

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Haldeman describes Cook as "the most notable of such ministers". Cook himself also admitted to "occasional falls" before (and throughout) his marriage.

884: 1527: 171:." He attributes abuse at the ages of three and four, and molestation at the age of five, as having contributed to his homosexual attraction. 638: 1054: 551: 1005: 267:

The organization cites several cases where it claims people have changed their sexual orientation. Reporting on Lawson's 1986 findings, the

1542: 648: 1255: 372: 1512: 1113: 1030: 639:""The Surgeon General's call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior", A Letter from the Surgeon General" 414: 1285: 256: 231: 247:, must admit it, renounce it, and then accept heterosexuality as a necessary condition to becoming a Christian." According to 1537: 1491: 1457: 1420: 1386: 1318: 1081: 977: 813: 767: 728: 531: 462: 1151: 643: 214:

The headquarters of Homosexuals Anonymous is in Houston, Texas. As of June 2009, the organization has chapters in the

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Rumours of sexual misconduct by Cook came to light in 1986 when Ron Lawson, a gay Adventist and Professor of Sociology at

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Culver, V. (October 27, 1995). "Sessions with gays criticized: Former minister's counseling methods brought reprimands".

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in 1974 for having sex with a man in his church) and ex-gay Douglas McIntyre. Cook founded the Quest Learning Center in

603: 1194: 611: 318: 1517: 1216: 342: 248: 1341: 1189: 652: 568: 118:-norm". This approach has been criticized for stressing that a person must renounce homosexuality to be a 874: 111: 367: 143: 454: 489: 377: 326: 291: 175: 523: 244: 1372: 1308: 753: 446: 1247: 1048: 799: 597: 517: 352: 301: 155: 147: 130: 997: 1102:"Homosexuals Anonymous Had Kenya Event In 2009; Anti-Gay Persecution Campaign Now Underway" 252: 163: 1101: 8: 1073: 559: 159: 1277: 805: 759: 382: 123: 99: 1487: 1453: 1416: 1382: 1314: 1077: 1022: 973: 879: 809: 763: 724: 607: 527: 458: 269: 1014: 915: 835: 795: 749: 680:. Homosexuals Anonymous Fellowship Services. August 2009. p. 5. Archived from 168: 801:

Ex-gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation

1477: 1443: 1406: 1139: 963: 714: 675:"Treasures: The Official Newsletter of Homosexuals Anonymous Fellowship Services" 197: 875:"It's Called Change Counseling: Troubled Pioneer Maintains His Faith in Program" 1378: 1348:. Homosexuals Anonymous Fellowship Services. September 12, 2009. Archived from 1147: 1109: 1018: 305: 56: 26: 599:

In the Name of the Father: the Rhetoric of the New Southern Baptist Convention

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