Related articles
BACP’s response |
| "Kate Thompson gave several, quite general, examples of difference and equality and stated very early on in the article: ‘There are of course many taxonomies of difference and many issues of equality.’" |
Applying for accreditation: issues of difference and equality |
| "The following excerpts might be apocryphal: ‘There are no ethnic minorities in Myddle Charming, so I have no opportunity to work with issues of difference.’ ‘Everyone is equal so I treat everyone the same...’ The putative applicant might have added ‘but some are more equal than others’." |
Feedback
We value your feedback. Like most websites, Therapy Today.net is in ongoing development. If we can make the site more user-friendly or relevant to you, please let us know Leave feedback
I am utterly disappointed and dismayed by Kate Thompson’s article in the latest Therapy Today (June 2010) entitled ‘Applying for accreditation: issues of difference and equality’
Accreditation, gender and sexual diversity
I am utterly disappointed and dismayed by Kate Thompson’s article in the latest Therapy Today (June 2010) entitled ‘Applying for accreditation: issues of difference and equality’ where she fails to include differences of sexual orientation and gender variance as part of the equality audit done by accreditors. Given the recent publicity around the study by Bartlett, Smith and King (2009)1 which showed 1:6 therapists were willing to contract to reducing same-sex attractions and redirect sexual orientation (despite no evidence base for this), I had hoped the Accreditation department at BACP would be closely scrutinising applications for clear evidence of how the applicant views gender and sexual diversity.
This is even more crucial since Patrick Strudwick’s2 investigative journalism into reparative therapy found a BACP senior accredited counsellor/psychotherapist to be falsely attributing memories of childhood abuse as causative of Strudwick’s homosexuality and trying to cure him of his sexual desires through prayer.
How is sexual orientation being considered by the accreditation panel? Is BACP doing anything to ensure its members are educated in this area? Was my Fellowship awarded for my ‘distinguished contribution to the field’ in vain? Please I expect better of you all than this.Dominic Davies
Fellow BACP; Director, Pink Therapy; Co-editor of the Pink Therapy Trilogy (Open University Press, 1996 & 2000)
- References:
1. Bartlett A, Smith G, King M. The response of mental health professionals to clients seeking help to change or redirect same-sex sexual orientation. BMC Psychiatry. 2009; 9:11. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/9/11
2. Strudwick P. The ex-gay files: the bizarre world of gay-to-straight conversion. Independent; 1 February 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-exgay-files-the-bizarre-world-of-gaytostraight-conversion-1884947.html
