Christians and Same Sex Attraction

            Perhaps one of the most important themes that I have taken away from watching Dr. Garzon’s interview with Jeff and Wendy is the message of hope and recovery for individuals who want healing from same sex attractions.  As with other sins, addictions, or mental illnesses, individuals seeking counseling must want to engage in counseling and seek a behavior change.  Just as heterosexuals seek counseling for issues, individuals with same sex issues also seek counseling.  The counselor should decide how they plan to approach treatment with these individuals and be consistent.  If the counselor is going to approach homosexuality as a sin, then they should treat it as a sin and there should be a level of accountability to others (Liberty University, n.d.).  The church should play a major role in this by welcoming those with same sex attractions and discuss the matter openly in church.  There are undoubtedly members of congregations who are struggling with this and pastors should be taking the lead in offering help to those who are suffering (Liberty University, 2008).

            Wendy and Jeff are very open with their previous struggles with pornography, sexual addiction, and same sex attraction.  Wendy even reports that she still struggles with same sex attractions today.  This brings me to another theme that I believe is important in any recovery environment – peer support.  The program of Alcoholics Anonymous has been using peer support as a method of recovery from alcoholism since 1935 (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2002).  Since that time, peer support has evolved into other areas, including cancer support groups, weight loss support groups, and sexual addiction support groups.  These groups have proven to be effective and provide a layer of accountability that may not exist elsewhere (Reif et al., 2014).  Jeff and Wendy started their ministry in 1998 and utilize peer support as an additional method of facilitating recovery (Liberty University, n.d.).  They also describe the Living Waters program, a 25-30 week support group for homosexuals, to help them come to grips with their sins and their response to sin.  They also describe Cross Current, and 8 week course that touches on similar issues, but not as in depth as Living Waters (Liberty University, n.d.).

            Finally, they provide further evidence for the sin of same sex attractions by providing studies that support the lack of proof for a biological cause for same sex attractions.  They go on to explain that the American Psychological Association (APA) has found no studies to link homosexuality to a genetic causes, and twin studies do not prove a genetic association to same sex attractions (Liberty University, n.d.).  If I had an opportunity to speak to Jeff and Wendy, I would like to understand more about their approach to group therapy, do they use primarily didactic learning groups or open discussion groups?

If you or someone you know are suffering from addiction and you are ready to seek help, contact Coastal Wellness Counseling now for a free consultation.

References

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2002). Alcoholics anonymous (4th ed.). New York, NY: AA World Services.

Liberty University. (n.d.). An alternative perspective on gay counseling & ministry [Video file]. Retrieved from https://download.liberty.edu/courses/461oa.mp4

Reif, S., Braude, L., Lyman, D. R., Dougherty, R. H., Daniels, A. S., Ghose, S. S., … Delphin-Rittmon, M. E. (2014). Peer recovery support for individuals with substance use disorders: Assessing the evidence. Psychiatric Services, 65(7), 853-861. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201400047