(AgapePress) - While the American Psychological Association still officially rejects the possibility that homosexuals can change their sexual orientation, it surprisingly published a recent article presenting the opposite view.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton's article, "Initial Empirical and Clinical Findings Concerning the Change Process for Ex-Gays," examined previous studies of individuals who tried to leave the homosexual lifestyle and found that, for some homosexuals, change is certainly possible. The article was published in the APA's Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Throckmorton, a past president of the American Mental Health Counselor's Association, is currently director of college counseling at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He said, "My literature review contradicts the policies of major mental health organizations because it suggests that sexual orientation, once thought to be an unchanging sexual trait, is actually quite flexible for many people, changing as a result of therapy for some, ministry for others and spontaneously for still others."

Because the studies often found the experiences of ex-homosexuals to have been beneficial, Throckmorton's research also contradicts the claim from many in the mental health community that such "homosexual-to-straight" counseling efforts are always harmful.

Ed Vitagliano is news editor for AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.

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