Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli As has been discussed in class, behaviorism is a school of psychology that involves the observation, study, and manipulation of behavior. Pooling from previous classes, behaviorism has proven itself to be one of the more successful therapies in treating clients, with plenty of scientific research to back up its findings. I was very curious about this latter portion, that treating people in gradually escalating therapy could be so successful, despite the concept coming off as more “reprogramming” than it is any real treatment method. But the results speak for themselves; there is something inherent about behavioralistic therapy that makes it very effective on clients within a range of disorders.
The more controversial application of behavioralistic therapy, however, was in its application to convicted criminals and child molesters. While most see no problem with the idea of “correcting” the deviant behavior of such depraved patients, the issue does fall under scrutiny on ethical grounds. I suppose the question is something along the lines of whether such radical treatment is permissible? Should psychology be allowed to be applied in this radical dimension, despite the duress the patient may experience? It does not help that the effectiveness of these therapies does fall under some scrutiny.
A similar issue arose in a previous class; should behavioralistic therapy be applied to sexual orientation? The Psychological Association is strongly against the radical application due to inconclusive results surrounding the therapy, but if the possibility existed to aid a patient seeking to alter his/her sexual orientation, is it right to deny it on the principles established by the governing association? Or does the principle appeal to something higher, some ethical standard that delineates such behaviorist application as immoral? Supposing some practicing clinician was confronted with a patient desperately unhappy because of their orientation, seeking some form of treatment to alleviate their discomfort, is it wrong to attempt to help them? Right to refuse, and insist that they best become comfortable with this “way of life?” I suppose on reflection, this may be just another gray area that the field of psychology will have to further develop to arrive at any definite answer.
Anne Weaver
7:52 pm, 10.24.10
Responding to your last paragraph, I remember Dr. Casada bringing this very idea up in my Abnormal class last year. I don’t have a good knowledgeable foundation as to whether or not someone can practice this kind of therapy, but I am in favor of it. We orient those struggling through anorexia nervosa to see themselves as they are and in a healthy way. We do not attempt to help them affirm their destructive behaviors that waste away their bodies. The problem with my analogy though is that there is a discrepancy between individuals as to whether or not homosexuality and gender orientation are “destructive.” I am not trying to answer that question. Rather I am trying (but maybe very poorly trying) to point out that someone who seeks therapy to remain oriented to their biological sex is not harming themselves. It may be destructive however to force someone to orient themselves away from their biological sex when that is what they want. I may have made a confusing mess of my words. If I didn’t make sense, feel free to ask for clarification on anything I said.
Josh Morrison
10:50 pm, 10.24.10
I can’t stress enough how disastrous I think reparative therapy is. One of the reasons it is so frowned upon is that it practically never works and almost always ends up causing the patient extreme distress. When one tries to change something that deeply embedded it’s usually because they feel great shame. Reparative therapy only adds a sense of failure to that already existing shame. The people who say it does work are notorious for not being able to back their claims up and the media is riddled with stories of people claiming to be changed hiring prostitutes of the same gender. Reparative therapy is one of the most socially irresponsible things that a professional can engage in.
Amy McLean
12:19 am, 10.25.10
I also remember this discussion from Abnormal. I feel that if you are not going to be able to give the patient your all then it would be best to refer them. As far as reparative therapy goes, this is an area that I do not know anything about. Josh, are you saying that even those who willingly seek therapy experience great distress after therapy?
Jordan Johnson
8:36 am, 10.25.10
Awesome post! I think it is fair to say that behavior therapy does cross some ethical boundaries when performed on an unwilling subject, even if the subject is deemed deviant. I myself would like to ask those that have gone through the process, how they feel about the whole thing. Make no mistake this therapy has been used on sexual orientation and in many cases against the will of the subject. From some of the accounts i heard in the arena the subject were never happy again. The only way a therapy can be ethical is if it is wanted by the patient at hand and of course its not always ethical even then.