Free Republic

Is it hazardous to one’s mental health to change sexual identity from gay to straight? The National Mental Health Association, the nation’s oldest and largest mental health advocacy group made this charge in a recent statement to a gay oriented publication. In a May 28 article by Adrian Brune in the "Washington Blade," Lee Ann Browning-McNee, spokesperson for the NMHA was quoted as saying: “PFOX (Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays) talks a lot about gay reform, and we think those messages can actually be damaging to someone’s mental health. If you look at statistics of suicide, it’s easy...

In the alphabet soup that makes up the Washington, DC political lobbying scene, one of the more respected acronyms is NMHA. The National Mental Health Association has been around since 1950 and has been instrumental in advocating for the needs of the mentally ill. As president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association several years ago, I was glad to work along side the NMHA on initiatives designed to improve access to mental health care for all citizens. Given the serious work that this organization does, I am shocked and disappointed to learn that the NMHA has determined to discriminate...