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Monday, July 19, 2010

Homo Former Clients Accuse Ex-Gay "Life Coach" of Sexual Misconduct

Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 10:27 AM

Truth Wins Out (TWO) released an exclusive video statement today from two former clients of “ex-gay” life coach Alan Downing. The clients, Ben Unger and Chaim Levin, alleged that during individual therapy sessions, Downing (pictured) made them undress in front of a mirror and touch their bodies while the significantly older therapist watched. Unger and Levin call the sessions a “psychological striptease” and believe they were harmed by what they consider unprofessional behavior and sexual misconduct. Downing, who admits he is still attracted to men, is a major player in the “ex-gay” industry and a practitioner of so-called “reparative therapy”. He is the lead therapist for Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) and is listed on the People Can Change website as a “Senior Trainer” for Journey into Manhood, which is a controversial “ex-gay” backwoods retreat designed to supposedly make gay men more masculine.

Here's the video:

More at TWO.

Comments (11) RSS

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Being gay is good people. Much better than tortured ex-gay who's still gay but now has problems because of these crazy "therapies".

Posted by Vince on July 19, 2010 at 10:38 AM

hahahahahahah

Posted by aardvark on July 19, 2010 at 10:45 AM

This story illustrates a huge problem in this country in that many states allow religion-based "therapists" to be unlicensed and untrained, and out of reach of the state's regulatory bodies. When a "therapist" is untrained, not only may he provide outdated or untested therapeutic treatment, but he lacks the training to identify ethical issues that regularly arise in the therapeutic setting. Basically, states that allow this treatment are basically granting a license to commit malpractice.

Posted by Luckier on July 19, 2010 at 10:51 AM

"Journey into Manwood"?

Posted by There, fixed the spelling. on July 19, 2010 at 11:08 AM

I know this is sleazy...but, I'd help make those boys gay again.

Especially the first one.

Posted by TheMisanthrope on July 19, 2010 at 11:10 AM

Matt Bors seems apropos.

Posted by Sili on July 19, 2010 at 11:22 AM

Are you really "ex-gay" if you openly admit to still being attracted to men? At some point shouldn't he just stop pretending if he already admits it didn't work?

Posted by Bojac6 on July 19, 2010 at 11:28 AM

@7 : the reasoning i used to hear was that "acting out" on gay desires -- whether those desires are of your choosing or occurred naturally -- is what is wrong. it's not a sin to have gay desires, just to act on them. that's what i remember from what i heard growing up.

Posted by in-frequent on July 19, 2010 at 11:39 AM

Alan Downing: "I'm ex-Ghey and I can teach you to be ex-Ghey too!"
Alan Downing: "HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS!!!"

Also, calling it a "backwoods retreat" makes it full of buttsecks just from the name.

Posted by venomlash on July 19, 2010 at 12:29 PM