Dr Spitzer in the news again

Dr Robert Spitzer, the psychiatrist who identified attention deficit disorder (ADD), is now saying that many children (maybe 30%) are misdiagnosed.

This is an interesting news story but this isn't the first controversy that Dr Spitzer has been involved in. From his bio on Wikipedia...

He was chair of the task force of the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) which was released in 1980. He has been referred to as a major architect of the modern classification of mental disorders which involves classifying mental disorders in discrete categories, with specified diagnostic criteria...
He was controversial in 1973 for arguing that homosexuality is not a clinical disorder. The mainstream psychiatric community agreed, and declassified homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.

In 2001, Spitzer delivered a controversial paper at the 2001 annual APA meeting arguing that "highly motivated" individuals could "successfully" change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual.

A recent article by the publisher of Venus Magazine (a magazine geared towards black gays and lesbians) stated that she has given up the lifestyle and wants to encourage others to do so.

Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out
by Charlene E. Cothran, Venus Magazine Publisher

Over the past 29 years of my life I have been an aggressive, creative and strategic supporter of gay and lesbian issues. I’ve organized and participated in countless marches and various lobbying efforts in the fight for equal treatment of gay men and lesbians. I have kept current on the issues and made financial contributions to those organizations doing work about which I was most passionate.

As the publisher of a 13 year old periodical which targets Black gays and lesbians, I have had the opportunity to publicly address thousands, influencing closeted people to ‘come out’ and stand up for them selves, which is particularly difficult in the African-American community.

But now, I must come out of the closet again. I have recently experienced the power of change that came over me once I completely surrendered to the teachings of Jesus Christ. As a believer of the word of God, I fully accept and have always known that same-sex relationships are not what God intended for us.

Go read the whole article!

God bless Ms. Cothran for speaking the truth.