‘Gay cure’ therapy founder Joseph Nicolosi has died
Joseph Nicolosi, the pioneer of gay conversion therapy and the co-founder of the National Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), has died aged 70.
Nicolosi was a huge figure in the ‘ex-gay’ movement as well as a leader of gay therapy, which has been debunked by experts all over the world.
Nicolosi’s death was confirmed by the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic in a Facebook statement, saying: “We are deeply saddened and shocked to announce the death of Dr. Joseph Nicolosi yesterday in California from complications from the flu.”
According to Gay Star News, Nicolosi founded the Californian clinic and ran it for over three decades. He also wrote four books on how to “cure” homosexuality.
On Nicolosi’s website, it reads: “For many years, I have been assisting men and women – mostly, persons who are still at a crossroads about their sexual identity – to reduce their same-sex attractions and explore heterosexual potential.”
“Perhaps you experience same-sex attractions, but you were not destined to be gay. You believe that these feelings do not represent ‘who you really are.'”
The website then states, “If this is your belief, then we may be able to help you.”
Nicolosi has also starred in documentaries and, in one for Vice, he says, “Everyone is heterosexual. The idea that some people are naturally homosexual, or naturally gay, is just a social construct.”
“So, when you have individuals with same-sex attraction, we see it as something went wrong developmentally and we try to resolve the issues and put them back on the path toward their natural heterosexuality.”
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