The Humanist Hour #103: The Myth of Gay Reparative Therapy with Dr. Michael LaSala
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In this episode, Bo interviews Dr. Michael LaSala on the topic of reparative therapy—attempts to convert primarily gay men and lesbian women to heterosexuals.
Michael C. LaSala, PhD is an associate professor and director of the Master of Social Work program at the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. His research examines the family relationships of gay men and lesbians and his current work looks at the role of gay and lesbian family relationships in coping with stigma & parental influence on gay youth’s safe sex behaviors.
He is the author of Coming Out, Coming Home: Helping Families Adjust to a Gay or Lesbian Child (Columbia University Press), which describes the findings and practice implications of a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study of 65 gay and lesbian youth and their families. Other examples of Dr. LaSala’s work can be found in Social Work, Family Process, the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Families in Society, and the Journal of Lesbian and Gay Social Services.
Dr. LaSala recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship during which he taught family therapy courses at Tallinn University in Estonia and investigated the impacts of stigma on Estonian gay men and lesbians. He has also been keynote speaker at national and international family therapy conferences in Sweden, Estonia, and Italy. Before joining Rutgers University, Dr. LaSala practiced social work for 15 years at the direct practice, supervisory, and administrative levels. He is committed to practice-informed research and therefore continues to practice part-time as a licensed clinical social worker at the Institute for Personal Growth in Highland Park, New Jersey.
Dr. LaSala’s links: