The Science

 
 

Trauma Treatment is the Goal.

Sexuality change is often the byproduct.


We know from large-scale, longitudinal evidence [1] that Reintegrative Therapy® is associated with statistically-significant decreases in same-sex attractions, increases in heterosexual attractions, changes in sexual identity toward a heterosexual identity, and increases in psychological well-being (for example, decreases in anxiety, depression and suicidality).

But why is sexuality change a spontaneous byproduct of a trauma treatment? This may be the result of multiple factors.

Mechanisms of spontaneous sexuality change

Decades of science have shown that sexuality is fluid and can change for some people. We know the brain has the capacity to wire and rewire itself, based on our life experiences. 

According to the American Psychological Association [2], as well as other published scientific sources [3], a significant number of men who identify as homosexual actually admit sometimes having romantic and sexual attraction toward women.

 

APA has concluded that for some individuals, childhood sexual abuse has “associative and potentially causal links” to having same-sex partners in certain instances, based on research that included a 30-year longitudinal study of documented cases of childhood sexual abuse [4]. Traumatic experiences can, for some individuals, subsequently affect sexuality [5,6] and treatment of childhood traumatic memories has been shown to trigger significant, spontaneous changes in sexual attractions [7].

Bilateral eye movements, which Reintegrative Therapists sometimes incorporate in treating trauma, have been shown to trigger spontaneous changes in clients’ sexual feelings, regardless of the client’s gender or sexual orientation [7,8,9]. Reintegrative Therapists sometimes incorporate a practice called “mindfulness” which has also been demonstrated to trigger spontaneous changes in sexual feelings as a byproduct [10]. In none of these approaches is a client encouraged to try to change his or her sexual feelings— in fact, attempts to try to change one’s sexual feelings could actually interfere with the process. These documented sexuality change mechanisms are completely non-volitional.

It should be noted that APA’s Ethical Principle E protects clients’ rights to self-determination [11] and aims to enhance client autonomy. Limiting or interfering with client autonomy violates this basic principle. Reintegrative Therapists respect clients’ right to set their own therapy goals, and to have access to evidence-based trauma resolution methods which have been shown to trigger spontaneous sexuality changes as a byproduct— this distinction (among others) is another reason why Reintegrative Therapy cannot be categorized as so-called “conversion therapy.”

For those interested in a review of more than 100 years of experiential evidence, clinical studies, and research demonstrating that it is possible for some men and women to make a shift along the sexual-fluidity spectrum, and that efforts to change do not typically result in harm, click below for an in-depth summary.

Citations:

[1] Pela, C., & Sutton, P. M. (2021) Sexual Attraction Fluidity and Well-Being in Men: A Therapeutic Outcome Study. Journal of Human Sexuality, 12 61-86.

[2] Storms, M. D. (1980). Theories of sexual orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 783–792. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.783.

[3] Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2012). Mostly heterosexual and mostly gay/lesbian: evidence for new sexual orientation identities. Archives of sexual behavior, 41(1), 85–101.

[4] Mustanski, B., Kuper, L., and Geene, G. (2014). Chapter 19: Development of sexual orientation and identity. In Tolman, D., & Diamond, L., Co-Editors-in-Chief (2014). APA Handbook of Sexuality and Psychology. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1 :609-610.

[5] Padmal De Silva (2001) Impact of trauma on sexual functioning and sexual relationships, Sexual and Relationship Therapy,16:3, 269-278, DOI: 10.1080/14681990123900

[6] Parent, M.C., Ferriter, K.P. (2018) The Co-Occurrence of Asexuality and Self-Reported Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis and Sexual Trauma Within the Past 12 Months Among U.S. College Students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, May;47(4):1277-1282.

[7] Cornine, C.K. (2013). EMDR, Sexual Confusion, and God-Image: A Case Study. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 32, 83.


[8] Bartels, RM Harkins L. Harrison, SC Beard, N. Beech AR. (2018) The effect of bilateral eye-movements versus no eye-movements on sexual fantasies. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2018 Jun;59:107-114. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Jan 4.

[9] Jebelli, F., Maaroufi, M., Maracy MF., & Molaeinezhad, M. (2018) Effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) on the sexual function of Iranian women with lifelong vaginismus, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 33:3, 325-338, DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2017.1323075

[10] Dickenson, Janna & Diamond, Lisa & King, Jace & Jenson, Kay & Anderson, Jeffrey. (2020). Understanding Heterosexual Women's Erotic Flexibility: the Role of Attention in Sexual Evaluations and Neural Responses to Sexual Stimuli. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. 15. 10.1093/scan/nsaa058.

[11] https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/ethics

Childhood sexual abuse in some cases links to sexual attraction or behavior:

Laumann et al, 1994; Tomeo, Templer, Anderson, & Kotler, 2001; Paul, Catania, Pollack, & Stall, 2001; Corliss, Cochran & Mays, 2002; Purcell, Malow, Dolezal, 2004, & Carballo-Dieguez, 2004; Bickham et al. 2007; Wilson & Widom, 2010; Friedman et al., 2011; Outlaw et al., 2011; Rothman, Exner, & Baughman, 2011, p. 328; Zietsch, 2011, in Uehara (Ed.), Psychiatric Disorders: Worldwide Advances; Hoffman, 2012; Sweet & Wells, 2012; McLaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, Xuan, & Conron, 2012; Andersen & Blosnich, 2013; Beard et al. 2013; Cooper et al., 2013; Artime, McCaloum, & Peterson, 2014; Mustanski, Kuper, and Greene (2014), in APA Handbook of Sexuality and Psychology 1:609-610; O’Keefe et al. 2014, p. 27; Brown, Masho, Perera, Mezuk, & Cohen, 2015; Xu & Zheng, 2015; Baams, 2018.