March 21, 2013

Christopher Doyle, licensed therapist and ex-gay, researched the story of a witness who testified at New Jersey hearings to ban sexual orientation change efforts. Brielle Goldani claimed she had been tortured at a conversion therapy camp in Ohio in 1997, but Doyle found no record of the camps existence.

Excerpt from the World Net Daily article “NJ Governor Christie’s Opinion on Heterosexual Therapy Ban Based on False Testimony:” “According to the office of the Ohio secretary of state and attorney general, no such camp called True Directions has ever existed. In fact, the only trace of this camp is from a 1999 film titled ‘But I’m a Cheerleader,’ starring RuPaul. In the film, the main character is suspected of being a lesbian by her family, who then proceeds to send her to a ‘conversion therapy’ camp called True Directions. Throughout the course of the film, two disgruntled gay men encourage the campers to rebel against the program and discover their true identities as gays and lesbians. The final scene of the film shows the main character’s parents attending a Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) meeting to accept their daughter’s homosexuality.”

“Dr. Elton Moose, a licensed counselor who has been working in Springfield, Ohio, said in a written statement: ‘I have been in this business for 24 years and have not heard of this camp. … These types of shock-therapy accusations have been around for many years, but I have not actually known a practice that has used this therapy.’”

“Goldani, who works as a peer specialist and mental health counselor, claims that the church she attended as a teenager in New Jersey, The Church in Brielle, paid for her to attend the camp, which lasted a month and a half. Goldani also claims to have been counseled by the pastor of the church on staff at the time, which included talking, reading Bible verses and listening to statistics about HIV/AIDS.”

“The church’s current leader, Pastor Lou LaFauzia, whose church is affiliated with the Reformed Church of America, said in a phone interview, ‘We love everyone regardless of sexual orientation. … I can say that this would have never happened at this church, and I can’t imagine any church members in 1997 who would do this. It’s outlandish!’”

This story was also covered in the Christian Post.