David Matheson has also apologized to the LGBTQ community for any damage the widely discredited practice has caused
Gay conversion therapist, a devout Mormon from Utah, has comes out as gay
Matheson created various courses designed to change a person’s sexuality
He’s admitted his 34-year-old hetero marriage is over and he is dating men
Matheson was forced into a Facebook admission after the LGBTQ publication found a private post from a fellow therapist
Conversion therapy advocate Rich Wyler wrote about Matheson posting that “living a single, celibate life ‘just isn’t feasible for him,’ so he’s seeking a male partner”
David Matheson was raised a Mormon in Utah has apologized to the LGBTQ community
David Matheson, from Utah, USA created various courses designed to change a person’s sexuality but has now admitted his hetero marriage is over and he is dating men.
A prominent therapist in the controversial “gay conversion movement” has come out as gay and revealed he is now dating men..
David Matheson, who is a devout Mormon, has also apologised to the LGBTQ community for any damage the widely discredited practice has caused.
Matheson is the creator of a number of courses designed to change a person’s sexuality from gay to straight – but has now admitted he himself can no longer live a lie and said it was “time to affirm myself as gay”.
But despite him admitting that his 34-year marriage is over he also said that he is not renouncing his faith completely or the entirety of his work as a conversion therapist.
Matheson seen with his ex-wife writes: ‘This was taken during one of the roughest times in our 31 years of marriage. It was a really painful time for my wife as we struggled to connect. It was a painful time for me. We’ve had many ups and downs. I’ve learned to tell her I’m sorry and recognize when I’m the one who has the issue instead of making her the bad guy…’
The revelation broke Sunday night after the LGBTQ nonprofit Truth Wins Out obtained a private Facebook post made by “conversion therapy” advocate Rich Wyler, outed Matheson
According to Wyler’s post, Matheson “says that living a single, celibate life ‘just isn’t feasible for him,’ so he’s seeking a male partner.”
Matheson then confirmed Wyler’s assertions on Tuesday with a Facebook post of his own. “A year ago I realized I had to make substantial changes in my life. I realized I couldn’t stay in my marriage any longer. And I realized that it was time for me to affirm myself as gay,” he wrote.
Matheson, who was married to a woman for 34 years and is now divorced, also confirmed in an interview with NBC News that he is now dating men.
Gay conversion therapy, which is sometimes referred to as “ex-gay therapy” or “reparative therapy,” is a pseudoscientific practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Talk therapy is currently the most commonly used technique, but some practitioners have also combined this with “aversion treatments,” such as induced vomiting or electric shocks, according to a 2018 report by UCLA’s Williams Institute (Matheson stressed he never participated in “aversion therapy”).
Most of the major health association, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, has denounced the practice.
After he was outed, Matheson admitted his 34-year marriage is over. The once prominent ‘conversion therapist’ is now committed to ‘pursuing life as a gay man’
In an interview with NBC News, he said: “I know there are people who won’t be satisfied by anything less than a complete and unequivocal renunciation of everything.
“That’s hard, because I want people to feel the genuineness of my change of heart, but people need to understand that there is more than one reality in the world.”
To the LGBTQ individuals who felt damaged by his conversion courses, he said: “I unequivocally apologise.”
Fifteen American states have banned conversion therapy on minors and New York became the latest state to prevent health professionals from using it on children, as research revealed it can do “serious harms”.
A man called Chaim Levin, who is involved in a lawsuit against the organisation Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), said he hoped David Matheson would “do whatever he can to rectify the harm that he’s inflicted” on people in the LGBTQ community.
“While I am pleased for Mr Matheson that he has found a path forward for his life, I can’t help but think of the hundreds if not thousands of people who are still stuck in the closet, a closet that was created in part by Mr Matheson himself,” he said.
Matheson seen with his ex-wife writes: ‘This was taken during one of the roughest times in our 31 years of marriage. It was a really painful time for my wife as we struggled to connect. It was a painful time for me. We’ve had many ups and downs. I’ve learned to tell her I’m sorry and recognize when I’m the one who has the issue instead of making her the bad guy…’
After he was outed, Matheson admitted his 34-year marriage is over. The once prominent ‘conversion therapist’ is now committed to ‘pursuing life as a gay man’
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