Tennessee Lawmakers Just Passed a Bill That Would Allow Therapists to Refuse to Treat Gay Clients

[Jackie Wilson Said]

Source: New York Magazine

Tennessee's House of Representatives just passed a bill that would allow therapists who believe homosexuality is the mark of Satan to refuse to treat gay clients. More precisely, the bill allows mental-health counselors to deny treatment to anyone who seeks help with "goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselors or therapist." If the bill makes it into law, Tennessee would be the first state to allow therapists to pick what kind of clients they're willing to serve.

Read more: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/tennessee-bill-would-let-therapists-reject-gays.html#

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Gee, I wonder if a republican president, House and Senate would make this even worse.

[LiberalArkie]

1. Kind of getting back to "We don't serve your kind here" Or "You need to go to that side door for

service - the one that says colored"

[Jackie Wilson Said]

2. If so called liberals keep finding reasons that they cant vote for the Democrat, you can be sure

to see this happening much more with President Cruz.

[virtualobserver]

3. Who would want to go to a therapist who would not want gay clients?

As horrible as that law is, gay or not, I would want to know if my therapist felt that way.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

4. Same lame argument as who would want to go to florist for wedding flowers

if they dont like gay people.

Lame

[virtualobserver]

7. it isn't an argument.....I'm just saying that any therapist who wanted to avoid gay clients.....

isn't a competent therapist.

You can be bigoted and still sell decent flowers.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

8. OK, that is a little better. But the whole point is these bigoted assholes gotta get the hell

out of dodge.

They have no business being in business of any kind, anywhere.

[mopinko]

40. my first thought also.

think that would qualify as dodging a bullet.

[LiberalFighter]

5. If they refuse to provide service to gays then they should be required

to lower their hourly rates.

[Warpy]

6. To be honest, they'd do a lot of damage to gay clients they were forced to treat

so either they already refuse to take them on or they open their babbles on the first visit and scare them off.

This is a pretty silly law and completely unnecessary.

[airplaneman]

9. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

"the bill allows mental-health counselors to deny treatment"

I know - Maybe mental-health counselors should deny treatment to anyone with mental-health problems.

-Airplane

[phazed0]

10. Anybody that thinks homosexuality is the mark of the devil...

... has no right being a mental health counselor.

[silvershadow]

11. If I was a legislator, I would do the opposite. I would introduce a bill to strip therapists and

other professional of their licenses if they refuse to treat gay folks.

[Avalon Sparks]

12. the right to be a asshole Bill....

I am not supporting this bullcrap Bill.

However with regard to a therapist, I'd be glad to learn about their narrow bigoted mindset before I'd pay them for services that would likely be detrimental to my mental health.

In fact let the bigots shine a big light on themselves, that way they are out in the open.

Out in the open for ridiculing...
Out in the open for public shaming
Out in the open to boycott...

Let's have at it!

This is the last hurrah for them, their bigoted and ugly backlash against progress marching forward. I'm think it's absolute bullshit for a gay person to have to deal with this, but these jerkoffs now might as well be wearing a sign that says asshole, and it's best to not have any dealings with them anyway....

We all saw that smug miserable skank Kim Davis, complete asshole. Anyone that would exercise their right to be an asshole under this bill is a person I wouldn't want to have anything to do with.

Fuk them!

[Blandocyte]

13. If they believe they wouldn't be effective with them

then referring them is the ethical thing to do. Who would want a therapist who couldn't create the relationship to work with them effectively? There are plenty of therapists who work with LGBTQ issues.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

14. They believe gay people are sinning defects. You give them way way too much credit.

[Blandocyte]

15. For whatever reason

referral is the thing to do. It would be horrible for the client not to be referred to a therapist more able to work with them.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

16. Referral? OH boy.

[Blandocyte]

17. Yeah. Imagine referring a person to someone who can help

and acting in your clients' best interests. Imagine.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

18. They have no desire at all to act in their best interest.

[Blandocyte]

19. Wrong.

Counselors are bound by ethical standards to act in clients's best interests and can lose their licenses if they don't. They probably wouldn't become counselors if they didn't want to help. But, sure, imagine that we all " have no desire" to act in our clients' best interest. I admire your psychic abilities, Kreskin.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

20. Jesus christ, you are on the wrong website to defend outright bigots.

[Judi Lynn]

27. If they are not mature, clear-headed, conscientious, they are simply not qualified

to be in that profession in the first place.

They need to refer themselves to a field where bigots are well placed.

If they don't see human beings as PEOPLE above everything else, they are simply not good enough to practice in a respected, needed, vital field.

[yardwork]

22. Please don't pretend not to understand what this is about.

[SCVDem]

21. First, Do No Harm!

I'm sure you could find a better doctor in the gay yp.

[yardwork]

23. You know, there aren't really any gay yellow pages.

Sometimes there isn't a qualified gay therapist in every town.

[SCVDem]

35. Really?

Living in So Cal and close to West Hollywood, I know I heard of the yp. Try this.

http://www.glyp.com/directory.aspx?city=Los+Angeles+%2F+Long+Beach*

[yardwork]

37. Not everybody lives in So Cal.

[restorefreedom]

24. i always thought therapists could choose their clients

based on compatability,their schedule, etc. i don't know if a therapist in private practice is required to treat everyone who walks in.

not a defense of this policy, just wondering what the protocol is.

[TM99]

26. You are correct.

I have complete autonomy in my private practice as to who I will treat or not. Sometimes a client and I are simply not good fits. In that case, I will also refer them to someone whom I suspect may well be.

That is my problem with this bill as I think it is simply grandstanding.

In private practice, it doesn't matter. I will refer out a born-again Christian as I am not a proper fit for them as far as counseling goes. If I am working at an agency that received county, state, or federal funding there are legalities that would make it impossible for staff therapists to avoid working with any clients who come to those agencies. Therapists are quickly weeded out who are unable to put aside their own personal issues and biases when it comes to working with all populations.

[restorefreedom]

30. good info. i do agree that it is grandstanding

and making a point that does not need to be made. also interesting about the option for practitioners to decline, as you mentioned, a born again christian as not a good fit. so as private practice is concerned, the choice is already there.

if this bill is intended to protect the funded therapists from having to be weeded out so they can have their biases, then that is a whole other problem. i could not tell from the article what kinds of therapists this applies to.

[TM99]

31. If TN is like most states

and I am sorry if I don't have all those specifics, there are licensing requirements. This law would never be acceptable in the meeting of those requirements.

There are unlicensed counselors and these are typically religious functionaries who provide counseling through a church. They still must clearly state that they are NOT licensed providers of mental health services.

[restorefreedom]

32. ok that makes sense

i had forgotten about the religious "counselors."

hard to imagine anyone but another like minded person would want to talk to them.

[TM99]

34. Well in most cases, religious counselors

are very legit. My main supervisor and mentor fresh out of graduate school was a Luthern minister and the lead chaplain at ASU. He also had an Ed.D, was a licensed clinical psychologist, state certified counselor, and a Reichian diplomate.

Mainstream Protestant and Catholic churches as well as Jewish traditions often require their chaplains, rabbi's, and priests who are going to be counselors to have a thorough education, supervision, and to meet at least minimum licensing requirements in the state in question.

The only ones who do not are the born-again churches, and we are not talking Baptists here either. The fringe fundamentalist churches protected by the constitution but incredibly ignorant and insular. They have their own unaccredited schools, their own credentialing boards, and are rarely under state control. This law would protect them so to speak but is rather redundant because they are already protected in their bigotry and ignorance. That's why I am convinced it is grandstanding that will ultimately go no where.

[YOHABLO]

25. Folks we have to support our Democratic Nominee whether it be HRC or BS.

This religious fascism is growing. We have to reign in States like NC, MS, and TN, and GA. It's getting out of control and they're overstepping. We can't have a Ted Cruz or god forbid a Trump in the White House. NO> get your ass out and vote.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

38. That would be the point of showing people these stories. To remind them that if they

want to go backwards then just sit out the next election.

[Judi Lynn]

28. Who would have expected this country could be so backward after all this time,

after it got off to such a glorious start?

But wait, wasn't there genocide from one coast to the other, murdering everyone in the way?

Oh, never mind.

[npk]

29. It's Jim Crow laws all over again.

And imagine all the states that were defendants in the SCOTUS Gay Marriage rights case are trying to enact these laws.

[truthisfreedom]

36. They're just searching for more ways to make America back-fucking-asswards

It's like they want Sharia Law.

[jmowreader]

39. Thinking out loud here

If I was a therapist in Tennessee and this bill were to pass, I assume I could get sued for telling a fundamentalist Christian I wouldn't treat her because of my sincerely held belief that extreme religiosity is an incurable mental defect and an affront to my person.