Dutch psychotherapist Dr. Gerard van den Aardweg in conversation with Hugo Bos (director of the Dutch TFP). Source: YouTube.
Spitzer Study proves: It is Possible to change Homosexual Feelings
Psychologist Dr. Gerard van den Aardweg spoke in an interview with Hugo Bos about Robert L. Spitzer’s groundbreaking research. His findings offer an important, nuanced counterargument in the debate over the proposed law criminalizing conversion therapy in the Netherlands.
Spitzer’s Research on changing Sexual Feelings
At a time when Dutch politicians are on the verge of pushing through a controversial ban on conversion therapy, an important scientific study deserves more attention. In 2003, American psychiatrist Robert L. Spitzer published a study in the renowned Archives of Sexual Behavior. This research demonstrates that changing sexual orientation is indeed possible for some people—and without the dramatic harm that is often claimed.
Robert Spitzer’s Role in the DSM and Homosexuality
Robert Spitzer was not a conservative activist. On the contrary: in 1973, he played a key role in removing homosexuality from the DSM, the psychiatric diagnostic manual. Thirty years later, in 2003, he interviewed 200 individuals who reported having undergone a change from a predominantly homosexual to a predominantly heterosexual orientation. All of these individuals had maintained that the change had been sustained for at least five years.
Results of the Spitzer Study on Sexual Orientation change
The results were striking. According to Spitzer, 11 percent of the men and 37 percent of the women reported a profound change: no longer experiencing homosexual feelings and leading a satisfying heterosexual life. Nearly 30 percent of the men and 63 percent of the women reported substantial improvement, even though residual feelings sometimes remained. The participants came forward because they had personally experienced change and wanted to share their stories.
Hope Through Therapeutic Counseling for Homosexual Feelings
This study shows that therapeutic counseling offers hope. People with unwanted homosexual feelings do not have to feel like lifelong victims of something that is supposedly “unchangeable.” After counseling, many find peace, a fulfilling marriage, and a fulfilling family life. The commonly heard claim that any form of help in dealing with homosexual feelings automatically leads to depression and suicide appears to have no scientific basis. Spitzer’s study did not reveal a single case of serious harm caused by the therapy.
Law criminalizing Conversion Therapy in the Netherlands
Nevertheless, Dutch policymakers aim to criminalize precisely this kind of help through the Law Criminalizing Conversion Therapy. The House of Representatives has already passed the bill, and the Senate will vote on it shortly. The ban targets “systematic or intrusive practices” intended to change sexual orientation or gender identity. Proponents speak of protection, but critics see it primarily as symbolic politics.
Existing Laws on Coercion and Abuse
Actual coercion, abuse, or threats have been criminal offenses for decades under existing laws; no new legislation is needed for that. This new legal provision goes much further. It threatens to cast suspicion on voluntary conversations, pastoral counseling, prayer, and therapeutic help in religious or conservative contexts. Parents who want to support their child in processing confusing feelings, therapists who take clients’ desire for change seriously, and clergy who uphold Christian standards—all of them could come under scrutiny.
Right to Freedom of Choice regarding Conversion Therapy
This is not protection, but a curtailment of freedom. People with same-sex attractions should, in fact, have the right to the help they themselves desire. Why should the state prohibit adults—or, with parental consent, young people—from choosing guidance that aligns with their faith, values, or personal goals? Why don’t the rules on self-determination apply in this case? Those who truly care about people respect their own choices rather than ideologically prohibiting those choices.
Symbolic Politics: The Ban on Conversion Practices
The law seems primarily to be an ideological statement: the message that homosexual feelings are unchangeable and that doubting this is harmful. Spitzer’s research—and the experiences of thousands of people worldwide who found change through therapy, faith, or personal development—contradicts this. The science here is more nuanced than the dominant political correctness is willing to admit.
Government Impact on Traditional Views of Family and Sexuality
The ban on conversion therapy fits into a broader pattern in which the government is increasingly marginalizing traditional views on marriage, family, and sexuality. While the law purports to protect vulnerable people, it actually deprives vulnerable people—young people in faith communities, adults struggling with inner conflict—of the opportunity to receive help that suits their needs.
Political Pressure on Spitzer
Shortly after the publication of Spitzer’s study in 2003, Van den Aardweg spoke with him by phone. Spitzer indicated at the time that he was under immense political pressure. He ultimately retracted his research, but the raw data remains. It shows that change is possible for some and that help is not harmful. People with same-sex attractions do not deserve an ideological straitjacket, but genuine freedom of choice—even if that choice leads to a life in accordance with their deepest convictions and desires. It is time for the Senate to reject this ban and opt for true freedom: the freedom to seek the truth.
You can read Dr. Spitzer’s full paper here.