The lived experience of men in reparative therapy

This study is a phenomenological exploration of client voice in psychotherapy. Five men were recruited from the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic while in reparative therapy for issues related to unwanted Same-Sex Attraction (SSA). Open-ended interviews were conducted by telephone and then transcribed and analyzed via a phenomenological research methodology. Thematic analysis yielded 11 themes which described these men's experiences in therapy and the impact of therapy on their lives as a whole, including domains such as work, relationships, and sense of self. Reparative therapy for these men emerged as primarily about a struggle for healing of masculine identity. Benefits included being able to build better non-sexual relationships with men, becoming more open to intimate relating to a woman, and improving their sense of themselves as men. This research has shed further light on the process of reparative therapy as it is practiced at the Aquinas Clinic.