Originally published in The TelegraphThe British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said that, although Patrick Strudwick had “deliberately misled” Mrs Pilkington, she was guilty of professional malpractice.
Mrs Pilkington, who believes that homosexuality is sinful, practices a controversial counselling technique known as “reparative therapy” involving counselling and prayer.
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In 2009, Mr Strudwick, using a false name, arranged two counselling sessions with Mrs Pilkington telling her he was a “believer” after meeting her at a conference.
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He later wrote about his experiences in an article in The Guardian and lodged a formal complaint with the BACP saying that he had been left disturbed by what took place.
During the session she asked him whether he had been abused as a child or bullied at school and whether any of his relatives had been Freemasons as a possible cause of his homosexuality.
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A conduct hearing last year ruled that Mrs Pilkington had fallen short of professional standards by making “premature and reckless” diagnoses.
An appeal panel yesterday threw out a number of adverse findings against Mrs Pilkington but found that she had failed to take enough steps to ensure that Mr Strudwick fully understood what her counselling entailed and “precise belief system that underpinned it”.
The appeal panel ruled that the controversial therapy itself did not necessarily breach professional standards but added: “There is a wide range of opinion and beliefs among those who call themselves Christians.
“Mrs Pilkington wrongly and negligently jumped to the conclusion that Mrs Strudwick properly understood her therapeutic model and the belief system underlying it.”
But Mrs Pilkington, who was supported by the Christian legal Centre and the barrister Paul Diamond, said that her case would have a chilling effect on others who wished to practice the technique.
“They simply won’t operate in this area at all, they won’t offer the possibility of change,” she said.
“Christians will think twice about using traditional biblical Christian counselling methods.
“It will definitely close people down, it will definitely engender a climate of fear.
“There is a wider agenda that diversity and equality, which is supposed to be what our society upholds, is upheld for everyone except for those who have traditional Judeo-Christian values, I think that is very disturbing.
“People need to understand what is happening and think about what sort of society we want.”
Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “People who practise reparative therapy are increasingly pushed out of the public sphere.
“A truly tolerant society would allow for this therapy to continue not to treat it with suspicion and those who practise it with suspicion.”
The case is the latest in a series which have led those who maintain traditional views on sexuality to claim they are being pushed out of the public sphere.
Last week the Law Society banned a conference on marriage, due to be addressed by a senior High Court judge, from taking place in its London headquarters because it promoted opposition to the Government’s same-sex marriage plans.
Lesley Pilkington, 61, spoke as she lost her appeal against her registration with her professional body being cancelled after an undercover journalist posing as a patient recorded her during a therapy session.
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said that, although Patrick Strudwick had “deliberately misled” Mrs Pilkington, she was guilty of professional malpractice.
Mrs Pilkington, who believes that homosexuality is sinful, practices a controversial counselling technique known as “reparative therapy” involving counselling and prayer.
In 2009, Mr Strudwick, using a false name, arranged two counselling sessions with Mrs Pilkington telling her he was a “believer” after meeting her at a conference.
He later wrote about his experiences in an article in The Guardian and lodged a formal complaint with the BACP saying that he had been left disturbed by what took place.
Yesterday the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London also cancelled a provisional booking for the same conference saying that it was “not appropriate”.
Pavan Dhaliwal, head of public affairs at the British Humanist Association said: “Treatments which attempt to ‘cure’ homosexuality are morally objectionable because they carry the implication that homosexuality is a disease.
“They also lack any foundation in scientific fact, having been condemned by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, as well as in the recent judgment by the BACP. “These so-called treatments can also be extremely harmful, especially when they are applied to vulnerable individuals.”
It is sad that we are in a society where wrong is not wrong anymore!