Persecuted for My Convictions
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Thank you for checking out my campaign! My name is Andrew Rodriguez and I am an aspiring Christian counselor. And for 10 years I have been working in the field that is probably the most controversial there is: homosexuality.
I got started working with people with sexual struggles when I was a student at Valley Forge Christian College. I did not intend to go into this field, but God had other plans. He kept bringing people into my life with different sexual issues, such as addiction or abuse or unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). The issue was really hitting home for me, and most of these people were desperate for someone to join with them in their fight. I started off as an accountability partner to some friends on campus. And then I had the amazing opportunity to intern at Day Seven Ministries, a Christian counseling center that specializes in every sexual issue. And it was a member ministry of Exodus International, the now-defunct umbrella organization for various counseling services to assist people leaving homosexuality. This experience was life-changing! I was blessed to serve in the recovery groups with men who were doing what the rest of the counseling establishment claims is wrong or impossible. This wasn't "pray the gay away" quackery like the media portrays it as. They primarily approached sexual behavior issues from a cognitive-behavioral angle, with a sensitivity to trauma issues. In the recovery groups in which I served, there was large group praise and worship, maybe some testimonies or a teaching (during that summer we were watching a video series about forgiveness), followed by small group time for accountability and discussion.
When I returned to school after my internship, God gave me a clear mission to start a recovery and support group on campus. Through a lot of perseverance—long story short—I ended up co-founding a group instead for men dealing with the pains of the past. Yet by God’s design, every school year about half of the men in the group have issues related to sexual addiction and the others have unwanted same-sex attraction. I have been volunteering in leading this group since 2008, and if I could do this type of work full-time, that would be the dream!
So, in 2012, I started work on my master’s degree in counseling. I was accepted at Chestnut Hill College, a so-called inclusive Catholic university in Philadelphia. In my admissions process, I was open about my involvement in the homosexuality recovery field, and I was still accepted into the program, even though I soon found it is a very liberal school. And in my classes, when the topics of reparative therapy or "pray the gay away" would come up, I would eventually share my story and—even though my undergraduate internship site did not necessarily do reparative therapy—I knew enough to try to dispel myths most of my professors and classmates heard. Normally, I was in the minority, but because I had gained their respect and presented my opinion maturely, they usually wanted to hear what I had to say.
In the Fall of 2014, I began my year-long internship at Dayspring Counseling, a small private counseling practice mostly comprised of Christian counselors, which would have been the last course I needed to do before graduating. Because of my history of openness about my experiences, I felt safe to mention in my bio on Dayspring's website my experience in working with people dealing with trauma, sexual addiction, as well as people "leaving homosexual lifestyles and coping with unwanted same-sex attraction." Regardless, I knew I was within my rights to mention my stance on the issue. And then in June 2015, four weeks away from finishing my internship, Chestnut Hill told me to stop my internship immediately. The head of master's field placement had just read my bio, and he was alarmed.
I then had to meet with the heads of the program. Their questions were more concerned about my beliefs than about what it was I was actually doing at my internship. I explained to them that there are a couple main approaches to clients with conflicts over SSA, aside from gay-affirmative therapy. There’s change-oriented therapy, such as reparative therapy, which views homosexuality as rooted in development and trauma and focuses on resolving the root issues through the therapeutic relationship. And then there’s sexual identity therapy, which isn’t concerned about how SSA develops but just aims to help clients with their identity and lifestyle regardless of whether attractions change. I told them that though I mostly agree with the developmental model, I was never trained in reparative therapy, so I never presented change in attraction as a viable treatment goal and instead just assisted people with living more congruently with their convictions and faith. But that didn’t matter to them. They attempted to stretch the ACA’s (American Counseling Association) ethics codes prohibiting reparative therapy to include any approach that is not gay-affirmative and does not encourage clients to embrace a gay identity and explore homosexual behavior.
Ultimately, they chose to terminate my internship, even though I was actually seeing only one client dealing with same-sex attraction. And since they could not find a different site that would accept me as an intern after hearing their version of events, I was forced to leave. Now, in PA, we need 48 credits for a master’s in counseling, but 60 credits if we want to go for licensure. Fortunately, I had 54 credits, so CHC still chose to grant me my degree, but I had to transfer somewhere else to finish up my academic requirements for licensure.
That is my story so far. I have been so blessed to have support from my church and other counselors—colleagues in this specific field and those who just sympathize with my plight. If you are one of the many people who have been praying for me, thank you so much!
Depending on your values, I am either the hero or the villain of this story. Maybe you sympathize with me but still believe I should have known better than to be so careless as to share publicly my biblical and clinical convictions on homosexuality. So maybe you think I got what I deserved. There are plenty of things I've said and done in my life that I regret, but this is not one of them! How can I say that?
What is at stake in this battle is the client's right to self-determination and access to treatment that respects his or her values. All throughout my grad school career the mantra was preached that we must beware imposing our values upon clients. And yet when it comes to homosexuality, the psychological establishment considers itself above its own ethical guidelines! Homosexuality is not a disorder, and yet they still want to tell clients how they should address it. The only approved approach to conflicts over same-sex attraction is gay-affirmative therapy. Well, that's like telling a person with a marital problem that the only approach therapists are allowed to take is to help the client get a divorce!
In all my years working with clients with unwanted SSA, I have never had a client or group member who was questioning how to approach the issue. They have always come to me with same-sex attraction but certain that to embrace it and engage in homosexual behavior or relationships would be contrary to their commitment to follow God and his design for their sexuality as laid out in Scripture. They understood that choosing this path is a sacrifice with no guarantee of the attractions changing, and though they usually dealt with compulsive sexual behavior and thoughts, they still made a values-based decision that their commitment to following God is ultimately more important to them than sexual or romantic gratification. That is quite honorable. But the gay sociopolitical agenda in the counseling and education worlds is convincing multitudes that such clients who deny their sexual urges are harming themselves, and therapists who assist them must be stopped at all costs. We've been tricked into believing they're being compassionate and people like me are barbaric. But true compassion is speaking the truth and then offering legitimate help for those who actually want it. And we need counselors to do the job. Yet too few of us are willing or prepared to touch this issue.
So why the Go Fund Me campaign? I had to transfer to a different school, Cairn University, to finish up my academic requirements for licensure. I'm taking three courses I never planned financially on taking at this time. And the payment plan required I set up automatic deductions which amount to one of my regular paychecks. I am confident God will continue to provide. But if you want to help contribute to the fight, your donation of any size will be greatly appreciated!
I got started working with people with sexual struggles when I was a student at Valley Forge Christian College. I did not intend to go into this field, but God had other plans. He kept bringing people into my life with different sexual issues, such as addiction or abuse or unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). The issue was really hitting home for me, and most of these people were desperate for someone to join with them in their fight. I started off as an accountability partner to some friends on campus. And then I had the amazing opportunity to intern at Day Seven Ministries, a Christian counseling center that specializes in every sexual issue. And it was a member ministry of Exodus International, the now-defunct umbrella organization for various counseling services to assist people leaving homosexuality. This experience was life-changing! I was blessed to serve in the recovery groups with men who were doing what the rest of the counseling establishment claims is wrong or impossible. This wasn't "pray the gay away" quackery like the media portrays it as. They primarily approached sexual behavior issues from a cognitive-behavioral angle, with a sensitivity to trauma issues. In the recovery groups in which I served, there was large group praise and worship, maybe some testimonies or a teaching (during that summer we were watching a video series about forgiveness), followed by small group time for accountability and discussion.
When I returned to school after my internship, God gave me a clear mission to start a recovery and support group on campus. Through a lot of perseverance—long story short—I ended up co-founding a group instead for men dealing with the pains of the past. Yet by God’s design, every school year about half of the men in the group have issues related to sexual addiction and the others have unwanted same-sex attraction. I have been volunteering in leading this group since 2008, and if I could do this type of work full-time, that would be the dream!
So, in 2012, I started work on my master’s degree in counseling. I was accepted at Chestnut Hill College, a so-called inclusive Catholic university in Philadelphia. In my admissions process, I was open about my involvement in the homosexuality recovery field, and I was still accepted into the program, even though I soon found it is a very liberal school. And in my classes, when the topics of reparative therapy or "pray the gay away" would come up, I would eventually share my story and—even though my undergraduate internship site did not necessarily do reparative therapy—I knew enough to try to dispel myths most of my professors and classmates heard. Normally, I was in the minority, but because I had gained their respect and presented my opinion maturely, they usually wanted to hear what I had to say.
In the Fall of 2014, I began my year-long internship at Dayspring Counseling, a small private counseling practice mostly comprised of Christian counselors, which would have been the last course I needed to do before graduating. Because of my history of openness about my experiences, I felt safe to mention in my bio on Dayspring's website my experience in working with people dealing with trauma, sexual addiction, as well as people "leaving homosexual lifestyles and coping with unwanted same-sex attraction." Regardless, I knew I was within my rights to mention my stance on the issue. And then in June 2015, four weeks away from finishing my internship, Chestnut Hill told me to stop my internship immediately. The head of master's field placement had just read my bio, and he was alarmed.
I then had to meet with the heads of the program. Their questions were more concerned about my beliefs than about what it was I was actually doing at my internship. I explained to them that there are a couple main approaches to clients with conflicts over SSA, aside from gay-affirmative therapy. There’s change-oriented therapy, such as reparative therapy, which views homosexuality as rooted in development and trauma and focuses on resolving the root issues through the therapeutic relationship. And then there’s sexual identity therapy, which isn’t concerned about how SSA develops but just aims to help clients with their identity and lifestyle regardless of whether attractions change. I told them that though I mostly agree with the developmental model, I was never trained in reparative therapy, so I never presented change in attraction as a viable treatment goal and instead just assisted people with living more congruently with their convictions and faith. But that didn’t matter to them. They attempted to stretch the ACA’s (American Counseling Association) ethics codes prohibiting reparative therapy to include any approach that is not gay-affirmative and does not encourage clients to embrace a gay identity and explore homosexual behavior.
Ultimately, they chose to terminate my internship, even though I was actually seeing only one client dealing with same-sex attraction. And since they could not find a different site that would accept me as an intern after hearing their version of events, I was forced to leave. Now, in PA, we need 48 credits for a master’s in counseling, but 60 credits if we want to go for licensure. Fortunately, I had 54 credits, so CHC still chose to grant me my degree, but I had to transfer somewhere else to finish up my academic requirements for licensure.
That is my story so far. I have been so blessed to have support from my church and other counselors—colleagues in this specific field and those who just sympathize with my plight. If you are one of the many people who have been praying for me, thank you so much!
Depending on your values, I am either the hero or the villain of this story. Maybe you sympathize with me but still believe I should have known better than to be so careless as to share publicly my biblical and clinical convictions on homosexuality. So maybe you think I got what I deserved. There are plenty of things I've said and done in my life that I regret, but this is not one of them! How can I say that?
What is at stake in this battle is the client's right to self-determination and access to treatment that respects his or her values. All throughout my grad school career the mantra was preached that we must beware imposing our values upon clients. And yet when it comes to homosexuality, the psychological establishment considers itself above its own ethical guidelines! Homosexuality is not a disorder, and yet they still want to tell clients how they should address it. The only approved approach to conflicts over same-sex attraction is gay-affirmative therapy. Well, that's like telling a person with a marital problem that the only approach therapists are allowed to take is to help the client get a divorce!
In all my years working with clients with unwanted SSA, I have never had a client or group member who was questioning how to approach the issue. They have always come to me with same-sex attraction but certain that to embrace it and engage in homosexual behavior or relationships would be contrary to their commitment to follow God and his design for their sexuality as laid out in Scripture. They understood that choosing this path is a sacrifice with no guarantee of the attractions changing, and though they usually dealt with compulsive sexual behavior and thoughts, they still made a values-based decision that their commitment to following God is ultimately more important to them than sexual or romantic gratification. That is quite honorable. But the gay sociopolitical agenda in the counseling and education worlds is convincing multitudes that such clients who deny their sexual urges are harming themselves, and therapists who assist them must be stopped at all costs. We've been tricked into believing they're being compassionate and people like me are barbaric. But true compassion is speaking the truth and then offering legitimate help for those who actually want it. And we need counselors to do the job. Yet too few of us are willing or prepared to touch this issue.
So why the Go Fund Me campaign? I had to transfer to a different school, Cairn University, to finish up my academic requirements for licensure. I'm taking three courses I never planned financially on taking at this time. And the payment plan required I set up automatic deductions which amount to one of my regular paychecks. I am confident God will continue to provide. But if you want to help contribute to the fight, your donation of any size will be greatly appreciated!
Organizer
Andrew Rodriguez
Organizer
Schwenksville, PA
