Hello everyone.

[Melc212]

Hello,

I am a Masters student at University College London. I am currently conducting research into the practice of reparative therapy as a part of a Master’s thesis. I am interested in exploring the experiences of those who have undergone such therapy within a religious setting. I am seeking out those who would be interested in sharing stories of their involvement with ex-gay ministries. Much has been written about those who practice reparative therapy, but less so about the experiences of those who have undergone it; my research seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the effects of this controversial treatment.

If you would be interested in sharing your story with me, please email me at melissa.cox.10@ucl.ac.uk. Likewise, if you know anyone who may be interested, please pass this information along. This study has been approved by all relevant academic and ethical boards, and conforms to all consent and confidentiality guidelines as outlined in the Data Protection Act of 1998.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

[bnmoore]

If your research ties in with this, someone may be willing to talk to you about it:

"The UCL Grand Challenge of Human Wellbeing is the fourth of the UCL Grand Challenges. It considers both the nature of being human and the nature of wellbeing.

It harnesses UCL’s research expertise from across our academic community, including everything from philosophy, law, economics, psychology, architecture and art, through to health, medicine, neuroscience and engineering – and many other disciplines.
"Directly or indirectly, well-being, in some shape or other...is the subject of every thought, and object of every action, on the part of every known Being...nor can any intelligible reason be given for desiring that it should be otherwise."
– Jeremy Bentham, Chrestomathia (1817)"

There are those that come to Soulforce to try to fix what was never broken. I almost met you with hostility. I'm glad I took a minute to see what UCL was about first. I've never been in that situation but feel certain that it is a very painful subject to open up about to those who have.