Liberty Counsel Petitions Supreme Court on Change Therapy Ban

By Liberty Counsel —— Bio and Archives February 18, 2015

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Washington, DC-Today, Liberty Counsel filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the High Court to overturn a New Jersey law that bans counselors from providing and youth from receiving counsel to overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, behavior, and identity.

"This Court's review is imperative to protect the fundamental right of licensed counselors offering or individuals seeking mental health counseling to make determinations concerning the most elementary freedom - the right to self-determination," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel asked the Court to grant review to resolve the conflict among the circuits concerning the appropriate level of scrutiny applicable to regulations of speech between a counselor and client or a doctor and patient. A3371 limits the communication a professional can provide to a consenting client, despite the client's objectives or therapeutic goals. Despite the client's objectives in counseling concerning his unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity, once that subject is presented to a licensed professional, the services that professional is able to render immediately becomes severely restricted to only one message - that of the State's acceptance, support, and encouragement of such same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity. "The fundamental principle of mental health counseling is that the client is able to set the objectives and direction of his counseling, yet A3371 impairs and indeed eliminates the ability of clients in New Jersey to set such a direction if the desired objective is change," Staver concluded.