The Commonwealth is meddling illegally in the therapy and counseling care of all Virginians. This “guidance” would have a chilling effect on all counselors and patients, as well as prospective patients and those students who want to enter the field. The message is clear: “We own you. We can intrude on your counseling relationship. We can dictate the care you receive. Our opinion matters, yours does not—in your own care. We know what is best for your lives. We can destroy the livelihoods of your counselors. We can deter those who disagree with us from entering the field.” Outrageous and wrong: reject.

 

Here are some good reasons why someone would come to a counselor to get help with their sexuality. 

 

Federal Centers For Disease Control: 

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (collectively referred to as MSM) are at increased risk for STDs, including antimicrobial resistant gonorrhea, when compared to women and exclusively heterosexual men. Because STDs, and the behaviors associated with acquiring them, increase the likelihood of acquiring and transmitting HIV infection, STD incidence among MSM may also be an indicator of higher risk for subsequent HIV infection.

During 2000–2015, the rise in the P&S syphilis rate was primarily attributable to increased cases among men and, specifically, among MSM. In 2015, men accounted for over 90% of all cases of P&S syphilis. Of those male cases for whom sex of sex partner was known, 81.7% were MSM.

The estimated burden of disease [gonorrhea] represented by MSM, men who have sex with women only (MSW), and women varied substantially across collaborating sites. San Francisco had the highest proportion of estimated MSM cases (87.8 %).

Across all SSuN collaborating jurisdictions in 2015, 42.2% of gonorrhea cases were estimated to be among MSM, 25.4% among MSW, and 32.4% among women.

In 2015, 22.3% of GISP isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Among isolates from MSM, 32.1% were resistant; 16.4% of isolates from MSW exhibited ciprofloxacin resistance.

The estimated rate-ratio of MSM to female and MSM to heterosexual males during the study period ranged from 10.7 to 13.9 demonstrating a substantial and increasing inequality in the burden of disease [gonorrhea] between MSM and heterosexuals.

Overall, the proportion of isolates from MSM in selected STD clinics from GISP sentinel sites has increased steadily, from 3.9% in 1989 to 38.1% in 2015. GISP has demonstrated that gonococcal isolates from MSM are more likely to exhibit antimicrobial resistance than isolates from MSW. 

The CDC recently posted the following warning: “Clinical Advisory: Ocular Syphilis in the United States/Since December 2014, at least 15 cases of ocular syphilis from California and Washington have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least five other states have suspected cases under investigation. The majority of cases have been among MSM with HIV; and a few cases have occurred among HIV-uninfected persons including heterosexual men and women. Several of the cases have resulted in significant sequelae including blindness.” With the bulk of new syphilis cases nationwide appearing primarily in the gay male community; it’s no surprise that the homosexual capitals of LA and San Francisco have been hardest hit: in LA – there were 858 infections in 2009 and 1,299 in 2013; in San Francisco – there were 438 infections in 2009 and 814 in 2013. Interestingly, Portland, Oregon, which after San Francisco, has the largest percentage of gay residents in the US, also had a major jump in cases: with 53 infections in 2009 as compared to 240 in 2013.