Now that everyone’s starting to notice Michelle “rape clown” Bachmann’s anti-gay past and her husband Marcus’ “silver daddy” Bachmann’s ex-gay clinic, Marcus is saying that his clinic only offers ex-gay therapy when his patients request it. This is bullshit for several reasons.



First off, let’s start by examining Dr. Bachmann’s credentials. Here’s Bachmann’s creds from his practice’s website:

Dr. Bachmann received his Masters degree in education/counseling from Regent University located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He received his Doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Union Graduate Institute located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A web sleuth did some math regarding Bachmann’s Ph.D. and found the following:

On his website Dr. Bachmann states he’s had 23 years experience. Simple math brings us to the year 1988. If Dr. Bachmann’s Ph.D. was completed prior to this date, he might have graduated from The Union Graduate School which offered ONLY a Ph.D. in Arts and Sciences. If he graduated later than 1986, then he would have graduated from The Union Institute (1986), or The Union Institute and University (2001) and his Ph.D. would have been in Interdisciplinary Studies. If in fact Dr. Marcus Bachmann graduated from this institute, whatever it was named at the time, he would not have graduated with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. The ONLY doctorate in Clinical Psychology was offered after 2001, and the degree is a Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) and not a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy).

Furthermore Michael Hamar of The Bilerico Project said:

the Union Graduate Institute in Ohio’s… doctoral program in psychology is not accredited by the APA which means its degree holders cannot be licensed in a number of states. Moreover, it specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. That’s right, it is not a traditional university offering typical doctoral education program.

So either Dr. Bachmann has a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies or a doctorate in psychology from an un-accredited, non-traditional university. Either way, Minnesota state law allows unlicensed therapists to see patients, so he can legally counsel others, crappy psych Ph.D. or no.

Secondly, even though a therapist is supposed to address their patients’ needs, they aren’t supposed to do whatever their patient asks them to, especially when it involves using methods rebuked by three of the world’s largest professional psych organizations. The American Psychiatric Association, the American Counselors Association, and the American Psychological Association have all called “ex-gay” or “conversion” therapy harmful. In fact, the American Psychological Association even went so far as to say that ex-gay counseling harms those subjected to it and perpetuates an social atmosphere of anti-gay prejudice.

Bachmann wouldn’t indulge a patient who came in and said, “I want you to put me in a spider tank so I get over my arachnaphobia” or “I’d like you to help me get a frontal lobotomy so I can sleep better” (or maybe he would, I don’t actually know, but let’s assume he wouldn’t). He shouldn’t necessarily follow the patient’s desired treatment because the patient isn’t the trained expert, the counselor is. A therapist’s job is ultimately to guide the patient towards a responsible course of rehabilitative treatment. So why is Bachmann practicing counseling methods rejected by three of the world’s largest professional psychological organizations?

Third, homosexuality is not a mental illness that needs “curing.” The American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 and The American Psychological Association Council of Representatives followed suit in 1975. Those who have issues with their homosexual feelings usually have underlying self-image issues such as negative thinking, self-defeating behaviors, paranoia, obssessive-compulsion, delusions of psychosis. Hearing constant anti-gay messages in our culture can saddle a gay person with lots of neurosis and the object of therapy is to help resolve those neurosis, not to alter a person’s sexual orientation.

Bachmann initially lied about his clinic offering ex-gay treatment—he said they didn’t when they obviously do. He is now also lying about the recording where he called gay people “barbarians” who need to be “educated”, saying the audio recording was “doctored” (though the blogger who originally posted the audio said, “I didn’t doctor a damn thing!”

Michele has stated that she’s very proud of her husband’s clinic. But as the media continues to explore why such a clinic receives federal funding, Mrs. Bachmann may find herself becoming less and less proud of the albatross it has tied around her neck.