by Hilary White, Rome Correspondent
LONDON, May 24, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lesley Pilkington, the Christian psychotherapist who was the subject of a “sting” operation by a homosexualist activist, has lost her appeal to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
The BACP has informed her that she will lose her senior accredited status, after she was tricked into providing counseling for unwanted homosexuality at the request of a fake client who was secretly an undercover gay activist.
Pilkington was told that she should not have assumed that her client, Patrick Strudwick, wanted to proceed under a Christian therapeutic approach, despite the fact they had both agreed to do so. She was also told that she should not have taken his claim that he was depressed because of his homosexuality at face value.
The BACP also ruled that Strudwick had been a real client, despite his having admitted that he sought Pilkington’s help only as a pretense to entrap her.
The BACP ruling admitted that “in significant ways [Strudwick] deliberately misled her into believing that he was comfortable and accepting of her approach, such as saying Amen at the end of prayers and making statements such as, ‘I’ve become more religious again recently,’ lulling Mrs. Pilkington into a false sense of security.
“In his persistent questioning he manipulated the content of the sessions to a considerable extent in order to meet his own agenda.”
Strudwick told the homosexualist news service Pink News, “We want to root out therapists and psychiatrists who are practising these techniques and ultimately bring an end to them through exposing them, as well as disrupting their meetings. The ultimate aim was to prevent religious groups from offering ‘counselling’ which aims to change sexual orientation.”
In its initial correspondence with Pilkington, the BACP had called her work to help homosexuals who asked to leave the lifestyle “reckless,” “disrespectful,” “dogmatic” and “unprofessional.” Guidelines issued by professional associations force psychotherapists to “affirm” homosexuality, even if the client does not.
Pilkington told LifeSiteNews.com in an email this evening that she believes the whole process is in the hands of God to bring out good.
“I have the sense that this court case was always of the Lord and He has already used it for His purposes in that I have been able to get across via the media the gospel message in one form or another,” she said.
She said that the whole affair had clarified the position of believers and their opponents alike. “It has clearly drawn battle lines.”
Patrick Strudwick approached Pilkington, asking for help to leave the gay lifestyle. However, he secretly recorded their two counseling sessions and published them in The Independent newspaper as part of a campaign to discredit Christians in psychotherapy.
Strudwick launched the complaint against Pilkington with the BACP, claiming that she had failed to respect the “natural immutability” of his homosexuality. Pilkington has said that she clearly informed Strudwick that her therapeutic methods were Christian-based.
Since his attack on Pilkington, Strudwick has become a campaigner against Christian-based therapies for homosexuality and has organized protests at Christian conferences.
Asked what she intended next, Pilkington said, “I feel I have a calling to continue to speak out about the perils of homosexuality and the consequent dangers to our society.
“People are generally so unwilling to speak out even when they know the truth. As well I feel it’s so important to continue to help those who are caught up in this destructive sin, and in fact several are coming to me as a result of the media coverage and I can still practice.
“In fact I feel more freedom to now practice as I feel the Lord would want me to and without the constraints of the political correct lobby of professional organizations, as I am also a qualified biblical counsellor which has not been affected.”
She thanked her supporters over the last two years of the case, saying that although the ruling was “not a victory as such” she is confident that God “uses all things for good.”
To contact the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
General Enquiries: (+) 01455 883300
bacp@bacp.co.uk
BACP House,
15 St John’s Business Park,
Lutterworth,
Leicestershire
LE17 4HB,
United Kingdom
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