'My Skin Is Itching': Stig Talks To Organisation That Helps People 'Battle Gay Feelings'

2 July 2017, 18:12 | Updated: 2 July 2017, 18:21

As the Church of England face pressure to condemn 'gay conversion' therapy, Stig talks to the Chief Executive of Core Issue Trust which helps battle gay feelings.

This week the Church of England will vote on a motion to condemn 'conversion therapy', a controversial process that aims to change someone's sexual orientation. 

Stig Abell spoke to one therapist, Mike Davidson, 62, who claims to have treated about 300 clients. He said that about one third of the people who came to him experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction are now heterosexual, one third are celibate and one third had dropped out. A small number had been referred by the Church of England, he added.

Davidson, who has been married for 37 years, himself sought therapy in his early fifties to deal with gay feelings and said: "From my own point of view, from my own experience, I would say that generally it is harmful [to be gay] but I recognise the right of people to live as they feel they should."

He rejects the phrase "conversion therapy" saying: "I don’t like the idea of a switch. Gay on, gay off. It’s never that simple. I believe that humans are incredibly flexible in the direction they can go." 

His views have pushed him to work in the margins: he has been blocked from obtaining medical qualifications and offers his services unpaid.