Michele Bachmann again dismisses federal funding questions about her quack 'Christian counseling' clinic

When it suits her convenience, Michele Bachmann incessantly casts herself as a "job creater." When questions about the jobs she claims to have created become more specific (i.e., "If you're so good at job creation why did you take tens of thousands of federal dollars in job training?") she refuses to answer the question.

In this video, she arrogantly dismisses two such related questions.

The first question she refused to answer was about the validity of ex-gay 'therapy.'

Michele Bachmann can run, but she can't hide from the verdict of mainstream professional organizations on what she and her charlatan husband perpetrate, at taxpayer expense (both in job creation funding and in paying for the "treatment" dispensed by the Bachman clinic to its gay victims, some of which may be are minors and may be coerced by their families.)

The below reminders of what respected professional groups think of so-called "reparative therapy" were compiled and published by Jeremy Hooper of Good As You here.

American Medical Association: "opposes,  the use of "reparative" or "conversion" therapy that is based upon the  assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon  the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her  homosexual orientation"
AMA Policy Regarding Sexual Orientation [AMA]

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American Counseling Association Ethics Committee: Clients  may ask for a specific treatment from a counseling professional because  they have heard about it from either their religious community or from  popular culture. A counselor, however, only provides treatment that is  scientifically indicated to be effective or has a theoretical framework  supported by the profession. Otherwise, counselors inform clients that  the treatment is "unproven" or "developing" and provide an explanation  of the "potential risks and ethical considerations of using such  techniques/procedures and take steps to protect clients from possible  harm" (Standard C.6.e., "Scientific Bases for Treatment Modalities").

Considering all the above deliberation, the ACA Ethics Committee  strongly suggests that ethical professional counselors do not refer  clients to someone who engages in conversion therapy or, if they do, to  proceed cautiously only when they are certain that the referral  counselor fully informs clients of the unproven nature of the treatment  and the potential risks and takes steps to minimize harm to clients  (also see Standard A.2.b., "Types of Information Needed"). This  information also must be included in written informed consent material  by those counselors who offer conversion therapy despite ACA's position  and the Ethics Committee's statement in opposition to the treatment. To  do otherwise violates the spirit and specifics of the ACA Code of  Ethics.
Exploring ethical issues related to conversion or reparative therapy [ACA]

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American Academy of Pediatrics: The  terms reparative therapy and sexual orientation conversion therapy  refer to counseling and psychotherapy aimed at eliminating or  suppressing homosexuality. The most important fact about these  “therapies” is that they are based on a view of homosexuality that has  been rejected by all the major mental health professions. The Diagnostic  and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American  Psychiatric Association, which defines the standards of the field, does  not include homosexuality. All other major health professional  organizations have supported the American Psychiatric Association in its  declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973. Thus,  the idea that homosexuality is a mental disorder or that the emergence  of same-sex attraction and orientation
among some adolescents is in any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy  has no support among any mainstream health and mental health  professional organizations.

The idea that homosexuality is a mental disorder or that the  emergence of same-sex attraction and orientation among some adolescents  is in any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy has no support among any  mainstream health and mental health professional organizations.

Despite the general consensus of major medical, health, and mental  health professions that both heterosexuality and homosexuality are  normal expressions of human sexuality, efforts to change sexual  orientation through therapy have been adopted by some political and  religious organizations and aggressively promoted to the public.  However, such efforts have serious potential to harm young people  because they present the view that the sexual orientation of lesbian,  gay, and bisexual youth is a mental illness or disorder, and they often  frame the inability to change one’s sexual orientation as a personal and  moral failure.

Because of the aggressive promotion of efforts to change sexual  orientation through therapy, a number of medical, health, and mental  health professional organizations have issued public statements about  the dangers of this approach. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the  American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association,  the American Psychological Association, the American School Counselor  Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the  National Association of Social Workers, together representing more than  480,000 mental health professionals, have all taken the position that  homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus is not something that  needs to or can be “cured.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises youth that counseling may  be helpful for you if you feel confused about your sexual identity.  Avoid any treatments that claim to be able to change a person’s sexual  orientation, or treatment ideas that see homosexuality as a sickness. Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth [APP]

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The American Psychological Association: The  American Psychological Association adopted a resolution Wednesday  stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients  that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other  treatments.
The "Resolution on Appropriate  Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts"  also advises that parents, guardians, young people and their families  avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a  mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy,  social support and educational services "that provide accurate  information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and  school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth."
The approval, by APA's governing Council of Representatives, came at  APA's annual convention, during which a task force presented a report  that in part examined the efficacy of so-called "reparative therapy," or  sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).

"Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and  practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of  psychological interventions to change sexual orientation," said Judith  M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force. "Scientifically rigorous  older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to  change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims  of SOCE practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not  provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods  are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions."  Glassgold added: "At most, certain studies suggested that some  individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual  attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was  possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects.  Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started  out only attracted to people of the same sex."

Based on this review, the task force recommended that mental health  professionals avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation  change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about  their own or others' sexual orientation. Insufficient Evidence that Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Work, Says [American Psychological Association]

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The British Medical Association: Meeting  at its annual conference in Brighton, has passed a motion saying that  the National Health Service should not fund sexual orientation change  therapy and called on the British Department of Health to investigate  cases where conversion therapy has been funded with NHS money, and to  prevent it happening in future.
British Medical Association: Ex-Gay Therapy Should Not Be Funded By NHS [Box Turtle Bulletin]