U.S. psychoanalysts apologise for labelling homosexuality an illness

FILE PHOTO: A rainbow flag waves in the wind at the Stonewall National Monument outside the Stonewall Inn, site of the1969 Stonewall uprising, considered the birth of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement in Greenwich Village in New York City, New York, U.S., June 4, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

(Reuters) - The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) apologised on Friday for previously treating homosexuality as a mental illness, saying its past errors contributed to discrimination and trauma for LGBTQ people.

It may be the first U.S. medical or mental health organisation to issue such an apology. Although psychiatrists declassified homosexuality as a disorder in 1973 and psychoanalysts came around nearly 20 years later, the APsaA says it is unaware of any related professional group that had apologised."It is long past time to recognise and apologise for our role in the discrimination and trauma caused by our profession and say, 'We are sorry,'" said a statement by Dr. Lee Jaffe, president of APsaA. The group uses that abbreviation to distinguish it from the American Psychiatric Association (APA).