Richard A. Cohen is an American psychotherapist and Christian author associated with the ex-gay movement. He is a co-founder of Positive Approaches to Healthy Sexuality (previously Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality) which offers discredited conversion therapy practices purporting to change a person from homosexual to heterosexual. In 2002, Cohen was expelled from the American Counseling Association for multiple violations. He is author of Alfie's Home, a children's book which depicts homosexuality as a reversible condition. He gained media attention after demonstrating his ex-gay touch therapy on The Daily Show, which included cuddling with men and beating a pillow.
Biography Cohen was born into a Jewish family in a suburb of Philadelphia. During adolescence, Cohen reportedly spent "years in intensive psychiatric treatment unsuccessfully trying to become straight". Cohen identified as gay during his undergraduate years at Boston University. He sought counseling for his unwanted same-sex attractions. He became an evangelical Christian, and later joined the Unification Church of the United States. In 1980, Cohen married Jae Sook, a South Korean woman, and in 1995, Cohen and his family left the Unification Church. Cohen had affairs with men, often leaving his wife and children for long periods of time. According to The Washington Post, he "overcame homosexuality" in 1987 through an "intense but platonic relationship" with a straight man who "gave me the warmth of my daddy's love." Cohen received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston University and a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Antioch University. He is author of Alfie's Home, a children's book which depicts homosexuality as a reversible condition. He served as the president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), a group which promoted reparative therapy.
Expulsion from the ACA In 2002, Cohen was expelled from the American Counseling Association (ACA) for six violations of its policies on advertising, engaging in dual relationships involving clients and counselors, and compromising client welfare. He did not appeal the ACA decision.
Media appearances Cohen was interviewed by Jason Jones on the March 19, 2007, episode of The Daily Show. He gained media attention for demonstrating cuddling with men and hitting pillows as a method for curing homosexuality. After the appearance, PFOX and the NARTH Institute scrubbed mention of Cohen's name from its website. Cohen was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 28, 2006, was interviewed on The Rachel Maddow Show on December 8, 2009, and was on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on the Sirius radio network on April 17, 2010.
Selected works Coming Out Straight, Oakhill Press, Winchester, VA, 2000, ISBN 978-1-886939-41-7 Gay Children, Straight Parents, 2007, InterVarsity Press, ISBN 978-0-8308-3437-2 Being Gay: Nature, Nurture or Both? PATH Press, 2020, ISBN 978-1-7338469-2-9 Understanding Our LGBTQ+ Loved Ones, 2022, PATH Press, ISBN 978-1-7338469-8-1 Healing Humanity: Time, Touch & Talk, 2018, TTT Press, USA, ISBN 978-1-7338469-6-7 A Therapist’s Guide: Assisting Our LGBTQ+ Loved Ones, 2024, PATH Press, ISBN 979-8987026090
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