In a one-off Channel 4 documentary Dr Christian Jessen goes undercover to both investigate and undertake controversial gay ‘cures’ in the UK and the USA.
Christian is shocked to find that not only are there people who believe that homosexuality is a disorder which should be cured, but that there is a growing number of therapists and self-styled healers who believe that they have the ‘cure’ for the ‘illness’.
He sets out to prove or disprove their claims by offering himself up as a suitable case for treatment.
As a doctor who also happens to be gay, Christian is keen to find out what’s on offer for people who are uncomfortable with their sexual orientation and desperate for change.
He wants to discover whether or not these ‘cures’ are effective by trying them on himself.
From old school ‘aversion therapy’, carried out by the NHS, which required gay patients to sit in their own urine, faeces and vomit for three days on end, to modern day techniques such as ‘gay rehabilitation’ and ‘colour therapy,’ Dr Christian boldly undergoes as many therapies as possible.
Can he be ‘cured’?
The programme airs at 10pm tonight, the 20th of March and can be watched again on 4OD