Albert Ellis, one of the founders of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the creator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), is also famous for his work as a sexologist and sex and love researcher. He is generally considered a proponent of gay rights, despite that his book, Homosexuality: Its Causes and Cure, saw homosexuality as a pathology that could be cured. He clarified his view of homosexuality in his book, Sex and the Liberated Man, by stating that treatment of homosexuality should not be attempted in most cases because it is not inherently good or evil. In his more recent work, Sex Without Guilt in the Twenty-First Century, Ellis even dedicated a chapter of his book to giving homosexuals advice and suggestions on how to more fully enjoy and enhance their sexual love lives. Ellis has argued that, "gay people should be able to choose whatever kind of sex-love relations they preferred-barring, of course, children and mentally deficient adults."
More generally, his liberal view of sexuality and love and his promotion of sexual freedom resonated with the gay community.
What do you think of Ellis' support of gay rights? What other psychologists should be listed as early supporters?
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