A Deception Detection Expert Said a Year Ago Sam Brinton Was Lying About His Conversion Therapy
Though he lied about Christians and his efforts have prevented countless from getting the help they need and want, Brinton deserves our prayers.
Yesterday as I was reading The Daily Signalβs piece, “Psychotherapist: I Warned About Sam Brinton, the Non-Binary Biden Official Now Arrested for Theft, But No One Listened,” (which we reprinted here) I realized I’d heard this accusation of deception before. This is the same man whom I’d seen a behavior specialist analyze for truthfulness in December 2021 when I proofread this article for The Stream.
It’s a fascinating, memorable video. Susan Constantine, M.Psy., a body language expert with The Human Behavior Lab, explains how she and her team perform a three-pronged test for truthfulness. In her prong of the test, she compares word choice and minute facial expressions, going over parts of a video second-by-second repeatedly, to figure out if a person is reliving his or her actual experience or is knowingly deceiving others.
Sam Brinton gave speeches to promote laws that would ban “conversion therapy” while he worked for The Trevor Project. He told stories about being tortured with needles, ice and electrocution. Six months after the above video came out exposing Brinton, he joined the Biden administration. He was then accused of stealing women’s luggage from airports, twice. And now, the Department of Energy (DOE) says it’s no longer employing Brinton. The DOE confirmed this to The Daily Beast Monday evening, the publication reported.
All the Statements of Events That the Team Analyzed Were Found to be Deceptive, Except One
So what did Constantine and her team of deception detection experts find? The team analyzed nine events that Brinton says happened to him. Here are the nine events and their conclusions, as listed in one of Constantine’s slides in the video:
- Therapist and therapy location β deceptive
- Government killing people β deceptive
- Heat and coils β deceptive
- My hands were tied down with blocks of ice β deceptive
- Electrocuted β deceptive
- Shock therapy β deceptive
- Needles β deceptive
- Abuse from dad (physical and mental) β truthful
- Suicide attempt β deceptive
Based on these findings, it looks like Brinton experienced abuse from his father but not from a therapist using needles and shock therapy.
Devastating Impact
As Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, Jr. told The Daily Signal, the real-world impact of Brinton’s suspicious testimony is devastating. Under “conversion therapy” bans, legitimate talk therapy is at risk, he says:
‘Think of all the damage that was done, preventing people from accessing legitimate trauma therapy, because lawmakers relied on Brintonβs clearly suspicious testimony,’ Nicolosi added. ‘There are individuals who are open-minded about exploring their sexual attractions. They want to explore heterosexuality in therapy. But because of these laws, which ban torture therapy that doesnβt exist among licensed therapists, those individuals canβt get help.’
‘The laws Brinton backed are so broad that they throw the baby out with the bathwater,’ Nicolosi argued. ‘Reintegrative Therapy is scientifically shown to decrease suicidality among men with same-sex attractions by addressing underlying traumas. Its evidence-based approach results in men increasing their heterosexual attractions and identity as a byproduct. Yet under California law, my patientsβ right to legitimate, patient-led care is at risk.’
Let’s Pray With Compassion and Hope for Sam Brinton’s Good
Michael Brown, Ph.D., wrote that we should pray for Sam Brinton. Brown said many were praying for him when he was a lost, heroin-shooting teenager. God encountered him with His love and transformed his life.
Imagine if Brinton’s time in the Biden administration serves a purpose for eternal good because Christians become aware of his life and pray with compassion that God saves him. Imagine Brinton living with the joy of experiencing for himself God’s love.
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Without casting judgment on his family, it’s worth noting that Constantine’s team found his statements about abuse from his father to be truthful. What we see from the outside is a hurtful person. But God knows everything about Sam Brinton β all the pain he’s endured, the beliefs he’s formed and the choices he’s made β and God loves Sam Brinton.
God loves Sam Brinton so much that He’s sent his Son Jesus to become a human and make a way for him to be saved from the justice and wrath rightly heading to him. It’s also rightly heading to each of us if we don’t turn from our wicked ways and trust in God to save us.
My sin is different from his sin, but I’m just as needy for God’s love and mercy, Jesus’ sacrifice and example and the Holy Spirit’s continual guidance. If Brinton receives God’s love, turns to God and turns away from his hurtful ways, then he can live as a new person and experience spiritual freedom and true life. Let’s pray for Sam Brinton to be transformed by God’s love, for his old, sinful self to die with Christ and for him to begin a new life with God.
Aliya Kuykendall is a staff writer and proofreader for The Stream. You can follow Aliya on Twitter @AliyaKuykendall and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.