About Conversion Therapy

Conversion therapy is any of several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Conversion therapists use a variety of emotionally traumatic and physically painful stimuli, forcing their victims to associate such stimuli with their LGBTQ identities. According to studies by the Williams Institute, more than 700,000 LGBTQ people have been subjected to the horrors of conversion therapy, and an estimated 80,000 LGBTQ youth will be subjected to this abuse in coming years, often at the insistence of well-intentioned but misinformed parents.

Conversion therapy is based on the false notion that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that should be cured, despite all major medical associations’ agreement that LGBTQ identities are a normal variant of human nature. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association determined that homosexuality was not a mental illness in 1973, nearly fifty years ago.

In addition to its flawed foundation, no credible scientific study has ever supported the claims of conversion therapists to actually change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. On the contrary, a 2007 report by an American Psychological Association task force found that “results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through [sexual orientation change efforts].”

In fact, Dr. Robert Spitzer, whose research had previously been misused to support conversion therapy, has retracted his original contentions, stating that data regarding conversion therapy had been misinterpreted and that there is no conclusive evidence for its effectiveness.

However, the risks of conversion therapy extend far beyond its ineffectiveness. The American Psychiatric Association has clarified that “the potential risks of [conversion] therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient.”

The Pan American Health Organization, a regional office of the World Health Organization, concluded that conversion therapy, “lack[s] medical justification and represent[s] a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people.”

“lack[s] medical justification and represent[s] a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people.”

— Pan American Health Organization

Conversion therapy compounds the shame and stigma so many LGBTQ young people already experience. Parents who send their child to conversion therapy instill feelings of family rejection and disappointment and risk seriously fracturing their relationship with their child. In a study by San Francisco State University, lesbian, gay and bisexual youth who were rejected by their families and caregivers due to their identities were nearly six times more likely to report high levels of depression and more than eight times more likely to have attempted suicide when compared to youth from accepting and affirming families and caregivers.

Few practices hurt LGBTQ youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. All youth deserve a climate in which they are loved and embraced.