What is Conversion therapy and why its never been therapy
This blog was written by Chelsea O’Day-Navis of O’Day Psychotherapy, LLC
Within the United States of America, 20 states have banned the harmful and discredited practice called “conversion therapy” to be used with LGBTQIA+ minors. It is Michigan that is ready to be the 21st state to do the right thing for our LGBTQIA+ youth. Governor Whitmer of Michigan recently signed a new executive order blocking government funding for conversion therapy. This order will hopefully result in adding one more to the list.
In this blog post, I will define “conversion therapy” and take a brief look at its history. Because the damaging effects of conversion therapy still pose a threat to our LGBTQIA+ youth, I will also discuss why conversion therapy is not only ineffective, but deeply harmful, and how you can do something about it.
What is Conversion Therapy?
Conversion therapy, sometimes called “reparative therapy” or “sexual orientation change efforts” (SOCE), refers to any practice or treatment by a professional that seeks to change someone’s sexuality or gender identity. This practice can be utilized by licensed professionals, life-coaches, or unlicensed ministries. It affects the entire LGBTQIA+ population. Conversion therapy can take on many forms and be used in a variety of settings; all of them harmful.
Some professionals utilize “aversive conditioning” in an attempt to convert their clients. This would include adding a painful physical sensation as a result of one’s thoughts, feelings, and natural impulses regarding their sexuality or gender identity. The history of conversion therapy has included interventions such as ice-pick lobotomies, forced masturbation, genital castration, or use of electric shocks to sway an individual from the thoughts and feelings deemed faulty.
Conversion therapy can be practiced through talking, meaning it can be hidden in the guise of traditional “talk therapy.” It can be performed in individual, group, or milieu settings. The practitioner may use visualization, hypnosis, social skills training, or spiritual interventions such as prayer in order to “heal” their clients from their sexuality or gender identity. In group settings, it is not uncommon to use peer pressure and public shaming methods. It is most often practiced “in the name of God” and in the semblance of love and care. There is a wide range of ways to practice conversion therapy; and whether or not there is immediate physical pain, the entire range is harmful and ineffective.
It’s Not Old News.
The attempt to “convert” one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is rooted in the belief that there is something fundamentally wrong with anyone who is not a cis-gendered heterosexual.
It was not until 1973 that homosexuality was removed as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Though it is no longer clinically labeled as a pathology (and never should have been), some professionals continue to falsely and unethically label any type of queerness to be a defect resulting directly from physical or sexual trauma. Furthermore, some people believe that sexual orientation and gender identity can be forcibly changed in the first place. There is no research to support that this is possible.
Depending on how and where you were raised, these homophobic and transphobic beliefs might seem like “old news” to you. Yes, it is barbaric. Yes, times have changed some. But here is the deal: The fact that conversion therapy is not banned in ALL states is evidence enough that it continues to pose a massive threat to our LGBTQIA+ youth. According to research conducted by the Trevor Project, in 2019, “2 in 3 LGBTQ youth reported that someone tried to convince them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, with youth who have undergone conversion therapy more than twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who did not.”
Actual, Detrimental Harm.
Conversion therapy doesn’t work. There is no legitimate evidence to suggest that conversion therapy has ever worked. Not only that, research has found it to cause detrimental harm to one’s psyche, especially to those of minors. The effects during and after this type of “treatment” can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, drug use, self-harm, houselessness, and suicide.
“Those affected by conversion therapy are eight times more likely to attempt suicide, six times more likely to have high depression, three times more likely to use illegal drugs, and have three times the normal risk of HIV or STD infection. Many LGBTQIA+ minors are subjected to this practice against their will. It is estimated that nearly 700,000 individuals have gone through conversion therapy with nearly 350,000 being minors.”
Results from the SAMHSA report, as told by Conversion Therapy Dropout
Research also points to the complete unfoundedness in the belief that one’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be forcibly changed in the first place. It is pseudoscience. So much so, that more than a dozen leading mental health organizations have deemed this practice unethical and not to be practiced by mental health professionals, including the American Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workers. Experts have concluded that sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts are “coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment” (SAMHSA, 2015).
Despite the solid research and large number of organizations rejecting these practices, conversion therapy is still utilized today, influenced by the ongoing prejudice and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ population.
Check out the research for yourself, all of which, in addition to the GR LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium, inspired me to write this blog. You can find articles here, here, and here.
What the World Needs NOW.
You may have heard of an unforgettable book titled “The Inheritance of Shame: a memoir” by Peter Gajdics. Peter’s story profoundly influenced the banning of conversion therapy in Canada for both children and adults. Jared Dixon, a gay man and conversion therapy survivor, will also move you with his novel named “Corrupted: The Truth Shall Be the Nail in Your Coffin.” When Dixon is not writing, he works with Conversion Therapy (CT) Survivors, a non-profit support group that provides survivors a safe space to connect with other survivors and to heal from conversion therapy trauma.
Peter and Jared are just two out of a number of stories out there exposing the harm inflicted upon LGBTQIA+ folx in the name of therapy. Brave survivors have, despite pain, shared their stories and spread the word of their experience. You can find survivors speaking their truth on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
“When I came out to my parents, they found me a conversion therapist who told me transgender people were sick and belonged in mental hospitals. He forced me to throw away all my girl’s clothes as part of my treatment, but, having to dress as a male sent me into complete despair, hopelessness, and depression. Thankfully, one of my friends recognized the warning signs and called social services, which intervened and got me the housing and medical care I needed. It is always darkest before the dawn, but I’m living proof that a smart bystander can save a life.”
—Amy, as shared in Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth
If you have ever been repeatedly told (be it through words, violence, harassment, and/or coercion) that who you are, who you love, how you feel, what you desire is fundamentally wrong, then you know it is difficult to maintain a solid sense of wellbeing and healthy self-esteem. Furthermore, if you are a minor and the person sending you this message is a professional, a trusted adult, or speaking in the name of the religion that you hold dear, the impact is going to be far more severe.
As a mental health therapist, I know that my clients will never heal from emotional pain by hating and aggressively trying to change who they are, who they love, and what they yearn for in life. Mental health experts around the world will agree that emotional well-being stems from self-acceptance, a sense of belonging and connection to others, and living a life true to one’s sense of self and values.
Conversion therapy does nothing to improve the mental health of LGBTQIA+ individuals and instead is the breeding ground for trauma. This practice was created, not for the wellbeing of society, but for the comfort of homophobic and transphobic people. As professionals, we are to do no harm. So, why is this fundamentally harmful practice still legal in 30 states?
“This is not a matter of religion. This is a matter of putting an end to mental health malpractice.”
Quoted from Andy J. Johnson, Ph.D.’s letter advocating for the ban of conversion therapy
What You Can Do:
Contact the elected officials in your state and urge them to support legislation that will prohibit licensed mental health professionals from using “conversion therapy” or change efforts.
Click here to learn from the American Psychological Association and review proposed talking points on this issue as well as examples of professional letters that you can write to support the ban of conversion therapy.
Continue to educate yourself with credible research and facts.
Spread the word by sharing what you learn and encourage them to support ongoing efforts to increase and promote the well-being for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Challenge inaccurate information, harmful attitudes, and discriminatory beliefs held by others regarding the LGBTQIA+ population.
Support policies that end discriminatory practices in your community!
Are You a Conversion Therapy Survivor?
You are not alone.
There are resources out there for you. There are ethical, affirming, celebratory providers out there for you.
It makes so much sense if you don’t trust mental health providers and are fearful of even the thought of getting help (actual help this time). You deserve a provider you can trust. Your trust is earned by them, not granted. Ethical, trauma-informed providers will know this and work at your pace, with your boundaries, with all that you are.
Check out an inclusive directory called Therapy Den (it has amazing search criteria). Here you can search for therapists near you who are LGBTQIA+ Therapists, familiar with specific faiths, trauma-informed, are trans-competent, queer-competent, and more!
Connect with other survivors through nonprofits like Conversion Therapy (CT) Survivors or the Conversion Therapy Dropout Network.
“It is nearly impossible to describe walking into a therapist’s office after surviving conversion therapy. The problem is that we need help from a system we have only known to hurt us. Hearing that I would be okay and that my new therapist could help me learn to cope with the pain of my conversion therapy experience was like getting a second chance at life.”
— Sam, as shared in Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth
About the Author
Chelsea (she/her) is a mental health therapist who specializes in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, panic disorders, and depression. In May of 2021, she moved her private therapy practice from Longmont, Colorado to Grand Rapids, Michigan! She has experience and passion for working with LGBTQIA+ clients, specifically transgender folx, with mindfulness-based approaches. Chelsea offers a free 20 minute phone consultation for the people of Michigan seeking out integrative, affirmative, competent, and celebratory therapy.
