Conversion Therapy Is A Pseudoscience

Science has a systematic method of acquiring information. Claims must have evidence found through observation and experimentation in order to be determined to be scientifically true. Pseudoscience is a belief, theory or practice that is or has been mistakenly believed to be true based on science, but has no scientific evidence that it is true. This means the belief, theory or practice has been disproven by science, can’t be tested scientifically or there isn’t enough evidence to support the claim. According to the author of the book titled “The Scientific Endeavor”, pseudoscience is simply things that are presented as being scientific that do not meet the standards of science. (Lee, 2000, p. 102) In other words, pseudoscience is a claim that has no scientific evidence to prove its truth.
One example would be conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is a therapy that claims it can change a person’s sexual preference from homosexual to heterosexual. There is no professional standard for conversion therapy. Some methods of conversion therapy include electric shock therapy, talk therapy and estrogen treatments. (Pappas, 2012) Conversion therapy is a pseudoscience because it has been disproven by several experts. In 2015, it was disproven by an expert panel commissioned by the white house. In a report written by Dr. Celia Fisher it states that the treatment not only does not work but can be harmful to those who partake in the therapy. (Yuko, 2015) The panel reviewed past and current scientific data and it was determined that there is no scientific support for the