The Pros And Cons Of Conversion Therapy

Nearly one in three LGBTQ youth will experience some form of conversion therapy, post coming out (Gonzales, 2016). Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, has been used on those who identify as transgender, bisexual, and homosexual for decades. Though the LGBTQ community has made amazing steps in civil rights and social acceptance, this is still one of the many problems the community faces today. Throughout this paper I will look at conversion therapy to see what exactly is going on, what those in power are saying about it, and how horribly damaging it is to those who are “treated”.
Conversion therapy is defined as any clinical effort to alter a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity (Gonzales, 2016), or in other words,
to change those who are homosexual in to heterosexual. Even though homosexuality is no longer deemed a mental illness this effort is still attempted to be achieved through a variety of tactics like cognitive, behavioral, and psychoanalytic practices.
These forms of therapy can be extremely damaging both physically and mentally. Those practices that harm individuals physically are referred to as aversion therapy. These techniques intend to change a person’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity with treatments that include, but are not limited to, shock therapy, sensory deprivation, and submersion in ice-cold baths (Gonzales, 2016). While some practices included in conversion therapy are legitimate forms of therapy to treat mental illnesses, homosexuality is not a mental illness.
A word that is sometimes used interchangeably with conversion therapy is reparative therapy, but this form of therapy specifically refers to the idea that suggests homosexuality is a person unconscious attempt to repair parts of them that have been effected by past experiences and to improve feelings of self-worth. This therapy convinces patients that the reason they are experiencing homosexual thoughts is due to previous trauma in their lives. This causes individuals to doubt their true emotions and be brainwashed to believe that homosexuality is
unnatural and that the thoughts and emotions they are feeling aren’t the truth, but just a side effect of some previous abuse. A well-known conversion therapist and author Joseph Nicolosi has patient testimonies published to his website. One story shared that highlights the effects of this form of conversion therapy is from a sixteen-year-old client. In the first few paragraphs the client states “My friends thought my being gay was fine, so in my head, I thought it was fine too. But I once I started realizing what’s going to happen when I grow up, it kind of changed my mind” (Anonymous, 2015). This statement shows that the young boy was feeling comfortable with his sexuality after receiving acceptance from his peers and only did his mind start to change after his parents had him begin treatment with Nicolosi. A second statement in this testimony that shows the manipulation in this practice is “In therapy, we got into shame moments when I was young, moments with my friends that were traumatic. Those were the events that I hadn’t really thought would have a big effect on my life until they were brought up and given more thought” (Anonymous, 2015). This boy admits that before he entered therapy the traumatic moments in his life that apparently caused him to experience homosexual thoughts weren’t a problem for him until he was convinced to believe so. As this boy ages and continues to be confronted with sexual thoughts of other men the conditioning he endured during his younger years will have a lasting effect on his mental health. 20,000 LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) will receive conversion therapy from a licensed health care professional before they reach the age of 18 in the 40 states that currently do not ban the practice (#bornperfect, 2016). These individuals are conditioned to hate themselves simply because of the way they were born. Other Practices that have been used to achieve the result of changing a person’s sexual orientation have included forcing a patient to ingest chemicals to make them physically ill and vomit when they demonstrate an action showing forms of attraction to someone of their same sex. A less intense, yet still damaging form of this is to have patients snap a rubber band against their wrist when experiencing any attractions to the same-sex (Conversion Therapy, 2017). These techniques leave long lasting psychological effects on people, especially when dealing with children. While these forms aren’t as commonly used today, there are still many “talk” forms of therapy that cause damage as well. According to the Washington Legislature Health Impact Study report, conversion therapy is associated with cognitive dissonance, higher risk of addiction, depression, self-harm, and increased risk of suicide. Parental love and acceptance is necessary for any child’s health including LGBTQ youth. Pushing children into conversion is a huge sign of discontent and rejection and will only further negative outcomes.
In places where laws against conversion therapy don’t exist minors can be sent to facilities to undergo these treatments at the requests of their parents. This leads them to become severely depressed, ashamed and confused about their sexuality and worth. There are only ten states in the U.S. prohibiting licensed mental health practitioners from subjecting minors to these harmful treatments, and six states that have local laws against conversion therapy. These laws make it so mental health professionals cannot engage in any forms of therapy to try and change a minors sexual-orientation or gender identity. These laws are needed to protect minors who are forced against their will to partake in these forms of therapy and to work against licensed practitioners who take advantage of parents that do not understand what they are signing their children up for and that they are putting them through a great deal of abuse.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed “homosexuality” from its official list of mental disorders.
For decades, the American Psychiatric Association has recognized that being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is not a mental illness and that trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is ineffective and dangerous (Boone, 2017). The majority opinion of professionals is that conversion therapy simply does not work. The abuse being inflicted on patients may traumatize them enough to never feel comfortable to come out as homosexual or engage in sexual acts with a person of the same sex. But that does not mean that person was converted to being heterosexual, which is what conversion therapy claims to do. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence claiming that this form of therapy does nothing but cause harm to the individuals involved. Yet still there are people who practice this form of therapy to this day. Even our current U.S. Vice President, Mike Pence, has made comments in years past that have depicted his support in conversion therapy. While addressing his standpoint on the Ryan White Care Act. This act provides federal funding for H.I.V patients and during the time of his comment it was up for reauthorization, the comment states “Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the
types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior” (Politics, 2000). Someone who believes that organizations that perform such horrible practices should receive funding over organization that helps save lives of those suffering from aids is in a position of power that great of a U.S. Vice President. It’s time we start listening to those who truly know what they are talking about on this topic to be listened to and respected.
All forms of conversion therapy are extremely dangerous to those involved and should not be treated lightly. This should be higher up on the countries list of concerns and stopped in its tracks before more individuals experience the harm it causes. Like I stated before there are only ten states in the U.S. that have a ban on all forms of conversion therapy, but this only is in effect for minors and those who are licensed practitioners. These practitioners can still facilitate these forms of therapy on consenting adults. There are still ways to get around these laws like when the therapy is issued by those who are not licensed, like radical religious groups. There is no concreate evidence that these practices cause anything but harm, which is why there needs to be serious attention put to ending these practices and getting people who understand the truth behind this in to positions where they can put a stop to it. Hopefully one day we will reach a point where this form of therapy is no longer considered a form of therapy at all.