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{{Short description|Pseudoscientific attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity}} | |||
'''Reparative therapy''', or '''conversion therapy''', is any of several controversial religious or ] techniques that are aimed at changing a person's ] from ] to ] (or ]). Their efficacy has not been established, and most professionals warn that such attempts may be psychologically harmful. Advocates claim that sexual orientation is changeable and that homosexuality is itself either a psychological disorder, a sin, a tendency toward immoral and harmful behaviours (to oneself and others), or make several of these assertions. | |||
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} | |||
{{Infobox pseudoscience | |||
| claims = One's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression can be changed to fit ], ], and ] norms. | |||
| notableprop = ] | |||
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{{LGBT rights sidebar}} | |||
{{Alternative medicine sidebar|fringe}} | |||
'''Conversion therapy''' is the ]<!-- DO NOT remove or change to "scientific" without talk page consensus --> practice of attempting to change an individual's ], ], ], or ] to align with ] and ] norms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fenaughty |first1=John |last2=Tan |first2=Kyle |last3=Ker |first3=Alex |last4=Veale |first4=Jaimie |last5=Saxton |first5=Peter |last6=Alansari |first6=Mohamed |date=January 2023 |title=Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts for Young People in New Zealand: Demographics, Types of Suggesters, and Associations with Mental Health |journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence |language=en |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=149–164 |doi=10.1007/s10964-022-01693-3 |pmid=36301377 |pmc=9813061 |issn=0047-2891}}</ref> Methods that have been used to this end include forms of ], ] or ], ] treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, ], counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, ], and arousal reconditioning. There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and that it frequently causes significant long-term psychological harm.<ref name=":0" /> The position of current ] and clinical guidance is that ], ], and ] are natural and healthy aspects of ].<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=5}} An increasing number of jurisdictions around the world have passed ].<ref name="Drescher" /> | |||
== Techniques == | |||
Historically, conversion therapy was the treatment of choice for individuals who disclosed same-sex attractions or exhibited gender nonconformity, which were formerly assumed to be ] by the medical establishment.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=5}} When performed today, conversion therapy may constitute ], and when performed on minors, a form of ]; it has been described by experts as ]; ]; and contrary to ]. | |||
Reparative therapy refers to a specific ] technique for changing ] or ] subjects into heterosexuals, but can be used more loosely to describe any formal attempt to alter a person's sexual orientation. A key focus in many reparative therapies includes identifying underlying homoerotic desires in subjects - typically referred to as "strugglers" or "ex-gays" by reparative therapists - and attempting to replace them with non-sexual means of expression, usually by encouraging the subject to form an emotional but non-sexual bond with another adult of the same ]. During counselling much stress is placed upon the perceived risks, health and otherwise, of same-sex attraction. | |||
==Terminology == | |||
Secular techniques also rely upon reading, sport or physical activity. Reparative therapists generally come from a religious perspective, particularly Christian, and encourage religiousness and prayer. | |||
Medical professionals and activists consider "conversion therapy" a ], as it does not constitute a legitimate form of ].{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} Alternative terms include sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE){{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} and gender identity change efforts (GICE){{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}}—together, sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE).<ref name="SOGICESurvivor">{{cite web | vauthors=Csabs C, Despott N, Morel B, Brodel A, Johnson R | url=http://socesurvivors.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Survivor-Statement-A4-Doc-v1-2-Digital.pdf | title=The SOGICE Survivor Statement | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220718/https://socesurvivors.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Survivor-Statement-A4-Doc-v1-2-Digital.pdf | archive-date=2023-04-05 | date=July 2020 | url-status=dead}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023}} According to researcher ], SOCE and GICE should be considered together because both rest on the assumption "that gender-related behavior consistent with the individual's birth sex is ] and anything else is unacceptable and should be changed".{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=8}} "Reparative therapy" may refer to conversion therapy in general,{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} or to ].<ref name="Drescher1998"/> | |||
Advocates of conversion therapy do not necessarily use the term either, instead using phrases such as "healing from sexual brokenness"<ref>{{cite journal |id={{Gale|A586241649}} |last1=Lee |first1=Jin |title=Diversity or a flavor of diversity? |journal=Gateway Journalism Review |date=1 January 2019 |volume=47 |issue=352 |pages=34–35 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Stephens |first1=John Bryant |date=1997 |title=Conflicts over homosexuality in the United Methodist Church: Testing theories of conflict analysis and resolution |id={{ProQuest|304408101}} |oclc=41964052 }}</ref> and "struggling with same-sex attraction".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Creek |first1=S. J. |last2=Dunn |first2=Jennifer L. |title='Be Ye Transformed': The Sexual Storytelling of Ex-gay Participants |journal=Sociological Focus |date=2012 |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=306–319 |doi=10.1080/00380237.2012.712863 |jstor=41633922 |s2cid=144699323 }}</ref> | |||
Religious reparative therapies, such as those practised by ] transformational ministries, include one-on-one counselling, group counselling, ], ], reading ] and ]. Techniques have included controversial therapies such as ] and ] (such as showing subjects ] material whilst inducing nausea and vomiting through drugs). | |||
== |
==History== | ||
{{main|History of conversion therapy}} | |||
=== Sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) === | |||
Contemporary secular reparative therapy, as championed by leading reparative therapists ] and ], holds that homosexuality is the product of a mental disorder they describe as "] deficit" caused by an alienation from, and perceived rejection by, individuals of the subject's gender. This, it is argued, leads to a quest for bonding and fulfilment, oftentimes in what is perceived to be inappropriate and dysfunctional manners such as compulsive sexual gratification. It describes homosexuality as the need to possess the perceived manhood or womanhood of the object of desire: | |||
The term '']'' was coined by German-speaking Hungarian writer ] and was in circulation by the 1880s.{{sfn|Whisnant|2016|p=20}}<ref name=Drescher>{{cite journal |last1=Drescher |first1=Jack |last2=Schwartz |first2=Alan |last3=Casoy |first3=Flávio |last4=McIntosh |first4=Christopher A. |last5=Hurley |first5=Brian |last6=Ashley |first6=Kenneth |last7=Barber |first7=Mary |last8=Goldenberg |first8=David |last9=Herbert |first9=Sarah E. |last10=Lothwell |first10=Lorraine E. |last11=Mattson |first11=Marlin R. |last12=McAfee |first12=Scot G. |last13=Pula |first13=Jack |last14=Rosario |first14=Vernon |last15=Tompkins |first15=D. Andrew |title=The Growing Regulation of Conversion Therapy |journal=Journal of Medical Regulation |date=2016 |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=7–12 |doi=10.30770/2572-1852-102.2.7 |pmid=27754500 |pmc=5040471 }}</ref> Into the middle of the twentieth century, competing views of homosexuality were advanced by ] versus academic ]. ], the founder of psychoanalysis, viewed homosexuality as a form of ]. Later psychoanalysts followed ], who argued that homosexuality was a "phobic avoidance of heterosexuality caused by inadequate early parenting".<ref name=Drescher/> This line of thinking was popular in psychiatric models of homosexuality based on the prison population or homosexuals seeking treatment. In contrast, sexology researchers such as ] argued that homosexuality was a normal variation in human development. In 1970, gay activists confronted the ], persuading the association to reconsider whether homosexuality should be listed as a disorder. The APA delisted homosexuality in 1973, which contributed to shifts in public opinion on homosexuality.<ref name=Drescher/> | |||
Despite their lack of scientific backing, some ] or ] activists continued to argue that if one person's sexuality could be changed, homosexuality was not a fixed class such as ]. Borrowing from discredited psychoanalytic ideas about the cause of homosexuality, some of these individuals offered conversion therapy.<ref name=Drescher/> In 2001, conversion therapy attracted attention when ] published a non-] study asserting that some homosexuals could change their sexual orientation. Many researchers made ] criticisms of the study, which Spitzer later repudiated.<ref name=Drescher/> | |||
:''"The basic premise of reparative therapy is that the majority of clients (approximately 90%, in my experience) suffer from a syndrome of male ] deficit. It is this internal sense of incompleteness in one's own maleness which is the essential foundation for homoerotic attraction. The causal rule of reparative therapy is "Gender identity determines sexual orientation." We eroticize what we are not identified with. The focus of treatment therefore is the full development of the client's masculine gender identity."''] | |||
=== Gender identity change efforts (GICE) === | |||
Nicolosi suggests the subject, as a boy, first experiences rejection by his father, then lapses into helplessness and finally retreats to the security of his mother and defensively detaches from his father. According to his theories, this ] emotionally isolates him from other males and from his own masculinity hence, according to reparative therapists, causing homosexuality. | |||
Gender Identity Change Efforts (GICE) refer to practices of healthcare providers and religious counselors with the goal of attempting to alter a person's gender identity or expression to conform to social norms. Examples include ], ], and ] and talk therapies.{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=52}} Western medical-model narratives have historically institutionalized ]: systemically favoring a binary gender model and pathologizing gender diversity and non-conformity.{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=53}} This aided the development and proliferation of GICE.{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=56}} | |||
Early ] were rooted in psychoanalytic hypotheses.{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=58}} ] advanced the theory that ] behavior and expression in children assigned male at birth (AMAB) was caused by being overly close to their mother. ] continued his research; his methods for altering behavior included having the father spend more time with the child and mother less, expecting both to exhibit stereotypical ], and having them praise their child's masculine behaviors, and shame their feminine and gender-nonconforming ones. These interventions resulted in depression in the children and feelings of betrayal from parents that the treatments failed.{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=58}} | |||
In general reparative therapists hold that homosexuality is caused by environmental factors, and reparative therapies focus on discovery of historical factors that could have influenced the development of their homoerotic emotions in a subject. See ] for more information on this debate. | |||
In the 1970s, ] psychologist Richard Green recruited ] to adapt the techniques of ] (ABA) therapy to attempt to prevent children from becoming ].<ref name="silberman_2016_319">{{Cite book |last1=Silberman |first1=Steve |title=Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity |date=2016 |publisher=Avery |location=New York City, NY |pages=319–321 |isbn=978-0399185618}}</ref> Deemed the "Feminine Boy Project", the treatments used ] to reward gender-conforming behaviors, and punish gender non-conforming behaviors.<ref name="silberman_2016_319"/> | |||
It is worth noting that reparative therapists hold that a propensity for an emotional ] would seem to exist in all men, for example, as is evidenced by the male need for camaraderie and bonding. It is in the fulfilment of these unfulfilled needs that they believe the cure for homosexual attraction is to be found. Hence, it is not the innate emotional need for same-sex bonding that reparative therapy tries to correct, but what reparative therapists see as its dysfunctional expressions. | |||
{{Anchor|Living in your own skin model}} | |||
=== Criticisms === | |||
] at the ] adopted Richard Green's methods, but narrowed the scope to attempting to prevent the child from identifying as transgender by modifying gender behavior and presentation to conform to the expectations of the assigned gender at birth, which he dubbed the "living in your own skin" model. His model used the same interventions as Green with the addition of ].{{sfn|Rivera|Pardo|2022|p=58}}<ref name="forcier_2020_177">{{Cite book |last1=Chung |first1=Kathleen |last2=Rhoads |first2=Sarah |last3=Rolin |first3=Alicia |last4=Sackett-Taylor |first4=Andrew C. |last5=Forcier |first5=Michelle |editor-last1=Forcier |editor-first1=Michelle |editor-last2=Van Schalkwyk |editor-first2=Gerrit |editor-last3=Turban |editor-first3=Jack L. |date=2020 |title=Pediatric Gender Identity: Gender-affirming Care for Transgender & Gender Diverse Youth |publisher=Springer |chapter=Treatment Paradigms for Prepubertal Children |page=177 |isbn=978-3030389086}}</ref><ref name="Hart">{{Cite book |title=Banning 'conversion therapy': legal and policy perspectives |date=2023 |publisher=Hart |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-5099-6117-7 |editor-last=Trispiotis |editor-first=Ilias |location=Oxford London New York New Delhi Sydney |pages=134 |editor-last2=Purshouse |editor-first2=Craig}}</ref><ref name="ashley_2022_4">{{Cite book |last1=Ashley |first1=Florence |title=Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis |date=2022 |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0774866958 |location=Vancouver, BC |pages=4–6}}</ref> | |||
==Motivations== | |||
The thinking behind reparative therapy has been criticised by psychological and psychiatric health professionals for perceived ]. Most notably, reparative therapy is based upon the assumption that homosexuality is innately negative or unhealthy and thus that change is desirable, which does not necessarily follow from current research. Critics note that these assumptions seemed to be based more upon religious objections to homosexuality rather than any objective analysis or empirical evidence. Critics also note that reparative therapy research focuses on male homosexuality almost exclusively and rarely takes into consideration female homosexuality, demonstrating further clinical research bias. | |||
A frequent motivation for adults who pursue conversion therapy is their religious beliefs, especially ] and ], that disapprove of same-sex relations. These adults prioritize maintaining a good relationship with their family and religious community.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}} Adolescents who are pressured by their families into undergoing conversion therapy also typically come from a conservative religious background.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}} Youth from families with low ] are also more likely to undergo conversion therapy.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=11}} | |||
==Theories and techniques== | |||
Finally, they criticise reparative therapy for its lack of peer review (see ]) and the fact that reports are published exclusively in non-peer reviewed journals, in particular ], which has been criticised for its lack of peer review and strong, anti-gay bias. | |||
As ] have become more tolerant over time, the most harsh conversion therapy methods such as aversion have been reduced. Secular conversion therapy is offered less often due to reduced medical pathologization of homosexuality, and religious practitioners have become more dominant.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andrade |first1=G. |last2=Campo Redondo |first2=M. |title=Is conversion therapy ethical? A renewed discussion in the context of legal efforts to ban it |journal=Ethics, Medicine and Public Health |date=2022 |volume=20 |pages=100732 |doi=10.1016/j.jemep.2021.100732 }}</ref> | |||
== |
===Aversion therapy=== | ||
{{see also|Behavior modification}} | |||
] used on homosexuals included electric shock and nausea-inducing drugs during presentation of same-sex erotic images. Cessation of the aversive stimuli was typically accompanied by the presentation of opposite-sex erotic images, with the objective of strengthening heterosexual feelings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|1991|p=152}}</ref> Another method used was the covert sensitization method, which involves instructing patients to imagine vomiting or receiving electric shocks, writing that only single case studies have been conducted, and that their results cannot be generalized. Haldeman writes that behavioral conditioning studies tend to decrease homosexual feelings, but do not increase heterosexual feelings, citing Rangaswami's "Difficulties in arousing and increasing heterosexual responsiveness in a homosexual: A case report", published in 1982, as typical in this respect.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|1991|pp=152–153}}</ref> | |||
The idea of altering a person sexual orientation is not a new idea and harkens back to the start of ] itself. By classifying homosexuality as a disorder, ] first defined homosexuality as an exclusive sexual orientation and, thus, discovered the possibility of altering that orientation]. Researchers such as ], ] and ] attempted to cure homosexuality through a variety of techniques, including "], nausea producing drugs, ], ], ], ], etc.". For more information see ]. | |||
Other methods of aversion therapy in addition to electric shock included ice baths, freezing, burning via metal coils, and hard labor. The intent was for the subject to associate homosexual feelings with pain and thus result in them being reduced. These methods have been concluded to be ineffective.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 11, 2022 |title=Summary of Findings: A Review of Scientific Evidence of Conversion Therapy |url=https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/conversiontherapy.pdf |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=Minnesota Department of Health}}</ref> | |||
Modern reparative therapy is a re-reading of the earlier, psychological research and stems from the clinical work and theories of ], a British Christian ], during the early ]. In her book, ']', which is widely read by reparative therapy proponents, she suggests that homosexuality is purely a result of environmental factors - primarily a failure to bond with the subject's father, as opposed to the domineering mother theory in ] ]. | |||
Aversion therapy was developed in ] between 1950 and 1962 and in the British Commonwealth from 1961 into the mid-1970s. In the context of the Cold War, Western psychologists ignored the poor results of their Czechoslovak counterparts, who had concluded that aversion therapy was not effective by 1961 and recommended ] instead.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davison |first1=Kate |title=Cold War Pavlov: Homosexual aversion therapy in the 1960s |journal=History of the Human Sciences |date=2021 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=89–119 |doi=10.1177/0952695120911593|s2cid=218922981 }}</ref> Some men in the United Kingdom were offered the choice between prison and undergoing aversion therapy. It was also offered to a few British women, but was never the standard treatment for either homosexual men or women.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spandler |first1=Helen |last2=Carr |first2=Sarah |title=Lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of aversion therapy in England |journal=History of the Human Sciences |date=2022 |volume=35 |issue=3–4 |pages=218–236 |doi=10.1177/09526951211059422|pmid=36090521 |pmc=9449443 |s2cid=245753251 }}</ref> | |||
Initially, reparative therapy was welcomed by many ']' and ] Christian groups who saw it as a means of reconciling their beliefs with their sexuality and as a way of gaining greater acceptance in their respective churches or ministries. Some of these ministries have since turned away from reparative therapies, disillusioned with promise to change their sexuality. | |||
In the 1970s, behaviorist ] was one of the main advocates of counterconditioning with malaise-inducing drugs and ] for homosexuals. He wrote that this type of therapy was successful in nearly 50% of cases. However, his studies were disputed.{{sfn|Rolls|2019|p={{page needed|date=June 2023}}}} | |||
Once seen as a being on the fringe of the gay rights argument, lately reparative therapy has been adopted by much larger, ] religious groups, particularly in the ]. Many in these groups see reparative as a kinder way of approaching their opposition to homosexuality. It has also been used by some of these groups to influence public opinion and sway legislators "from supporting ], ] and ] legislation." | |||
Behavior therapists, including Eysenck, used ] methods. This led to a protest against Eysenck by gay activist ] in a London Medical Group Symposium in 1972. Tatchell said that the therapy promoted by Eysenck was a form of ].{{sfn|Rolls|2019|p={{page needed|date=June 2023}}}} | |||
Tatchell denounced Eysenck's form of behavioral therapy as inducing ] and ] among gay men who were subjected to it.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spandler |first1=Helen |last2=Carr |first2=Sarah |title=Lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of aversion therapy in England |journal=History of the Human Sciences |date=2022 |volume=35 |issue=3–4 |pages=218–236 |doi=10.1177/09526951211059422 |pmid=36090521 |pmc=9449443 }}</ref> | |||
== |
===Brain surgery=== | ||
In the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. neurologist ] popularized the ] as a treatment for homosexuality. He personally performed as many as 3,439<ref>{{cite news |last1=Day |first1=Elizabeth |title=He was bad, so they put an ice pick in his brain... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/jan/13/neuroscience.medicalscience |work=The Observer |date=13 January 2008 |access-date=16 November 2017 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020075415/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/jan/13/neuroscience.medicalscience |url-status=live }}</ref> lobotomy surgeries in 23 states, of which 2,500 used his ice-pick procedure,<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 10 Fascinating And Notable Lobotomies|url=http://listverse.com/2009/06/24/top-10-fascinating-and-notable-lobotomies/|date=24 June 2009|website=listverse.com|access-date=26 December 2013|archive-date=27 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227024430/http://listverse.com/2009/06/24/top-10-fascinating-and-notable-lobotomies/|url-status=live}}</ref> despite the fact that he had no formal surgical training.<ref name="rowland">{{cite journal|last=Rowland|first=Lewis|date=April 2005|title=Walter Freeman's Psychosurgery and Biological Psychiatry: A Cautionary Tale|journal=Neurology Today|volume=5|issue=4|pages=70–72|doi=10.1097/00132985-200504000-00020}}</ref> | |||
Reparative therapy itself is a highly contentious and controversial topic, and the claims of the ex-gay movement are hotly contested, particularly by various professional medical bodies (see ]). The general scientific consensus has been that ] is unchangeable in adults, though this consensus and the cause for that immutability are disputed by reparative therapy advocates. This section seeks to detail and summarise the various controversies and debates surrounding reparative therapy. | |||
In West Germany, a type of brain surgery usually involving destruction of the ] was done to some homosexual men during the 1960s and 1970s. The practice was criticized by sexologist ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rieber |first1=Inge |last2=Sigusch |first2=Volkmar |date=1979 |title=Psychosurgery on sex offenders and sexual "deviants" in West Germany |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01541419 |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |language=en |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=526 |doi=10.1007/BF01541419 |issn=1573-2800 |pmid=391177 |s2cid=41463669 |access-date=20 June 2023 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070658/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01541419 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Generally, the debate tends to focus on traditional arguments for and against homosexuality. Opponents view these therapies as a product of ] and ] of the gay and ] ], whilst supporters argue that opposition to reparative therapies is only due to vocal minority groups. These arguments are not necessarily directly related to reparative therapy and are not repeated here. For more information see ], ] and ]. | |||
===Castration and transplantation=== | |||
=== Proponents === | |||
{{see also|Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany}} | |||
] (1908–2006) was spared from a concentration camp after agreeing to castration under pressure in 1938.]] | |||
In early twentieth century Germany experiments were carried out in which homosexual men were subjected to ] and testicles of heterosexual men were transplanted. These operations were a complete failure.{{sfn|Schmidt|1985|pp=133–134}} | |||
] of homosexual men was widespread in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lehring |first1=Gary |title=Officially Gay: The Political Construction Of Sexuality |date=2010 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-4399-0399-5 |page=63 |language=en}}</ref> SS leader ] ordered homosexual men to be ] because he did not consider a time-limited prison sentence was sufficient to eliminate homosexuality.{{sfn|Zinn|2020b|pp=11–12}} Although theoretically voluntary, some homosexuals were subject to severe pressure and coercion to agree to castration. There was no age limit; some boys as young as 16 were castrated. Those who agreed to castration after a ] conviction were exempted from being transferred to a concentration camp after completing their legal sentence.{{sfn|Wachsmann|2015|p=147}} Some concentration camp prisoners were also subjected to castration.{{sfn|Weindling|2015|p=30}} An estimated 400 to 800 men were castrated.{{sfn|Schwartz|2021|p=383}} | |||
Various religious and ex-gay organizations, including ], ], ] and the ], as well as various minor ex-gay and transformational ministries advocate the belief that reparative therapy is genuine and works. | |||
Endocrinologist ] attempted to change homosexual concentration camp prisoners' sexual orientations by implanting a pellet that released ]. Most of the victims, non-consenting prisoners at ], died shortly thereafter.{{sfn|Whisnant|2016|p=223}}{{sfn|Weindling|2015|pp=183–184}} | |||
Conversion therapies are also advocated by various religious ] groups such as the ] and ]. | |||
An unknown number of men were castrated in ] and ] was used in other Western countries, notably against ] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huneke |first1=Samuel Clowes |title=States of Liberation: Gay Men between Dictatorship and Democracy in Cold War Germany |date=2022 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4875-4213-9 |pages=53–54 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
Specific proponents, such as Charles Socarides, often have gay sons, leading some to suspect they are working out their own psychological issues in public through their advocacy of a therapy that doesn't work. | |||
=== |
===Ex-gay/ex-trans ministries=== | ||
] booth at a ] conference]] | |||
{{Main|Ex-gay}} | |||
Ex-gay ministries are religious groups that attempt to use religion to eliminate or change somebody's sexual orientation.<ref name="APA">{{citation |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.pdf |title=Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel |access-date=14 May 2010 |year=1999 |publisher=Just the Facts Coalition |archive-date=22 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422101943/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DrescherandZucker">{{Harvnb|Drescher|Zucker|2006|pp=126, 175}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|1991|pp=149,156–159}}</ref><ref name="JonesandYarhouse">{{Harvnb|Jones|Yarhouse|2007|p=374}}</ref> The ex-gay umbrella organization ] in the United States ceased activities in June 2013, and the three member board issued a statement which repudiated its aims and apologized for the harm their pursuit has caused to ] people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burnett |first=John |date=20 June 2013 |title=Group That Claimed To 'Cure' Gays Disbands, Leader Apologizes |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/06/20/193965227/group-that-claimed-to-cure-gays-disbands-leader-apologizes |website=NPR |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070613/https://www.npr.org/2013/06/20/193965227/group-that-claimed-to-cure-gays-disbands-leader-apologizes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Change">{{citation |url=http://exodusinternational.org/2013/06/i-am-sorry |first=Alan |last=Chambers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623013409/http://exodusinternational.org/2013/06/i-am-sorry |archive-date=23 June 2013 |title=I Am Sorry |access-date=22 June 2013 |publisher=Exodus International}}</ref> Ex-trans organizations often overlap and portray being trans as inherently sinful or against God's design, or pathologize gender variance as due to trauma, social contagion, or "]."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=Christine M. |last2=Spivey |first2=Sue E. |title=Ungodly Genders: Deconstructing Ex-Gay Movement Discourses of 'Transgenderism' in the US |journal=Social Sciences |date=17 June 2019 |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=191 |doi=10.3390/socsci8060191 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Tiffany |last2=Jones |first2=Timothy W. |last3=Power |first3=Jennifer |last4=Pallotta-Chiarolli |first4=Maria |last5=Despott |first5=Nathan |title=Mis-education of Australian Youth: exposure to LGBTQA+ conversion ideology and practises |journal=Sex Education |date=3 September 2022 |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=595–610 |doi=10.1080/14681811.2021.1978964 |s2cid=241018465 |doi-access=free |hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30156953 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> | |||
Reparative therapies are opposed by a variety of groups, including gay rights organizations such as ], ] and ]. | |||
=== Hypnosis === | |||
More importantly, many various professional medical and psychological bodies condemn conversion therapies. Such bodies include: | |||
Hypnosis was used in conversion therapy since the 19th century by ] and ]. In 1967, Canadian psychiatrist Peter Roper published a case study of treating 15 homosexual (some of which would probably be considered bisexual by modern standards) people with hypnosis. Allegedly, 8 showed "marked improvement" (they reportedly lost sexual attraction towards the same sex altogether), 4 mild improvements (decrease of "homosexual tendencies"), and 3 no improvement after hypnotic treatment; he concluded that "hypnosis may well produce more satisfactory results than those obtainable by other means", depending on the ] of the subjects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roper |first1=P. |title=The effects of hypnotherapy on homosexuality |journal=Canadian Medical Association Journal |date=11 February 1967 |volume=96 |issue=6 |pages=319–327 |pmid=6017544 |pmc=1935956 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023}} | |||
===Psychoanalysis=== | |||
* ] (APA) | |||
{{Main|Psychoanalysis}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ]. | |||
Haldeman writes that psychoanalytic treatment of homosexuality is exemplified by the work of Irving Bieber ''et al.'' in ''Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of Male Homosexuals''. They advocated long-term therapy aimed at resolving the unconscious childhood conflicts that they considered responsible for homosexuality. Haldeman notes that Bieber's methodology has been criticized because it relied upon a clinical sample, the description of the outcomes was based upon subjective therapist impression, and follow-up data were poorly presented. Bieber reported a 27% success rate from long-term therapy, but only 18% of the patients in whom Bieber considered the treatment successful had been exclusively homosexual to begin with, while 50% had been bisexual. In Haldeman's view, this makes even Bieber's unimpressive claims of success misleading.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|1991|pp=150–151}}</ref> | |||
On the question of whether therapy can change sexual orientation the APA answers: | |||
:''"No. Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable."'' | |||
Haldeman discusses other psychoanalytic studies of attempts to change homosexuality. Curran and Parr's "Homosexuality: An analysis of 100 male cases", published in 1957, reported no significant increase in heterosexual behavior. Mayerson and Lief's "Psychotherapy of homosexuals: A follow-up study of nineteen cases", published in 1965, reported that half of its 19 subjects were exclusively heterosexual in behavior four and a half years after treatment, but its outcomes were based on patient self-report and had no external validation. In Haldeman's view, those participants in the study who reported change were bisexual at the outset, and its authors wrongly interpreted capacity for heterosexual sex as change of sexual orientation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|1991|pp=151, 256}}</ref> | |||
Some religious organisations also oppose reparative therapies, including ], ] and ]. | |||
===Reparative therapy=== | |||
In 1999, the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] developed and endorsed a statement reading: | |||
The term "reparative therapy" has been used as a synonym for conversion therapy generally, but according to ] it properly refers to a specific kind of therapy{{clarify|date=July 2022}} associated with the psychologists ] and ].<ref name="Drescher1998">{{Harvnb|Drescher|2000|p=152}}</ref> | |||
*''The most important fact about '],' also sometimes known as 'conversion' therapy, is that it is based on an understanding of homosexuality that has been rejected by all the major health and mental health professions. The ], the ], the ], the ], the ], and the ], together representing more than 477,000 health and mental health professionals, have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus there is no need for a 'cure.' ...health and mental health professional organizations do not support efforts to change young people's sexual orientation through ']' and have raised serious concerns about its potential to do ].'' | |||
For example, he wrote: | |||
:. . . the pursuit of fulfillment through same-sex eroticism is spurred by the fearful anticipation that their masculine self-assertion will inevitably fail and result in humiliation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nicolosi |first=Joseph |title=The Traumatic Foundation of Male Homosexuality| | |||
url=https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/traumatic-foundation-male-homosexuality}}</ref> | |||
The term ''reparative'' refers to Nicolosi's postulate that same-sex attraction is a person's unconscious attempt to "self-repair" feelings of inferiority.<ref name="Hicks_1999">{{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Karolyn A. |title='Reparative' Therapy: Whether Parental Attempts to Change a Child's Sexual Orientation Can Legally Constitute Child Abuse |journal=American University Law Review |volume=49 |issue=2 |date=December 1999 |pages=505–547 |url=https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/aulr/vol49/iss2/4/ |access-date=10 June 2023 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070611/https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/aulr/vol49/iss2/4/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bright">{{Harvnb|Bright|2004|pp=471–481}}</ref> | |||
=== Terminology === | |||
After California banned conversion practices, Nicolosi argued that "reparative therapy" didn't attempt to directly change sexual orientation but instead encourage exploration into its underlying causes, which he believed was often childhood trauma.<ref name="ashley_202209" /> | |||
The language used to describe reparative therapies is itself contentious. Opponents prefer to use the term "conversion therapy". | |||
=== |
===Marriage therapy=== | ||
{{See also|Relationship counseling}} | |||
Previous editions of the ]'s ICD included "]", in which a person's sexual orientation or gender identity makes it difficult to form or maintain a relationship with a sexual partner. The belief that their sexual orientation has caused problems in their relationship may lead some people to turn to a marriage therapist for help to change their sexual orientation.<ref name="Rosik-2003">{{cite journal |last=Rosik |first=Christopher H |title=Motivational, ethical, and epistemological foundations in the treatment of unwanted homoerotic attraction |journal=Journal of Marital and Family Therapy |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=13–28 |date=January 2003 |pmid=12616795 |doi=10.1111/j.1752-0606.2003.tb00379.x |oclc=5154888155 }}</ref> Sexual orientation disorder was removed from the most recent ICD, ], after the Working Group on Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health determined that its inclusion was unjustified.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reed |first1=Geoffrey M. |last2=Drescher |first2=Jack |last3=Krueger |first3=Richard B. |last4=Atalla |first4=Elham |last5=Cochran |first5=Susan D. |last6=First |first6=Michael B. |last7=Cohen-Kettenis |first7=Peggy T. |last8=Arango-de Montis |first8=Iván |last9=Parish |first9=Sharon J. |last10=Cottler |first10=Sara |last11=Briken |first11=Peer |date=2016 |title=Disorders related to sexuality and gender identity in the ICD-11: revising the ICD-10 classification based on current scientific evidence, best clinical practices, and human rights considerations |journal=World Psychiatry |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=205–221 |doi=10.1002/wps.20354 |pmc=5032510 |pmid=27717275 }}</ref> | |||
=== Gender exploratory therapy === | |||
The main controversy centers on whether or not sexual orientation is determined at birth and, hence, whether it is changeable or innate. For more information on these arguments please see ] and ]. | |||
Gender exploratory therapy (GET) is a form of conversion therapy<ref name="WPATH-NHS">{{Cite web |date=November 25, 2022 |title=WPATH, ASIAPATH, EPATH, PATHA, and USPATH Response to NHS England in the United Kingdom (UK) |url=https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/25.11.22%20AUSPATH%20Statement%20reworked%20for%20WPATH%20Final%20ASIAPATH.EPATH.PATHA.USPATH.pdf?_t=1669428978 |website=] |access-date=2 January 2024 |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130183416/https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/25.11.22%20AUSPATH%20Statement%20reworked%20for%20WPATH%20Final%20ASIAPATH.EPATH.PATHA.USPATH.pdf?_t=1669428978 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bharat">{{Cite journal |last1=Bharat |first1=Bharat |last2=Dopp |first2=Alex |last3=Last |first3=Briana |last4=Howell |first4=Gary |last5=Nadeem |first5=Erum |last6=Johnson |first6=Clara |last7=Stirman |first7=Shannon Wiltsey |title=OSF |url=https://osf.io/gz5mk/ |journal=The Behavior Therapist |publisher=Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies |publication-date=October 2023 |volume=46 |issue=7 |doi=10.31234/osf.io/gz5mk |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070611/https://osf.io/gz5mk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lawson">{{Cite journal |last1=Lawson |first1=Zazie |last2=Davies |first2=Skye |last3=Harmon |first3=Shae |last4=Williams |first4=Matthew |last5=Billawa |first5=Shradha |last6=Holmes |first6=Ryan |last7=Huckridge |first7=Jaymie |last8=Kelly |first8=Phillip |last9=MacIntyre-Harrison |first9=Jess |last10=Neill |first10=Stewart |last11=Song-Chase |first11=Angela |last12=Ward |first12=Hannah |last13=Yates |first13=Michael |date=October 2023 |title=A human rights based approach to transgender and gender expansive health |url=https://explore.bps.org.uk/lookup/doi/10.53841/bpscpf.2023.1.369.91 |journal=Clinical Psychology Forum |language=en |volume=1 |issue=369 |pages=91–106 |doi=10.53841/bpscpf.2023.1.369.91 |issn=1747-5732 |s2cid=265086908 |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070719/https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpscpf/1/369/91 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Amery">{{Cite journal |last=Amery |first=Fran |date=2023-12-11 |title=Protecting Children in 'Gender Critical' Rhetoric and Strategy: Regulating Childhood for Cisgender Outcomes |url=https://www.digest.ugent.be/article/id/85309/ |journal=DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |doi=10.21825/digest.85309 |issn=2593-0281 |doi-access=free |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070616/https://www.digest.ugent.be/article/id/85309/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Caraballo">{{Cite journal |last=Caraballo |first=Alejandra |date=December 2022 |title=The Anti-Transgender Medical Expert Industry |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-medicine-and-ethics/article/antitransgender-medical-expert-industry/25EFFECB8F71CA9A37F9F089E13BC41E |journal=Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics |language=en |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=687–692 |doi=10.1017/jme.2023.9 |issn=1073-1105 |pmid=36883410 |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301135428/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-medicine-and-ethics/article/antitransgender-medical-expert-industry/25EFFECB8F71CA9A37F9F089E13BC41E |url-status=live }}</ref> characterized by requiring mandatory extended talk therapy attempting to find pathological roots for gender dysphoria while simultaneously delaying social and medical transition and viewing it as a last resort.<ref name="WPATH-NHS" /><ref name="Lawson" /><ref name="Amery" /><ref name="ashley_202209">{{Cite journal |last=Ashley |first=Florence |date=6 September 2022 |title=Interrogating Gender-Exploratory Therapy |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=472–481 |doi=10.1177/17456916221102325 |pmc=10018052 |pmid=36068009 |s2cid=252108965}}</ref><ref name="MacKinnon">{{Cite journal |last1=MacKinnon |first1=Kinnon R. |last2=Gould |first2=Wren Ariel |last3=Enxuga |first3=Gabriel |last4=Kia |first4=Hannah |last5=Abramovich |first5=Alex |last6=Lam |first6=June S. H. |last7=Ross |first7=Lori E. |date=2023-11-29 |title=Exploring the gender care experiences and perspectives of individuals who discontinued their transition or detransitioned in Canada |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=18 |issue=11 |pages=e0293868 |bibcode=2023PLoSO..1893868M |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0293868 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=10686467 |pmid=38019738 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Practitioners of GET often view medical transition as a last resort and propose their patient's dysphoria is caused by factors such as homophobia, social contagion, sexual trauma, and autism.<ref name="Lawson" /><ref name="Caraballo" /> Some practitioners of GET avoid using their patients' chosen names and pronouns while questioning their identification.<ref name="MacKinnon" /> Commenting on gender exploratory therapy in 2022, bioethicist ] argued that its framing as an undirected exploration of underlying psychological issues bore similarities to gay conversion practices such as "]" therapy.<ref name="ashley_202209" /> States that have banned gender-affirming care for minors in the United States have called expert witnesses to argue that exploratory therapy should be the alternative treatment.<ref name="Pauly">{{Cite news |last=Pauly |first=Madison |last2=Carnell |first2=Henry |date=July 2024 |title=First they tried to "cure" gayness. Now they're fixated on "healing" trans people. |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/05/conversion-therapy-lgbtq-anti-trans-gay-gender-affirming-care/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |work=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
There are no known empirical studies examining psychosocial or medical outcomes following GET.<ref name="MacKinnon" /><ref name="Leising">{{Cite journal |last=Leising |first=Julie |date=September 2022 |title=Gender-affirming care for youth—separating evidence from controversy |url=https://bcmj.org/sites/default/files/BCMJ_Vol64_No7-premise-corrected%20%28ID%202375120%29.pdf |journal=Bc Medic al Journal |volume=64 |issue=7}}</ref> Concerns have been raised that by not providing an estimated length of time for the therapy, the delays in medical interventions may compound mental suffering in trans youth,<ref name="Lawson" /><ref name="MacKinnon" /> while ] already promotes gender identity exploration without favoring any particular identity, and individualized care.<ref name="MacKinnon" /> GET proponents deny this.<ref name="Santoro">{{Cite news |last=Santoro |first=Helen |date=2023-05-02 |title=How Therapists Are Trying to Convince Children That They're Not Actually Trans |url=https://slate.com/technology/2023/05/gender-exploratory-therapy-trans-kids-what-is-it.html |access-date=2024-01-01 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121062936/https://slate.com/technology/2023/05/gender-exploratory-therapy-trans-kids-what-is-it.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Supporters of reparative therapy believe that homosexuality is not a fixed ] but an emotional or mental disorder which a person can change, and that it should be reclassified as such. They refer to this disorder as ] so as to distinguish from a fixed or innate sexual orientation. | |||
In 2017, ] published a legal strategy which called for circumventing bans on conversion therapy by labelling the practice "gender identity exploration or development".<ref name="Eckert">{{Cite news |last=Eckert |first=A. J. |date=2022-10-22 |title=Cutting through the Lies and Misinterpretations about the Updated Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/cutting-through-the-lies-and-misinterpretations-about-the-updated-standards-of-care-for-the-health-of-transgender-and-gender-diverse-people/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |language=en-US |publisher=Science-Based Medicine}}</ref><ref name="Green-2017">{{Cite journal |last=Green |first=Richard |year=2017 |title=Banning Therapy to Change Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity in Patients Under 18 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28270456 |journal=The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=7–11 |issn=1943-3662 |pmid=28270456}}</ref> Multiple groups now exist worldwide to promote GET and have been successful in influencing legal discussions and clinical guidance in some regions.<ref name="Amery" /> The ] (GETA) asserts that "psychological approaches should be the first-line treatment for all cases of gender dysphoria", that medical interventions for transgender youth are "experimental and should be avoided if possible", and that ] is "risky".<ref name="Santoro" /> All of GETA's leaders are members of ], a "]" group that promotes GET and argues that gender-affirming care should not be available to those under 25.<ref name="Santoro" /> In late 2023, GETA changed their name to "Therapy First".<ref name="Pauly" /> | |||
Generally, opponents of reparative therapy believe that sexual orientation is fixed and, hence, that reparative therapies will always be ineffective and raise false hopes in vulnerable individuals. Some opponents agree that sexual orientation is changeable but argue that, despite this, there is no, or no great, moral imperative to try to do so or that doing so would not substantially improve the well-being of the subject and, for this reason, consider reparative therapies to be useless. | |||
GETA also shares a large overlap with the ] (SEGM), which promotes GET as first-line treatment for those under 25.<ref name="splc-defining-pseudoscience">{{Cite web |title=Group dynamics and division of labor within the anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience network |url=https://www.splcenter.org/captain/defining-pseudoscience-network |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref> GETA co-founder Lisa Marchiano stated U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order safeguarding trans youth from conversion therapy would have a "chilling effect" on GET practices.<ref name="Santoro" /><ref name="Reed">{{Cite news |last=Reed |first=Erin |date=2023-01-13 |title=Unpacking 'gender exploratory therapy,' a new form of conversion therapy |url=https://xtramagazine.com/health/gender-exploratory-therapy-243833 |access-date=2024-01-01 |work=Xtra Magazine |language=en-CA}}</ref> GETA also opposed Biden's Title IX changes protecting trans students from discrimination, stating allowing trans youth in restrooms would harm the mental health of their peers.<ref name="Reed" /> The ], a small group aligned with the Christian Right,<ref group="Note">not to be confused with the ]</ref> has cited numerous studies from SEGM to claim GET is necessary to restore transgender people's "biological integrity".<ref name="splc-defining-pseudoscience" /> In November 2023, Michelle Cretella, a board member of the pro conversion therapy group ] (ATCSI, formerly NARTH), gave a speech at an ATCSI conference which endorsed GET and argued it "truly is very similar to how the Alliance has always approached unwanted same-sex attraction".<ref name="Pauly" /> | |||
=== Evidence === | |||
==Effects== | |||
The success or failure of reparative therapy is itself sometimes used in the mainstream debate for and against homosexuality and the past few years have seen a flurry of reports self-published by reparative therapists and ex-gay organisations describing ] of conversions and measuring success rates from 30% to over 70%. | |||
{{expand section|date=June 2022}} | |||
There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation.<ref name=":0"/> Advocates of conversion therapy rely heavily on testimonials and retrospective self-reports as evidence of effectiveness. Studies purporting to validate the effectiveness of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity have been criticized for methodological flaws.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=7}} After conversion therapy has failed to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, participants often feel increased shame that they already felt over their sexual orientation or gender identity.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}} | |||
Conversion therapy can cause significant, long-term psychological harm.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Higbee |first1=Madison |last2=Wright |first2=Eric R. |last3=Roemerman |first3=Ryan M. |title=Conversion Therapy in the Southern United States: Prevalence and Experiences of the Survivors |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |date=2022 |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=612–631 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2020.1840213|pmid=33206024 |s2cid=227039714 }}</ref> This includes significantly higher rates of ], ], and other mental health issues in individuals who have undergone conversion therapy than their peers who did not,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christensen |first=Jen |date=2022-03-08 |title=Conversion therapy is harmful to LGBTQ people and costs society as a whole, study says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/health/conversion-therapy-personal-and-financial-harm/index.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201070406/https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/health/conversion-therapy-personal-and-financial-harm/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> including a suicide attempt rate nearly twice that of those who did not.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thisisloyal.com |first=Loyal {{!}} |title=LGB people who have undergone conversion therapy almost twice as likely to attempt suicide |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/lgb-suicide-ct-press-release/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> Modern-day practitioners of conversion therapy—primarily from a conservative religious viewpoint—disagree with current ] and clinical guidance that does not view ] and ] as unnatural or unhealthy.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=5}} | |||
Opponents contest these results and respond that many of these groups do not make a clear distinction between homosexual behaviour and orientation or do not take into consideration that subjects may be bisexual and, for example, may have simply been convinced to restrict their sexual activity to the opposite sex. Similarly, many of the studies released by reparative therapy groups are conducted over short periods of time and there are few follow-up studies to determine rates of relapse over the long-term. | |||
In 2020, ] published a world survey and report '']'' listing consequences and life-threatening effects by associating specific public testimonies with different types of methods used to practice conversion therapies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ilga.org/resources/conversion-therapy-global-research-ilga-world-curbing-deception-february-2020/|title=Curbing deception – A world survey of legal restrictions of so-called 'conversion therapies'|first=Lucas Ramón |last=Mendos|website=ILGA World}}</ref> | |||
Finally, they criticise the way reparative therapies define success: many of their clients appear to still feel homosexual attraction or their orientation appears to not have been changed and the client is merely ]. Both results are considered successful, 'partial' conversions by reparative therapists. Reparative therapists respond that the case against reparative therapy has not been proved and this variability in success should not be viewed as a therapeutic failure. | |||
A 2022 study estimated that conversion therapy of youth in the United States cost $650.16 million annually with an additional $9.5 billion in associated costs such as increased suicide and substance abuse.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Forsythe |first1=Anna |last2=Pick |first2=Casey |last3=Tremblay |first3=Gabriel |last4=Malaviya |first4=Shreena |last5=Green |first5=Amy |last6=Sandman |first6=Karen |title=Humanistic and Economic Burden of Conversion Therapy Among LGBTQ Youths in the United States |journal=JAMA Pediatrics |date=2022 |volume=176 |issue=5 |pages=493–501 |doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0042|pmid=35254391 |pmc=8902682 |s2cid=247252995 }}</ref> Youth who undergo conversion therapy from a religious provider have more negative mental health outcomes than those who had consulted a licensed healthcare provider.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}} | |||
Opponents also highlight that the lack of ] demonstrates that reparative therapies are experimental or ] techniques that lack scientific rigour to back them up. Results are not published in peer reviewed journals but tend to be released to the ] and the ] (see ]), random samples of subjects are not used and results are reliant upon the subject's own self-reported outcomes or on the therapist's own evaluations which may be subject to ]. | |||
==Public opinion== | |||
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) (which concluded in 1973 that homosexuality is not a mental illness) stated in a ] position statement unanimously endorsed by its Board of Trustees that there are no scientifically rigorous studies to indicate the actual ''"efficacy or harm of 'reparative' treatments"'' and that conversion therapists have yet to produce ''"any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure... Recent publicized efforts to repathologize homosexuality by claiming that it can be cured are often guided not by rigorous scientific or psychiatric research, but sometimes by religious and political forces opposed to full civil rights for gay men and lesbians."'' The APA position statement ends with a recommendation for ethical practitioners to ''"refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm."'' (see ]). | |||
A 2020 survey carried out on US adults found majority support for banning conversion therapy for minors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Flores |first1=Andrew R. |last2=Mallory |first2=Christy |last3=Conron |first3=Kerith J. |title=Public attitudes about emergent issues in LGBTQ rights: Conversion therapy and religious refusals |journal=Research & Politics |date=2020 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=205316802096687 |doi=10.1177/2053168020966874|s2cid=229001894 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
A 2022 ] poll found majority support in England, Scotland, and Wales for a conversion therapy ban for both sexual orientation and gender identity, with opposition ranging from 13 to 15 percent.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kirk |first=Isabelle |date=3 May 2022 |title=The majority of Welsh people support a ban on trans conversion therapy in Wales |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/05/03/majority-welsh-people-support-ban-trans-conversion |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=] |language=en-gb |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630035322/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/05/03/majority-welsh-people-support-ban-trans-conversion |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Reparative therapists respond to criticisms from these bodies, arguing that opposition from the professional psychological and medical community is due to various political forces from within and without. They argue that the lack of evidence supporting their claims is to be expected, as the political pressures by various political groups, in particular gay rights groups, are such that any attempt at proper testing and study are quashed by the APA and other governing bodies. | |||
==Legal status== | |||
==== Spitzer Report ==== | |||
{{main|Legality of conversion therapy}} | |||
[[File:Countries banning conversion therapy.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of jurisdictions that have bans on sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts with minors. | |||
{{legend|Navy|Criminal prohibition against conversion therapy on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity}} | |||
{{legend|#0000ff|Only medical professionals are banned from performing conversion therapy}} | |||
{{legend|LightGrey|No ban on conversion therapy}}]] | |||
Some jurisdictions have criminal bans on the practice of conversion therapy, including Canada, Ecuador, France,<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 February 2022 |title=France Passed Law To Protect LGBTQ People From 'Conversion Therapy' |url=https://lqioo.com/europe-news/france-passed-law-to-protect-lgbtq-people-from-conversion-therapy |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=LQIOO |language=en-US}}</ref> Germany, Malta, Mexico and Spain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Legislative Services Branch |date=2022-01-10 |title=Consolidated federal laws of canada, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy) |url=https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2021_24/page-1.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=laws.justice.gc.ca |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211034855/https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2021_24/page-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In other countries, including Albania, Brazil, Chile, Vietnam and Taiwan, medical professionals are barred from practicing conversion therapy.<ref name=Trispiotis/> | |||
In some states, lawsuits against conversion therapy providers for ] have succeeded, but in other jurisdictions those claiming fraud must prove that the perpetrator was intentionally dishonest. Thus, a provider who genuinely believes conversion therapy is effective could not be convicted.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Purshouse |first1=Craig |last2=Trispiotis |first2=Ilias |title=Is 'conversion therapy' tortious? |journal=Legal Studies |date=2022 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=23–41 |doi=10.1017/lst.2021.28 |s2cid=236227920 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
Further controversy ensued in May ] when Dr. ], who was involved in the original declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder, presented a paper on reparative therapy at the APA annual convention. In his paper he reported that he had found that 66% of the men and 44% of the women had achieved "good heterosexual functioning" through interventions. Advocates of reparative therapy saw this as the first step towards official acceptance and the legitimisation of reparative therapy. Opponents levelled the similar criticisms at Spitzer's paper: that it relied upon samples selected by reparative therapists themselves, that proper random samplings were not used, small samplings were used (143 men and 57 women), that the subjects appeared to be ex-gay advocates who may have be biased in favor of reparative therapies, and that no follow-up study had been carried out to ascertain the long-term success. Similarly, they pointed to the fact that 60% of participants had previously experienced attraction to both sexes. Spitzer himself played down the results of his own paper, saying that the number of homosexuals who could successfully become heterosexual was likely to be "pretty low." A similar paper presented by Dr. ] and Dr. ], which has since been published for peer review, presented much lower success rates. | |||
Conversion therapy on minors may amount to ].<ref name=irct/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Canady |first1=Valerie |title=New report calls for an end to 'conversion therapy' for youth |journal=The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter |date=2015 |volume=31 |issue=12 |pages=3–4 |doi=10.1002/cbl.30088}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Cory |title=A Failed Experiment: Conversion Therapy as Child Abuse |journal=Roger Williams University Law Review |date=2022 |volume=27 |issue=1 |url=https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_LR/vol27/iss1/3/ |access-date=4 July 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924072750/https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_LR/vol27/iss1/3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
=== Potential risks === | |||
===Human rights=== | |||
Conversion therapies are frequently promoted as being helpful and safe. Reparative therapists claim they are helping those afflicted with unwanted and intrusive homosexual thoughts and point to the fact that many of their patients have expressed that they were not harmed by such procedures and, although not always having the desired effect, seemed to have some benefits. | |||
In 2020, the ] released an official statement that conversion therapy is torture.<ref name=irct>{{cite web |title=Conversion Therapy is Torture |url=https://irct.org/media-and-resources/latest-news/article/1027 |website=International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims |access-date=31 May 2021 |language=en |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107053543/https://irct.org/media-and-resources/latest-news/article/1027 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The same year, UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, ], said that conversion therapy practices are "inherently discriminatory, that they are ], and that depending on the severity or physical or mental pain and suffering inflicted to the victim, they may amount to torture". He recommended that it should be banned across the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ConversionTherapy_and_HR.aspx |title='Conversion therapy' Can Amount to Torture and Should be Banned says UN Expert |date=July 13, 2020 |website=United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner |access-date=July 20, 2021}}</ref> In 2021, Ilias Trispiotis and Craig Purshouse argue that conversion therapy violates the prohibition against degrading treatment under ], leading to a state obligation to prohibit it.<ref name=Trispiotis>{{cite journal |last1=Trispiotis |first1=Ilias |last2=Purshouse |first2=Craig |title='Conversion Therapy' As Degrading Treatment |journal=Oxford Journal of Legal Studies |date=2021 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=104–132 |doi=10.1093/ojls/gqab024|pmid=35264896 |pmc=8902017 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nugraha |first1=Ignatius Yordan |title=The compatibility of sexual orientation change efforts with international human rights law |journal=Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights |date=2017 |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=176–192 |doi=10.1177/0924051917724654|s2cid=220052834 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In February 2023 ], ], qualified those practices as “irreconcilable with several guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights" and having no place in a human rights-based society urging the Member States of the Council of Europe to ban them for both adults and minors,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nothing to cure: putting an end to so-called "conversion therapies" for LGBTI people - Commissioner for Human Rights - www.coe.int |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/nothing-to-cure-putting-an-end-to-so-called-conversion-therapies-for-lgbti-people |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Commissioner for Human Rights |language=en-GB}}</ref> later in July 2023 she advocated for clear actions during a public hearing at the ] studying different approaches to legally ban "conversion therapies" in the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-17 |title='Conversion therapies' in the EU: MEPs discuss potential ban with experts {{!}} News {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230717IPR03013/conversion-therapies-in-the-eu-meps-discuss-potential-ban-with-experts |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722140351/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230717IPR03013/conversion-therapies-in-the-eu-meps-discuss-potential-ban-with-experts |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2024 it was reported that the European Union is considering banning "conversion therapies" across its Member States,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramsay |first=Max |date=2024-09-17 |title=EU to Pursue Ban on Conversion Therapy in New LGBTQ Strategy |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/politics/2024/09/17/eu-to-pursue-ban-on-conversion-therapy-in-new-lgbtq-strategy/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=BNN Bloomberg |language=en}}</ref> while a ] that started collecting signatures in May 2024 is also calling on the ] to outlaw such practices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Initiative detail {{!}} European Citizens' Initiative |url=https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000001_en |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=citizens-initiative.europa.eu}}</ref> | |||
==In media== | |||
However opponents argue that there is no evidence that reparative therapies are safe, and they may in fact be potentially dangerous. Some of the more extreme therapies that have been used (such as electro-shock therapy and ]) have long histories of being psychologically and physically harmful. However, such therapies are not commonly used by contemporary conversion therapists. | |||
Efforts to change sexual orientation have been depicted and discussed in popular culture and various media. More recent examples include: '']'', '']'', ], '']'', and documentary features ''], Homotherapy: A Religious Sickness.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=MEDIAWAN - HOMOTHERAPY, A RELIGIOUS SICKNESS (2019) |url=https://rights.mediawan.com/world-catalogue/documentary/program/4397 |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=rights.mediawan.com |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722140353/https://rights.mediawan.com/world-catalogue/documentary/program/4397 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-11-26 |title=" Homothérapies " sur Arte : le scandale des " conversions " sexuelles forcées |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/11/26/homotherapies-sur-arte-le-scandale-des-conversions-sexuelles-forcees_6020634_3246.html |access-date=2023-07-22 |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722140350/https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/11/26/homotherapies-sur-arte-le-scandale-des-conversions-sexuelles-forcees_6020634_3246.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Opponents go further and claim that "softer" therapies such as the secular conversion counselling therapies may also be dangerous. They compare untested reparative therapies to other experimental therapies such as ] (used in unproven cases of ]) and ], that have much in common with reparative therapies (i.e. they are all experimental therapies that have only been promoted by a minority of therapists and clergy) which have proven to cause emotional pain, devastated peoples lives and even resulted in suicide. They also claim that such therapies seek to exploit guilt and anxiety leading to further psychological problems.] | |||
==Medical views== | |||
No study has been yet carried out into the long-term consequences of conversion therapies. | |||
{{main|Medical views of conversion therapy}} | |||
National health organizations around the world have uniformly denounced and criticized sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.<ref name="Lambda">{{cite news|title=Health and Medical Organization Statements on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Expression and 'Reparative Therapy'|url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/health-and-med-orgs-stmts-on-sex-orientation-and-gender-identity|newspaper=Lambda Legal|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=15 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615154255/https://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/health-and-med-orgs-stmts-on-sex-orientation-and-gender-identity|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="HRC">{{cite web|title=Policy and Position Statements on Conversion Therapy|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/policy-and-position-statements-on-conversion-therapy|website=Human Rights Campaign|access-date=12 April 2017|archive-date=27 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427021742/http://www.hrc.org/resources/policy-and-position-statements-on-conversion-therapy|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2021 |title=Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK |url=https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/media/cptnc5qm/mou2.pdf |publisher=] |access-date=31 May 2023 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924072651/https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/media/cptnc5qm/mou2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> They state that there has been no scientific demonstration of "conversion therapy's" efficacy.<ref name="APA"/><ref name="APA-Answers">{{cite web | url=http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx | title=Answers to Your Questions: For a Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality | publisher=American Psychological Association | date=2008 | access-date=31 January 2015 | archive-date=20 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120024548/https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name =APA_Position/><ref name="PsychNews">{{citation |title=APA Maintains Reparative Therapy Not Effective |url=http://www.psychiatricnews.org/pnews/99-01-15/therapy.html |publisher=Psychiatric News (news division of the American Psychiatric Association) |date=15 January 1999 |access-date=28 August 2007 |archive-date=20 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820042149/http://www.psychiatricnews.org/pnews/99-01-15/therapy.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> They find that conversion therapy is ineffective, risky and can be harmful. Anecdotal claims of cures are counterbalanced by assertions of harm, and the American Psychiatric Association, for example, cautions ethical practitioners under the ] to do no harm and to refrain from attempts at conversion therapy.<ref name=APA_Position>{{cite web|url=http://www.psych.org/Departments/EDU/Library/APAOfficialDocumentsandRelated/PositionStatements/200001a.aspx |title=Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation |publisher=Psych.org |access-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910045820/http://www.psych.org/Departments/EDU/Library/APAOfficialDocumentsandRelated/PositionStatements/200001a.aspx |archive-date=10 September 2008 }}</ref> Furthermore, they state that conversion therapy is harmful and that it often exploits individual's guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide.<ref name="nytconversion">{{citation |last=Luo |first=Michael |title=Some Tormented by Homosexuality Look to a Controversial Therapy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/nyregion/12group.html |work=The New York Times |page=1 |date=12 February 2007 |access-date=28 August 2007 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420120908/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/nyregion/12group.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy can cause social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about gender identity, sexual orientation, and the ability of LGBT people to lead happy, healthy lives.<ref name="HRC" /> Various medical bodies prohibit their members from practicing conversion therapy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Albania becomes third European country to ban gay 'conversion therapy' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200516-albania-becomes-third-european-country-to-ban-gay-conversion-therapy |access-date=30 June 2022 |work=France 24 |date=16 May 2020 |language=en |archive-date=24 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524174458/https://www.france24.com/en/20200516-albania-becomes-third-european-country-to-ban-gay-conversion-therapy |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
=== Social pressures === | |||
== See also == | |||
Reparative therapists’, working from the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder, often argue that their therapies are voluntary and the people seek them out because of negative aspects intrinsic to homosexuality. Opponents argue that reparative therapists ignore research that demonstrates that ] plays a key role in an individuals attempt to alter their homosexuality. ]],]] They argue that harassment, abuse and ], as well as pressure from family, friends and Churches ]], may cause high levels of emotional stress for ], ] and ]. In these circumstances, they argue, individuals may feel their only option is to attempt to alter their homosexuality. | |||
* ] | |||
=== Financial gain === | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
== Notes == | |||
Finally, opponents argue that many reparative therapists may become involved for personal financial gain. They note that participants in conversion therapies frequently have to pay for the treatment they receive, and that, whilst many conversion therapists claim to be secular and independent of religion, they receive substantial funding from other, well-funded religious groups such as Focus on the Family. | |||
{{Reflist|group=Note}} | |||
==References== | |||
==Transsexual and transgender people== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
Reparative therapy aimed at gay or lesbian people has also been applied to ] and ] people, since a non-traditional ] or a ] is seen as an extreme form of homosexuality. While the ] expressed a similar view, the scientific community today rejects this theory, making reparative therapy as useless to trans* people as it is for gay and lesbian people. | |||
== |
==Bibliography== | ||
{{refbegin|indent=yes}} | |||
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* {{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Richard A. |title=Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality |date=2000 |publisher=Oakhill Press |isbn=978-1-886939-41-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781886939417 |url-access=registration }}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2023}} | |||
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*{{citation |editor-last=Drescher |editor-first=Jack |editor2-last=Zucker |editor2-first=Kenneth |title=Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture |year=2006 |publisher=Harrington Park Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1-56023-557-6}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Drescher |first1=Jack |title=Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man |journal=The American Journal of Psychoanalysis |date=2000 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=191–196 |doi=10.1023/a:1001968909523 |pmid=10874429 }} | |||
* {{cite book |doi=10.4135/9781483325422.n10 |chapter=Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy for Gay Men and Lesbians: A Scientific Examination |title=Homosexuality: Research Implications for Public Policy |year=1991 |last1=Haldeman |first1=Douglas |pages=149–160 |isbn=978-0-8039-3764-2 }} | |||
* {{cite book |doi=10.1037/0000266-001 |chapter=Introduction: A history of conversion therapy, from accepted practice to condemnation |title=The case against conversion 'therapy': Evidence, ethics, and alternatives |year=2022 |last1=Haldeman |first1=Douglas C. |pages=3–16 |isbn=978-1-4338-3711-1 |s2cid=243777493 }} | |||
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*{{cite book |last1=Weindling |first1=Paul|author-link=Paul Weindling |title=Victims and Survivors of Nazi Human Experiments: Science and Suffering in the Holocaust |date=2015 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4411-7990-6 |language=en}} | |||
*{{cite book |last1=Whisnant |first1=Clayton J.|author-link=Clayton J. Whisnant |title=Queer Identities and Politics in Germany: A History, 1880–1945 |date=2016 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-939594-10-5 |language=en}} | |||
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* {{cite journal|last1=Zinn|first1=Alexander|title='Das sind Staatsfeinde' Die NS-Homosexuellenverfolgung 1933–1945|trans-title="They are enemies of the state": The Nazi persecution of homosexuals 1933–1945|journal=Bulletin des Fritz Bauer Instituts|pages=6–13|date=2020b|url=https://www.fritz-bauer-institut.de/fileadmin/editorial/publikationen/einsicht/Einsicht-2020_Einzelseiten.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.fritz-bauer-institut.de/fileadmin/editorial/publikationen/einsicht/Einsicht-2020_Einzelseiten.pdf|archive-date=2022-10-09|url-status=live|issn=1868-4211|language=de}} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., ''Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, ISBN 0765701421 | |||
*{{cite book |last1=Haldeman |first1=Douglas C. |title=Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts: Evidence, Effects, and Ethics |date=2021 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-1-939594-36-5 |language=en}} | |||
* | |||
* Beckstead, A. ''"Gay is not me:" Seeking Congruence Through Sexual Reorientation Therapy.'' (Unpublished master's thesis, Univesity of Utah, 1999). | |||
* Shildo, A. & Shcroeder, M., ''Changing Sexual Orientation: Does Counselling Work?'' Papar presented to the American Psychological Association, Boston MA, 1999. | |||
* American Psychological Association ''Appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation. Proceedings for the legislative year 1997.'' American Psychologist, Vol. 53, 1998. | |||
* Policy statement, "Homosexuality and Adolescence," American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, 1993-OCT. | |||
{{LGBT |orientation=yes}} | |||
== External Links == | |||
{{Pseudoscience|orientation=yes}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversion Therapy}} | |||
===Medical & Scientific Organisations' Statements On Homosexuality=== | |||
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=== Reparative Therapist Ministries and Organisations === | |||
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* which advocates reparative therapy. | |||
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* The is an interdenominational Christian organization which advocates reparative therapy. | |||
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* is an interdenominational Christian organization advocating reparative therapy and repentance for homosexuals. | |||
] | |||
* . | |||
] | |||
* | |||
] | |||
* | |||
] | |||
* - Discussion forum for reparative therapy. | |||
] | |||
* | |||
* | |||
=== Opposition and Criticism === | |||
* | |||
* - detailed critical analysis of reparative therapy. | |||
* . | |||
* notable news blog for opponents of conversion therapies. | |||
* detailed summary of the case against conversion therapy. | |||
*The is a nonprofit, UK Christian Ministry "offering understanding and support for homosexual people" that no longer offers conversion therapy. | |||
* Ex-ex-gay movement information site. | |||
* | |||
* A personal view by ex-ex-gay Jeffry Ford | |||
=== Neutral === | |||
* links to and quotations from advocates and opponents of conversion therapy | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 19:46, 25 December 2024
Pseudoscientific attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity
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Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have been used to this end include forms of brain surgery, surgical or chemical (hormonal) castration, aversion therapy treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and arousal reconditioning. There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and that it frequently causes significant long-term psychological harm. The position of current evidence-based medicine and clinical guidance is that homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender variance are natural and healthy aspects of human sexuality. An increasing number of jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against conversion therapy.
Historically, conversion therapy was the treatment of choice for individuals who disclosed same-sex attractions or exhibited gender nonconformity, which were formerly assumed to be pathologies by the medical establishment. When performed today, conversion therapy may constitute fraud, and when performed on minors, a form of child abuse; it has been described by experts as torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and contrary to human rights.
Terminology
Medical professionals and activists consider "conversion therapy" a misnomer, as it does not constitute a legitimate form of therapy. Alternative terms include sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) and gender identity change efforts (GICE)—together, sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE). According to researcher Douglas C. Haldeman, SOCE and GICE should be considered together because both rest on the assumption "that gender-related behavior consistent with the individual's birth sex is normative and anything else is unacceptable and should be changed". "Reparative therapy" may refer to conversion therapy in general, or to a subset thereof.
Advocates of conversion therapy do not necessarily use the term either, instead using phrases such as "healing from sexual brokenness" and "struggling with same-sex attraction".
History
Main article: History of conversion therapySexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)
The term homosexual was coined by German-speaking Hungarian writer Karl Maria Kertbeny and was in circulation by the 1880s. Into the middle of the twentieth century, competing views of homosexuality were advanced by psychoanalysis versus academic sexology. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, viewed homosexuality as a form of arrested development. Later psychoanalysts followed Sandor Rado, who argued that homosexuality was a "phobic avoidance of heterosexuality caused by inadequate early parenting". This line of thinking was popular in psychiatric models of homosexuality based on the prison population or homosexuals seeking treatment. In contrast, sexology researchers such as Alfred Kinsey argued that homosexuality was a normal variation in human development. In 1970, gay activists confronted the American Psychiatric Association, persuading the association to reconsider whether homosexuality should be listed as a disorder. The APA delisted homosexuality in 1973, which contributed to shifts in public opinion on homosexuality.
Despite their lack of scientific backing, some socially or religiously conservative activists continued to argue that if one person's sexuality could be changed, homosexuality was not a fixed class such as race. Borrowing from discredited psychoanalytic ideas about the cause of homosexuality, some of these individuals offered conversion therapy. In 2001, conversion therapy attracted attention when Robert L. Spitzer published a non-peer-reviewed study asserting that some homosexuals could change their sexual orientation. Many researchers made methodological criticisms of the study, which Spitzer later repudiated.
Gender identity change efforts (GICE)
Gender Identity Change Efforts (GICE) refer to practices of healthcare providers and religious counselors with the goal of attempting to alter a person's gender identity or expression to conform to social norms. Examples include aversion therapy, cognitive restructuring, and psychoanalytic and talk therapies. Western medical-model narratives have historically institutionalized transphobia: systemically favoring a binary gender model and pathologizing gender diversity and non-conformity. This aided the development and proliferation of GICE.
Early interventions were rooted in psychoanalytic hypotheses. Robert Stoller advanced the theory that gender-nonconforming behavior and expression in children assigned male at birth (AMAB) was caused by being overly close to their mother. Richard Green continued his research; his methods for altering behavior included having the father spend more time with the child and mother less, expecting both to exhibit stereotypical gender roles, and having them praise their child's masculine behaviors, and shame their feminine and gender-nonconforming ones. These interventions resulted in depression in the children and feelings of betrayal from parents that the treatments failed.
In the 1970s, UCLA psychologist Richard Green recruited Ole Ivar Lovaas to adapt the techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to attempt to prevent children from becoming transsexual. Deemed the "Feminine Boy Project", the treatments used operant conditioning to reward gender-conforming behaviors, and punish gender non-conforming behaviors.
Kenneth Zucker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health adopted Richard Green's methods, but narrowed the scope to attempting to prevent the child from identifying as transgender by modifying gender behavior and presentation to conform to the expectations of the assigned gender at birth, which he dubbed the "living in your own skin" model. His model used the same interventions as Green with the addition of psychodynamic therapy.
Motivations
A frequent motivation for adults who pursue conversion therapy is their religious beliefs, especially evangelical Christianity and Orthodox Judaism, that disapprove of same-sex relations. These adults prioritize maintaining a good relationship with their family and religious community. Adolescents who are pressured by their families into undergoing conversion therapy also typically come from a conservative religious background. Youth from families with low socioeconomic status are also more likely to undergo conversion therapy.
Theories and techniques
As societal attitudes toward homosexuality have become more tolerant over time, the most harsh conversion therapy methods such as aversion have been reduced. Secular conversion therapy is offered less often due to reduced medical pathologization of homosexuality, and religious practitioners have become more dominant.
Aversion therapy
See also: Behavior modificationAversion therapy used on homosexuals included electric shock and nausea-inducing drugs during presentation of same-sex erotic images. Cessation of the aversive stimuli was typically accompanied by the presentation of opposite-sex erotic images, with the objective of strengthening heterosexual feelings. Another method used was the covert sensitization method, which involves instructing patients to imagine vomiting or receiving electric shocks, writing that only single case studies have been conducted, and that their results cannot be generalized. Haldeman writes that behavioral conditioning studies tend to decrease homosexual feelings, but do not increase heterosexual feelings, citing Rangaswami's "Difficulties in arousing and increasing heterosexual responsiveness in a homosexual: A case report", published in 1982, as typical in this respect.
Other methods of aversion therapy in addition to electric shock included ice baths, freezing, burning via metal coils, and hard labor. The intent was for the subject to associate homosexual feelings with pain and thus result in them being reduced. These methods have been concluded to be ineffective.
Aversion therapy was developed in Czechoslovakia between 1950 and 1962 and in the British Commonwealth from 1961 into the mid-1970s. In the context of the Cold War, Western psychologists ignored the poor results of their Czechoslovak counterparts, who had concluded that aversion therapy was not effective by 1961 and recommended decriminalization of homosexuality instead. Some men in the United Kingdom were offered the choice between prison and undergoing aversion therapy. It was also offered to a few British women, but was never the standard treatment for either homosexual men or women.
In the 1970s, behaviorist Hans Eysenck was one of the main advocates of counterconditioning with malaise-inducing drugs and electric shock for homosexuals. He wrote that this type of therapy was successful in nearly 50% of cases. However, his studies were disputed. Behavior therapists, including Eysenck, used aversive methods. This led to a protest against Eysenck by gay activist Peter Tatchell in a London Medical Group Symposium in 1972. Tatchell said that the therapy promoted by Eysenck was a form of torture. Tatchell denounced Eysenck's form of behavioral therapy as inducing depression and suicide among gay men who were subjected to it.
Brain surgery
In the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. neurologist Walter Freeman popularized the ice-pick lobotomy as a treatment for homosexuality. He personally performed as many as 3,439 lobotomy surgeries in 23 states, of which 2,500 used his ice-pick procedure, despite the fact that he had no formal surgical training.
In West Germany, a type of brain surgery usually involving destruction of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus was done to some homosexual men during the 1960s and 1970s. The practice was criticized by sexologist Volkmar Sigusch.
Castration and transplantation
See also: Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi GermanyIn early twentieth century Germany experiments were carried out in which homosexual men were subjected to unilateral orchiectomy and testicles of heterosexual men were transplanted. These operations were a complete failure.
Surgical castration of homosexual men was widespread in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered homosexual men to be sent to concentration camps because he did not consider a time-limited prison sentence was sufficient to eliminate homosexuality. Although theoretically voluntary, some homosexuals were subject to severe pressure and coercion to agree to castration. There was no age limit; some boys as young as 16 were castrated. Those who agreed to castration after a Paragraph 175 conviction were exempted from being transferred to a concentration camp after completing their legal sentence. Some concentration camp prisoners were also subjected to castration. An estimated 400 to 800 men were castrated.
Endocrinologist Carl Vaernet attempted to change homosexual concentration camp prisoners' sexual orientations by implanting a pellet that released testosterone. Most of the victims, non-consenting prisoners at Buchenwald, died shortly thereafter.
An unknown number of men were castrated in West Germany and chemical castration was used in other Western countries, notably against Alan Turing in the United Kingdom.
Ex-gay/ex-trans ministries
Main article: Ex-gayEx-gay ministries are religious groups that attempt to use religion to eliminate or change somebody's sexual orientation. The ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in the United States ceased activities in June 2013, and the three member board issued a statement which repudiated its aims and apologized for the harm their pursuit has caused to LGBT people. Ex-trans organizations often overlap and portray being trans as inherently sinful or against God's design, or pathologize gender variance as due to trauma, social contagion, or "gender ideology."
Hypnosis
Hypnosis was used in conversion therapy since the 19th century by Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Albert von Schrenck-Notzing. In 1967, Canadian psychiatrist Peter Roper published a case study of treating 15 homosexual (some of which would probably be considered bisexual by modern standards) people with hypnosis. Allegedly, 8 showed "marked improvement" (they reportedly lost sexual attraction towards the same sex altogether), 4 mild improvements (decrease of "homosexual tendencies"), and 3 no improvement after hypnotic treatment; he concluded that "hypnosis may well produce more satisfactory results than those obtainable by other means", depending on the hypnotic susceptibility of the subjects.
Psychoanalysis
Main article: PsychoanalysisHaldeman writes that psychoanalytic treatment of homosexuality is exemplified by the work of Irving Bieber et al. in Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of Male Homosexuals. They advocated long-term therapy aimed at resolving the unconscious childhood conflicts that they considered responsible for homosexuality. Haldeman notes that Bieber's methodology has been criticized because it relied upon a clinical sample, the description of the outcomes was based upon subjective therapist impression, and follow-up data were poorly presented. Bieber reported a 27% success rate from long-term therapy, but only 18% of the patients in whom Bieber considered the treatment successful had been exclusively homosexual to begin with, while 50% had been bisexual. In Haldeman's view, this makes even Bieber's unimpressive claims of success misleading.
Haldeman discusses other psychoanalytic studies of attempts to change homosexuality. Curran and Parr's "Homosexuality: An analysis of 100 male cases", published in 1957, reported no significant increase in heterosexual behavior. Mayerson and Lief's "Psychotherapy of homosexuals: A follow-up study of nineteen cases", published in 1965, reported that half of its 19 subjects were exclusively heterosexual in behavior four and a half years after treatment, but its outcomes were based on patient self-report and had no external validation. In Haldeman's view, those participants in the study who reported change were bisexual at the outset, and its authors wrongly interpreted capacity for heterosexual sex as change of sexual orientation.
Reparative therapy
The term "reparative therapy" has been used as a synonym for conversion therapy generally, but according to Jack Drescher it properly refers to a specific kind of therapy associated with the psychologists Elizabeth Moberly and Joseph Nicolosi. For example, he wrote:
- . . . the pursuit of fulfillment through same-sex eroticism is spurred by the fearful anticipation that their masculine self-assertion will inevitably fail and result in humiliation.
The term reparative refers to Nicolosi's postulate that same-sex attraction is a person's unconscious attempt to "self-repair" feelings of inferiority.
After California banned conversion practices, Nicolosi argued that "reparative therapy" didn't attempt to directly change sexual orientation but instead encourage exploration into its underlying causes, which he believed was often childhood trauma.
Marriage therapy
See also: Relationship counselingPrevious editions of the World Health Organization's ICD included "sexual relationship disorder", in which a person's sexual orientation or gender identity makes it difficult to form or maintain a relationship with a sexual partner. The belief that their sexual orientation has caused problems in their relationship may lead some people to turn to a marriage therapist for help to change their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation disorder was removed from the most recent ICD, ICD-11, after the Working Group on Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health determined that its inclusion was unjustified.
Gender exploratory therapy
Gender exploratory therapy (GET) is a form of conversion therapy characterized by requiring mandatory extended talk therapy attempting to find pathological roots for gender dysphoria while simultaneously delaying social and medical transition and viewing it as a last resort. Practitioners of GET often view medical transition as a last resort and propose their patient's dysphoria is caused by factors such as homophobia, social contagion, sexual trauma, and autism. Some practitioners of GET avoid using their patients' chosen names and pronouns while questioning their identification. Commenting on gender exploratory therapy in 2022, bioethicist Florence Ashley argued that its framing as an undirected exploration of underlying psychological issues bore similarities to gay conversion practices such as "reparative" therapy. States that have banned gender-affirming care for minors in the United States have called expert witnesses to argue that exploratory therapy should be the alternative treatment.
There are no known empirical studies examining psychosocial or medical outcomes following GET. Concerns have been raised that by not providing an estimated length of time for the therapy, the delays in medical interventions may compound mental suffering in trans youth, while gender-affirming model of care already promotes gender identity exploration without favoring any particular identity, and individualized care. GET proponents deny this.
In 2017, Richard Green published a legal strategy which called for circumventing bans on conversion therapy by labelling the practice "gender identity exploration or development". Multiple groups now exist worldwide to promote GET and have been successful in influencing legal discussions and clinical guidance in some regions. The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) asserts that "psychological approaches should be the first-line treatment for all cases of gender dysphoria", that medical interventions for transgender youth are "experimental and should be avoided if possible", and that social transition is "risky". All of GETA's leaders are members of Genspect, a "gender-critical" group that promotes GET and argues that gender-affirming care should not be available to those under 25. In late 2023, GETA changed their name to "Therapy First".
GETA also shares a large overlap with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), which promotes GET as first-line treatment for those under 25. GETA co-founder Lisa Marchiano stated U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order safeguarding trans youth from conversion therapy would have a "chilling effect" on GET practices. GETA also opposed Biden's Title IX changes protecting trans students from discrimination, stating allowing trans youth in restrooms would harm the mental health of their peers. The American College of Pediatricians, a small group aligned with the Christian Right, has cited numerous studies from SEGM to claim GET is necessary to restore transgender people's "biological integrity". In November 2023, Michelle Cretella, a board member of the pro conversion therapy group Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI, formerly NARTH), gave a speech at an ATCSI conference which endorsed GET and argued it "truly is very similar to how the Alliance has always approached unwanted same-sex attraction".
Effects
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There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation. Advocates of conversion therapy rely heavily on testimonials and retrospective self-reports as evidence of effectiveness. Studies purporting to validate the effectiveness of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity have been criticized for methodological flaws. After conversion therapy has failed to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, participants often feel increased shame that they already felt over their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Conversion therapy can cause significant, long-term psychological harm. This includes significantly higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues in individuals who have undergone conversion therapy than their peers who did not, including a suicide attempt rate nearly twice that of those who did not. Modern-day practitioners of conversion therapy—primarily from a conservative religious viewpoint—disagree with current evidence-based medicine and clinical guidance that does not view homosexuality and gender variance as unnatural or unhealthy.
In 2020, ILGA World published a world survey and report Curbing Deception listing consequences and life-threatening effects by associating specific public testimonies with different types of methods used to practice conversion therapies.
A 2022 study estimated that conversion therapy of youth in the United States cost $650.16 million annually with an additional $9.5 billion in associated costs such as increased suicide and substance abuse. Youth who undergo conversion therapy from a religious provider have more negative mental health outcomes than those who had consulted a licensed healthcare provider.
Public opinion
A 2020 survey carried out on US adults found majority support for banning conversion therapy for minors.
A 2022 YouGov poll found majority support in England, Scotland, and Wales for a conversion therapy ban for both sexual orientation and gender identity, with opposition ranging from 13 to 15 percent.
Legal status
Main article: Legality of conversion therapySome jurisdictions have criminal bans on the practice of conversion therapy, including Canada, Ecuador, France, Germany, Malta, Mexico and Spain. In other countries, including Albania, Brazil, Chile, Vietnam and Taiwan, medical professionals are barred from practicing conversion therapy.
In some states, lawsuits against conversion therapy providers for fraud have succeeded, but in other jurisdictions those claiming fraud must prove that the perpetrator was intentionally dishonest. Thus, a provider who genuinely believes conversion therapy is effective could not be convicted.
Conversion therapy on minors may amount to child abuse.
Human rights
In 2020, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims released an official statement that conversion therapy is torture. The same year, UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, said that conversion therapy practices are "inherently discriminatory, that they are cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and that depending on the severity or physical or mental pain and suffering inflicted to the victim, they may amount to torture". He recommended that it should be banned across the world. In 2021, Ilias Trispiotis and Craig Purshouse argue that conversion therapy violates the prohibition against degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, leading to a state obligation to prohibit it. In February 2023 Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, qualified those practices as “irreconcilable with several guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights" and having no place in a human rights-based society urging the Member States of the Council of Europe to ban them for both adults and minors, later in July 2023 she advocated for clear actions during a public hearing at the European Parliament studying different approaches to legally ban "conversion therapies" in the European Union. In September 2024 it was reported that the European Union is considering banning "conversion therapies" across its Member States, while a European Citizens' Initiative that started collecting signatures in May 2024 is also calling on the European Commission to outlaw such practices.
In media
Efforts to change sexual orientation have been depicted and discussed in popular culture and various media. More recent examples include: Boy Erased, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Book of Mormon musical, Ratched, and documentary features Pray Away, Homotherapy: A Religious Sickness.
Medical views
Main article: Medical views of conversion therapyNational health organizations around the world have uniformly denounced and criticized sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts. They state that there has been no scientific demonstration of "conversion therapy's" efficacy. They find that conversion therapy is ineffective, risky and can be harmful. Anecdotal claims of cures are counterbalanced by assertions of harm, and the American Psychiatric Association, for example, cautions ethical practitioners under the Hippocratic oath to do no harm and to refrain from attempts at conversion therapy. Furthermore, they state that conversion therapy is harmful and that it often exploits individual's guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide. There is also concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy can cause social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about gender identity, sexual orientation, and the ability of LGBT people to lead happy, healthy lives. Various medical bodies prohibit their members from practicing conversion therapy.
See also
- Christianity and homosexuality
- Corrective rape
- Recovering from Religion
- Sexual orientation change efforts and the LDS Church
Notes
- not to be confused with the American Academy of Pediatrics
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Further reading
- Haldeman, Douglas C. (2021). Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts: Evidence, Effects, and Ethics. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1-939594-36-5.
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