Resource Links -- Conversion Therapy

Policy Statements of Professional Organizations

American Psychological Association (1997)
“Whereas societal ignorance and prejudice about same gender sexual orientation put some gay, lesbian, bisexual and questioning individuals at risk for presenting for 'conversion' treatment due to family or social coercion and/or lack of information… Therefore be it further resolved that the American Psychological Association opposes portrayals of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual orientation and supports the dissemination of accurate information about sexual orientation, and mental health, and appropriate interventions in order to counteract bias that is based in ignorance or unfounded beliefs about sexual orientation.”  (Full text)

American Psychiatric Association (1998)
“Therefore, APA opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy, that is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or is based on the a priori assumption that the patient should change his or her homosexual orientation.” (Full text)

American Psychiatric Association (2000)
“As a general principle, a therapist should not determine the goal of treatment either coercively or through subtle influence. Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or "repair" homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable. Furthermore, anecdotal reports of "cures" are counterbalanced by anecdotal claims of psychological harm. In the last four decades, "reparative" therapists have not produced any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure. Until there is such research available, APA recommends that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm.” (Full text)

American Medical Association (reparative therapy appended 2000)
“Our AMA… opposes, the use of "reparative" or "conversion" therapy that is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation.” (Full text)

The U.S. Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (2001) said “there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.”
Excerpt: "Sexual orientation is usually determined by adolescence, if not earlier (Bell et al, 1981), and there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed (Haldeman, 1994; APA, 2000). Nonetheless, our culture often stigmatizes homosexual behavior, identity and relationships (Herek, 1993). These anti-homosexual attitudes are associated with psychological distress for homosexual persons and may have a negative impact on mental health, including a greater incidence of depression and suicide, lower self-acceptance and a greater likelihood of hiding sexual orientation (Gonsiorek, 1982; Ross, 1985; Ross, 1990; Greene, 1997; Remafedi, 1998). Although the research is limited, transgendered persons are reported to experience similar problems. In their extreme form, these negative attitudes lead to antigay violence. Averaged over two dozen studies, 80 percent of gay men and lesbians had experienced verbal or physical harassment on the basis of their orientation, 45 percent had been threatened with violence, and 17 percent had experienced a physical attack (Berrill, 1992). 
(Full text) 

National Association of Social Workers Position Statement (2000) : "Reparative" and "Conversion" Therapies for Lesbians and Gay Men

…”the increase in media campaigns, often coupled with coercive messages from family and community members, has created an environment in which lesbians and gay men often are pressured to seek reparative or conversion therapies, which cannot and will not change sexual orientation. Aligned with the American Psychological Association’s (1997) position, NCLGB believes that such treatment potentially can lead to severe emotional damage.” (Full text)

Research Articles -- Conversion Therapy

Ethical issues in sexual orientation conversion therapies: An empirical study of consumers. Michael Schroeder, PsyD, Ariel Shidlo, PhD, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy, Vol. 5,No. 3/4, 2001, pp. 131-166.
     Abstract: This study uses interviews with 150 consumers of sexual orientation conversion therapies to identify critical incidents of poor practice and ethical violations. We found that some licensed conversion therapists may be practicing in a manner inconsistent with the APA Ethics Code, similar professional codes, and recent guidelines on treatment of lesbians and gay men. Areas of ethical violations identified include: informed consent, confidentiality, coercion, pre-termination counseling, and provision of referrals after treatment failure. (Full article)

Changing Sexual Orientation: A Consumers’ Report. Ariel Shidlo, PhD, Michael Schroeder, PsyD. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2002, Vol. 33 No. 3, 249-259.
     Abstract: What motivates individuals to pursue conversion therapy and ex-gay groups? How do they perceive its harmfulness and helpfulness? In this study, 202 consumers of sexual orientation conversion interventions were interviewed to answer these questions. The results indicated that a majority failed to change sexual orientation, and many reported that they associated harm with conversion interventions. A minority reported feeling helped, although not necessarily with their original goal of changing sexual orientation. A developmental model that describes the various pathways of individuals who attempt to change their sexual orientation is presented. 
(Full article)

WHEN THERAPISTS DO NOT WANT THEIR CLIENTS TO BE HOMOSEXUAL: A RESPONSE TO ROSIK’S ARTICLE
Robert-Jay Green, PhD. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, January 2003,Vol. 29, No. 1, 29–3.
     Abstract: This commentary is a response to Rosik’s “Motivational, Ethical, and Epistemological Foundations in the Treatment of Unwanted Homoerotic Attraction” (this issue). Such treatment raises complex questions that cannot be resolved by focusing on the therapist’s conservative versus liberal values. Most such clients are deeply ambivalent about their homosexual attractions. The degree to which their homosexuality is “unwanted” is highly variable among them and sometimes within them over time. Clients who are exclusively homosexual are very unlikely to be able to change their sexual attractions, whereas some clients who are bisexual may be more able to “manage” their homoerotic attractions (acting only on their heterosexual feelings). Marriage and family therapists should be able to support a client along whatever sexual orientation path the client ultimately takes, and the client’s sense of integrity and interpersonal relatedness are the most important goals of all. (Full Article [use the “Print This” feature to read continuously])

The Practice and Ethics of Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy. Douglas Haldeman, PhD. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62 (2), pp. 221-227.
     Abstract: Sexual orientation conversion therapy was the treatment of choice when homosexuality was thought to be an illness. Despite the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness, efforts to sexually reorient lesbians and gay men continue. The construct of sexual orientation is examined, as well as what constitutes its change. The literature in psychotherapeutic and religious conversion therapies is reviewed, showing no evidence indicating that such treatments are effective in their intended purpose. A need for empirical data on the potentially harmful effects of such treatments is established. Ethical considerations relative to the ongoing stigmatizing effects of conversion therapies are presented. The need to develop more complex models for conceptualizing sexual orientation is discussed, as well as the need to provide treatments to gay men and lesbians that are consonant with psychology’s stance on homosexuality. (Full article)

Sexual orientation conversion therapy for gay men and lesbians: A scientific examination. Haldeman, D. (1991). In J. Gonsiorek & J. Weinrich (Eds.), Homosexuality: Research Implications for Public Poliicy. pp. 149-160. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
     From Conclusion: Psychological ethnics mandate that mental health professionals subscribe to methods that support human dignity and are effective in their stated purpose. Conversion therapy qualifies as neither. It reinforces the social stigma associated with homosexuality, and there is no evidence from any of the studies reviewed here to suggest that sexual orientation can be changed. Perhaps conversion therapy seemed viable when homosexuality was still thought to be an illness; at this point, it is an idea whose time has come and gone. At no point has there been empirical support for the idea of conversion; indeed, the methodological flaws in these studies are enormous. It now makes sense to discontinue focusing on conversion attempts and focus instead on healing and educating an intolerant social context. Some will say that an individual has the “right to choose” conversion treatment. Such a choice, however, is almost always based on the internalized effects of a hostile family and an intolerant society. (Full article)

Best book

(Awarded Best Book in LGB Psychology, 2002, by APA Div. 44)

Sexual Conversion Therapy: Ethical, Clinical and Research Perspectives, edited by Ariel Shidlo, PhD, Michael Schroeder, PsyD, and Jack Drescher, MD (Vol.5, No. 3/4, 2001). Haworth Press.
Sexual Conversion Therapy features first-person accounts of patients and clinicians--even psychotherapists--who themselves have undergone treatments ranging from psychoanalysis to religious faith healing to aversion behavior conditioning and even electroshock therapy. Nearly 30 years after the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a small but dedicated group of mental health practitioners continues to diagnose and treat homosexuality as a mental illness. This book works to counterbalance the clinical and ethical omissions of overzealous therapists who have focused on efficacy and outcome at the expense of their patients' self-esteem.