So in my post on world mental health day I talked about having a learning disability that effects how I process language. I wanted to share with you all my one of my essays where I used my accommodations to actually get the best out of my writing.
In the past decade, there has been a great shift in public opinion when it comes to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community. As of June 26, 2015, right before many Pride Parades took place, the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal. It is also legal for same-sex couples to adopt in all 50 states. With growing support for LGBT identified people, one would think practices in place to harm LGBT identified youth would be illegal. However, that is not the case. One of the most harmful practices to LGBT youth is still legal in 44 states: conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is dangerous, there is no empirical evidence showing that it works, and it implies there is something that can be cured when it comes to LGBT people. Licensed medical professionals should be barred from practicing conversion therapy on children and adolescents.
Conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy or sexual orientation change effort, is a variety of treatments rooted in psychoanalytic theory. The treatment is based on the belief that homosexual, bisexual and gender diverse people need to be cured, turned heterosexual and made to conform to gender stereotypes matching one's assigned sex at birth. Gender diverse people are people who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, have a gender expression that doesn’t conform society's gender stereotypes, and/or have a gender identity outside of the male/female binary. Conversion therapy treatment can include but is not limited to: “praying away the gay,” “psychoanalysis, hypnosis, social skills training, adverse behavioral therapy”(Moss 317-318), “electroshock, institutionalization, castration, noxious stimuli” (Fritz 8) paired with imagery, rape, and “group or individual shaming” (Fritz 8). These treatments are dangerous and often mentally damaging. Six states have already banned licensed medical practitioners from practicing conversion therapy for children and adolescents. However, conversion therapy practiced by licensed medical professional for children and adolescents needs to be banned at the federal level.
Congress should ban conversion therapy for minors because there is no disease or mental ailment to cure and the majority of the medical community agrees. “ In 1973 homosexuality was removed as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) with the declaration of support for the civil rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from the American Psychiatric Association” (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 15). Not only was it removed but one of the nation's top mental health organizations showed support for LGBT people. The American Psychological Association, the National Association for Social Work, the American Counseling Association, the American Medical Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all have come out against conversion therapy saying there is nothing to cure (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 15). All of these organizations have also come out with their own statements supporting the civil rights of LGBT people. Conversion therapy is no longer up for discussion: the mental health community has spoken. The an overwhelming majority of professionals agree that having a sexual minority orientations is not a disease. Instead, sexual minority orientations are a normal part of human sexuality. The same applies when it comes to gender diverse people. Gender Identity Disorder was removed in 2013 from the DSM (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 16). Gender Identity Disorder was defined as “ evidence of a strong and persistent cross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is, of the other sex … evidence of persistent discomfort about one's assigned sex” (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 523-533). Removing it from the DSM is big step away from looking at gender diverse people as suffering from a pathological problem and accepting that gender expression lies on a spectrum.
In addition to being unnecessary there is no empirical evidence showing that it works. There have never been any articles published in peer-reviewed journals showing evidence of successful conversion therapy. The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) would have people believe that the lack of evidence would be enough to prove that it possibly can work. However, that's not how science or the law works. The burden of proof lies with the party saying that it does work. For instance, the scientists must prove their theory to their peers, and the prosecutor must prove to the jury beyond reasonable doubt that they are right. We need to hold pro conversion therapy organizations to the same standards. Most mental health organizations are not willing and cannot ethically go about proving that conversion therapy does not work due to the severity of some of the treatment. On numerous occasions the United Nations has called electroshock inhumane torture. Ethically, if an organization wanted to prove that conversion therapy did not work they wouldn't be able to prove it scientifically because electroshock is used. The majority of scientist are not going to put subjects through inhumane torture. This is where the problem lies. Some of the more extreme treatments used in conversion therapy are unethical, thus impossible to test for effectiveness. However, the fact that some of the more extreme options are unethical should be reason enough for said treatment options not to be used and instead, discounted as plausible practices due to evidence of harm from conversion therapy survivors.
Congress needs to ban conversion therapy for minors on the grounds that it is dangerous and harmful. Anecdotal research proves this. There have been many accounts from conversion therapy survivors of the abuse that they experienced. Many survivors experience mental health problems. “ Shame, withdrawal, depressive symptoms, and substance use have been frequently associated with conversion therapy” (Fritz 8). All this is evidence of someone who had undergone severe trauma. In addition, conversion therapy survivors are about 9 time more likely to commit suicide than the average population (Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation 33). It leaves mental damage because it often occurs at young ages. Parents are seeking out professionals to help their children, often not knowing how much they are hurting the children they love. Proponents and practitioners of conversion therapy assure the parents that the benefits far outweigh the risks when that has been proven not to be true.
Some organizations still support conversion therapy. The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (Alliance), previously NARTH, whose former president was Dr.Joseph Nicolosi, a very famous proponent of conversion therapy. Another is Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). Both of these organizations are religious non for profits, whose reasoning is rooted in the belief that homosexuality is a sin. PFOX’s website has a blog against homosexuality and how it is ruining society and families. They also offer resource such as articles and videos against homosexuality. One of the articles on PFOX’s website is from the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Robert L. Spitzer regarding a study of gay men who wanted to change their sexuality. He says, “What I found was that, in the unique sample I studied, many made substantial changes in sexual arousal and fantasy — and not merely behavior” (Spitzer). Dr.Spitzer argues that change is in fact possible. He believes that the option of this therapy should be available to those who want it. PFOX supports this view not only by offering this article as a resource on their website but also offering similar articles in the same vain on the blog. The Alliance also supports the view point that homosexuals/ bisexuals can change: “individuals who report unwanted same-sex attractions and pursue psychological care … achieve sustained shifts in the direction and intensity of their sexual attractions, fantasy, and arousal that they consider to be satisfying and meaningful” (NARTH). They say conversion therapy works and have videos from ex gays to back up these claims. The Alliance also has a entire section of their website devoted to the treatment of adolescents. This proves that they believe that this is an appropriate treatment for youth. Both groups repeatedly explain that a person must want or seek the treatment. They both believe that for the treatment to work LGB people have to want to change. Youth might seem willing or try to change due to parental or community pressure and fear of rejection. If one could potentially be facing homelessness or abuse, perhaps it would seem more favorable to go through therapy. Proponents of conversion therapy think that this needs to exist for those who seek it to help their children, and in both of these organizations’ opinions, banning it prevents a consumer's right to choose and infringes on parental rights.
Another argument for conversion therapy has to do with gender diverse people. The Alliance believes that a person is whatever gender he or she is born, because God makes no mistakes. The Alliance specifically talks about gender diverse people needing professional help. The Alliance states that the media and politicians are harming the “...transgendered by treating their confusions as a right in need of defending rather than as a mental disorder that deserves understanding, treatment and prevention” (McHugh). They still view gender diverse people much how they view homosexuals as suffering from an illness. The Alliance believes that you can treat this illnesses through conversion therapy. Before kindergarten a child knows their gender. Children age 6 or younger could be in conversion therapy to prevent atypical gender behavior. In their view, the Alliance just wants to help parents raise their daughters as females and their sons as males.
The Alliance also discredits Gay Affirmative Therapy as a healthy alternative to conversion therapy arguing that it is too superficial, that Gay Affirmative Therapy is “accepting the attraction at face value without questioning their origins. This is a highly unprofessional omission” (Nicolosi). They contend that Gay Affirmative Therapy does not ask enough questions and just accepts the homosexual identity at face value instead of looking for the root of the problem/ attraction. The Alliance does not believe that lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) people are born this way and there has to be a source of the “illness”.
Samuel Brinton (Sam) is a conversion therapy survivor, and has been one of the main faces against conversion therapy. Sam co chairs the Born Perfect advisory committee, run by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and is a founder of 50 Bills 50 States, an organization leading the charge in banning conversion therapy for youth in all 50 states. Sam has also helped spearhead bills in 29 states against conversion therapy. I interviewed Sam about their viewpoints on conversion therapy. Sam prefers gender neutral pronouns they/ them/ theirs/ when I refer to them. When asked about conversion therapy's effectiveness they said “conversion therapy has been proven not to be effective. The science speaks for itself. Many national medical organizations have discredited its effectiveness.” Even though the Alliance and PFOX both have videos on their websites from “ex-gays” to prove that it does work, Sam argues that these people are suffering from severe trauma and should instead seek Gay Affirmative Therapy to explore their identity for themselves. However, Gay Affirmative Therapy has been discredited by the Alliance. Yet Sam explains that “ affirmative gay therapy is a process that explores identity and helps the patient come to terms with what their identity means to them, without bringing in outside viewpoints of society or one's family. It really asks the patient to come to a conclusion for themselves whatever that may be.” This type of therapy is helpful to anyone exploring one of their identities whether that be religious, sexual, gender, etc. Instead of being told that their identity is wrong or invalid. It lets a patient define their identity for themselves. PFOX and the Alliance both argue that this treatment is appropriate for youth, but Sam disagrees saying that “people under the age of 18 cannot emotionally, mentally, or legally consent to conversion therapy. Even though it is completely feasible that a young person could want conversion therapy, they could be seeking conversion therapy due to environmental factors or social pressure. We protect children from making bad decisions. However, if they still want conversion therapy as an adult after being able to make an informed decision, they should have that option.” Sam not is not trying to outlaw conversion therapy completely, though some countries have gone that far. Instead, they are trying protect some of our most at risk youth from something that has been studied to be harmful. When asked wouldn’t banning licensed practitioners from practicing conversion therapy just make it more dangerous Sam responded, “I am protecting LGBT youth from licensed therapist and medical professionals. People still have access to conversion therapy if they choose it for their children but no licensed medical professional should be able to provide such a service. Only unlicensed therapists or religious leaders are able to practice conversion therapy. That does make it more dangerous; however, by reducing the population that have access to it there are less people being harmed by it.” Finally, I asked them whether or not it was appropriate to treat gender diverse youth with conversion therapy as the Alliance suggest, “Conversion therapy is the practice of refuting one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapy would be forcing that a child to live as the gender that the outside world perceives and not as the child necessarily identifies as. This would be harmful and damaging mentally to a child. Instead they should be offered affirmation therapy to help them explore the gender they identify as and help them align their perceived identity with their actual gender identity.” Gender diverse people are not confused. They just need to be believed and affirmed just like people with sexual minority identities.
Brazil, Malta, and Switzerland (de facto illegal) have all banned conversion therapy. The United States of America needs to join that list. These countries have gone as far to make the practices illegal for minors and adults, yet the United States is dragging its feet in protecting children from conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has been dismissed by most major health organization as an appropriate therapy for LGBT people. It is dangerous and causes permanente mental health issues. There is no empirical evidence to support that it even works. The United States needs to banned licensed medical practitioners from practicing conversion therapy for children and adolescents on the federal level.
Work Cited
American Psychological Association, Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. (2009). Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-resp.html
Danlev. "Equaldex." LGBT Rights in Brazil. Equaldex, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association,1994.
"Equaldex." LGBT Rights in Switzerland. Equaldex, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.
Fritz, Gregory K. “‘Conversion therapy’ and homosexuality - never an appropriate treatment for children or adolescents.” The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, vol. 32, no. 3, 2016, pp. 8–8., doi:10.1002/cbl.30111.
"Malta bans 'gay cure' conversion therapy." BBC News. BBC, 06 Dec. 2016. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.
McHugh, Paul. “Wall Street Journal .” Wall Street Journal , 12 June 2014, www.wsj.com/amp/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.
Moss, Ian. “Ending Reparative Therapy in Minors: An Appropriate Legislative Response” Family Court Review, vol. 52, no. 2, 2014, pp. 316–329., doi:10.1111/fcre.12093.
“NARTH Institute Statement on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts.” National Association for the Research and Treatment of Homosexuality, NARTH board of Directors , 25 Jan. 2012, www.narth.com/about1. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
Nicolosi, Joseph. “What is Reparative Therapy? Examining the Controversy.”
Spitzer, Robert L. “Commentary: Psychiatry and Homosexuality.” Wall Street Journal , 23 May 2001, www.pfox.org/sidebar-pages/athiest/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 15-4928. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2015.
