Conversion Therapy Argumentative Essay

For many years, psychologists described homosexuality as a disorder or a treatable complex. Recently, homosexuality was removed from the DSM and is no longer considered a disorder. The gay population is no longer treated as sick but accepted as a diverse set of individuals. The many distinguishing attributes and characteristics of a gay or lesbian individual are considered to be personality attributes.

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, or Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) has a troubled history within the United States and abroad. Conversion therapy is the use of a variety of means to attempt to change an individual’s sexual or gender orientation. Current practices include inducing vomiting or paralysis while showing a subject homoerotic images, having a subject snap a rubber band on their wrist whenever they have certain thoughts, or using tactics to create shame or aversion to same sex or transgender thoughts. Many established institutes claim that the therapy does or doesn't work and offer contradicting evidence for their position. The Movement Advancement Project, a group dedicated to providing research for the advancement of LGBT people, states in an infographic that nine states, plus the District of Columbia and a handful of municipalities have banned conversion therapy from being provided by licensed medical professionals to minors (“Kids” 1). Based on the established evidence and the overwhelming number of psychologists and sociologist that disavow conversion therapy, along with the multitude of horror stories from children who were persuaded, or forced, to participate by their parents, the federal government should ban conversion therapy for all minors.

Thesis: Conversion therapy receives little support from the American psychiatric community due to a lack of evidence confirming its supposed effectivity and the measurable damage it causes to the individuals subjected to its outdated practices.

al., 2013, p. 253). With treatments such as “professional therapy and paraprofessional/religious ministry contexts”, Sanders and his colleagues report that thirty percent of those who participated in this form of therapy achieved “positive outcomes” (2013, p. 255). Although critics to changing one’s sexual orientation claim that there are many factors that limit the support of the research proving the success of this treatment option, Sanders states that there is data supporting successful conversions (2013, p. 255).

Mental health experts have said that “conversion therapy, in most cases, leads to suicidal tendencies, self harm, depression, and parental hate in minors” (“Should Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’”). None of those things have a happy ending at all. When people are forced through those kinds of things, it only makes the patient suffer, not change. The depression that sometimes develops is usually caused by the therapist making the patient feel broken or like they don’t belong in society. Many conversion therapists have been reported to belittle each patient and tell them that they would “never function with normal people in society” (“Homosexuality Cannot Be ‘Cured’”). In a “successful” conversion case, the patient four months later attempted suicide since they still had homosexual thoughts and that made them feel like they couldn’t be normal, live a happy life, or have a family. All of those things were told to them by their conversion therapist earlier. Most conversion therapy cases end in suffering or mental pain to the patient, but nothing is done to the therapist themselves. Opposers to conversion therapy, including medical and mental health officials, state that the therapy is useless and is “physically, emotionally, and spiritually

Conversion therapy’s core beliefs are deeply rooted in outdated, obsolete, and unfounded ideals. In the past, the institutionalization of the LGBT+ people has been underrepresented, despite how

The goal of conversion therapy is to change a patient’s sexual orientation or the gender that they identify with using an array of techniques, extending as far as procedures like shock therapy.This pseudoscience is based on the belief that a person learns homosexual or transgender behavior. Conversion therapy holds no proof of efficacy, but what it does hold is evidence of psychological harm to patients. With no scientific support for the practice, it has been discredited by nearly all major psychological associations.

In light of the 2016 election, there have been some question as to weather or not conversion therapy is a suitable and ethical practice. Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy or ex-gay therapy, is used to try and change a persons sexual orientation and/or a persons gender identity. United states President Donald J. Trump has not yet said anything about his views on the matter, however, Vice-President elect Mike Pence has ‘advocated diverting taxpayer dollars to so-called conversion therapy’ and stated, during one of the republican debates, "Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” (Chris Nichols- Politifact) He also supported reparative therapy when he started to run for congress in 2000. Conversion therapy, unlike many other therapies, can be extremely harmful to a person, especially a minor’s, mental health and self esteem; Therefor, conversion therapy should be illegal in all 50 states because it puts lgbtq+ youth at a greater risk of experiencing high levels of depression and suicide, is often biased to fit one set of religious beliefs and is ‘unethical’.

To wrap it all up, conversion therapy is a form of verbal and/or physical abuse upon the client's will. Many of these licensed or unlicensed therapist that offer this practice view homosexuality as an illness or disease that can be cured by drilling shame and guilt to the client or physical shocking their clients while showing them clips of same-sex gender, so their brain will reject the thought of being in love with someone of the same gender. The laws that have been created to stop this therapy is a huge impact by having therapy be a safe place for the LGBT youth. A psychologist which is supposed to help a client find a goal to improve their mental and physical health of their patient not abuse them to fit a certain

Since most aversion therapy techniques have been deemed dangerous in todays society, many conversion therapists use psychotherapeutic practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy. For example, people argue that early trauma like sexual abuse can change a person’s sexual orientation and so they go ahead with therapy by dealing with the trauma, believing a person’s sexual orientation can be changed. Conversion therapy encourages people to change who they are as a person, convincing them that their sexual orientation is wrong. People choose to undergo different reparative therapies for a number of reasons including family, religion, to resolve other mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety, and others may be pushed into therapy by society (Haldeman, 1999, p. 2-3). The problem with conversion therapy is that it has been proven to be pseudoscientific for more reasons than one, some reasons including; conversion therapy is based on faulty assumptions, mental health professions generally oppose it, the therapy can be very harmful, and the therapy creates adverse affects toward the publics views towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual

There is an arising topic in today’s generation and many teens and adults are facing challenges that are unthinkable to anyone else. These individuals are going through the challenge of determining their gender identity. Matters similar to this is the debate surrounding conversion therapy and how this LGBT communities are treated. Conversion therapy or reparative therapy is defined as by Oxford dictionaries as “psychotherapy aimed at changing a person’s homosexuality and based on the view that homosexuality is a mental disorder” (Oxford University Press, 2016). There has been much attention revolving around conversion therapy due to its safety and ethically questionable methods such as electroshock therapy and ice pick

For a long time, the minority of silent and ignored homosexuals has had to face and cross over not only internal fears, doubts and shame, but also the external fears of the risk of disapproval, rejection and maybe even death. Such fears stem from the widely-held belief that homosexual acts are abnormal behaviors as a symptom of a mental disease. As a consequence, this preconception, along with the displeasure with the idea of homosexuality, leads many families who have gay or lesbian children to seek a “cure” for what are called “unnatural” impulses. The afflicted individuals might suffer numerous methods of sexual reorientation therapy. However, considering the characteristics of a disease, homosexuality should not be considered as such if

Conversion therapy is a term used to designate an array of counseling techniques designed to effect a shift in sexual preference (Throckmorton, 2005). Reports of patients seem to show positive results from treatment, even if there is no change in sexual orientation (Slife, 2004). Those who request conversion therapy often do so because of conflict between their homosexual feelings and the culture surrounding them. Counselors who practice conversion therapy attempt to understand the cultural background of clients who have deep conflicts over sexual impulses and deeply held moral convictions. Counselors are required to inform clients of the purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations and

“The central problem of the conversion theory ....is that it does not describe the way we typify our experiences of painful art....If the overall experience of an artwork is described as painful, then the conversion theory is simply not applicable to that work.”

Currently, there is debate on whether conversion therapy is effective in changing sexual orientation. Some studies found evidence that conversion therapy does change the sexual orientation of homosexuals . Unfortunately, some of the researchers have apologized to the gay community for lack of credibility and faulty research . In contrast, professional organizations speak out against conversion therapy due to a shortage of evidence that it is successful. One such