The Psychology Of Conversion Therapy

The way the criminal justice system should handle crimes has always been a debated subject. For over the last forty years, ever since the war on drugs, there are more policies made to be “tough on crime”. From then, correctional systems have grown and as people are doing more crimes, there are plenty of punishments for them. In the mid 1970’s, rehabilitation was the main concern for the criminal justice system. It was common that when someone was convicted of a crime, they would be sentenced to prison but there would also be diagnosed treatments to help them as well. Most likely, they would have committed a crime due to psychological problems. When they receive treatment in prison, they can be healed and would not go back to their wrong lifestyle they had lived before. As years have gone by, people thought that it was better to take a more punitive stance in the criminal justice system. As a result of the turnaround of this more punitive criminal justice system, the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. The U.S. has a higher percentage of the

Knight’s poem Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane offers a glance of a panopticist disciplinary regime in an American Prison. The author shows how inmates internalize a mode of surveillance of watching their folklore hero Hard Rock, and making assumptions of their condition basing on his actions and behavior. In the beginning, the author writes, “Hard Rock was known not to take no shit from nobody” (Knight line1-2). The inmates had heard of Hard Rock through word of mouth and they say that they are waiting to witness if the word is true. According to the word, they found in prison, Hard Rock could not be tamed, and they waited to associate with his character. Nevertheless, the word changes because, when he returns from the “Hospital for the Criminal Insane,” Hard Rock is not what the inmates had been told. He is a hopeless man subject to lobotomy as a punishment of defiance. Hard Rock had no eyes, and was powerless and as the prisoners watched him, they felt hopeless. Knight writes that, Hard Rock was disposed of his power after being deprived of his eyesight and reduced to nothing through the labotomy process and instead of being a hero as before; he was made into an object of pity by the inmates. The inmates were crushed after what they saw what Hard Rock had been reduced to. Knight Writes that, the inmate turned away their “eyes on the ground, Crushed” ( Stanza 5, line 4).Their hero was now

It is important to analyze the differences between men and women in terms of treatment approaches and types of offenses. As seen in most psychotherapy theories, men primarily develop the techniques with little insight from a female perspective, this factor carries over to the use of cognitive behavioral therapy and is seen in the prison setting. The orientation of therapeutic programs within a prison are directed more toward men with little adaptations to differences and needs seen in women offenders (Sacks, McKendrick & Hamilton, 2012). This presents as an issue primarily because men and women are often associated with different crimes and different mental disorders. It would makes sense then to tailor therapeutic techniques to the clients gender and offenses.

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.

Electroconvulsive shock therapy, copper heating wires and mind altering drugs seem like something straight out of a terrifying horror film, but these are all painful realities for some victims of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is also known as reparative therapy, and is the widespread practice of trying to change the sexuality of gay men and women all over the world. It is an inhumane process that only hurts patients. Gay conversion therapy is a horrifying term used to rationalize physical torture, psychological damage and systematic oppression towards the LGBT community that needs to be banned.

“Life experience is richer than discourse. Narrative structures organize and give meaning to experience, but there are always feelings and lived experience not fully encompassed by the dominant story” (White & Epston, 1990, p. 20). Effective therapy is seen as an enjoyable experience presenting options for dialogue, rather than monologues, about the problem.

The study that provides evidence that conversion therapy is both ineffective and harmful is provided by the American Psychological Association (APA) in a report entitled, Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The report concluded that, "efforts to change sexual

L. Ronald Hubbard launched a rehabilitation program called, Criminon. This puts a criminal through steps of rehabilitation to bring individuals of precise changes. Criminon operates within correctional systems throughout the United States to rehabilitate criminals by restoring their sense of being humane so that they can become productive members of society and produce for themselves and others positively (Successful Rehabilitation of Today's Criminals, 2008). It starts with a course on how to communicate appropriately with others. From there, the individual advances to a course called, “The Way to Happiness” that is, a 21-step precept that helps gives and teaches them common sense and how to apply it to life outside the prison walls and the survival of their future.

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.

With more than “2 million people” (B, "Rehabilitate or Punish") incarcerated in the United States, it’s a wonder how rehabilitation can possibly be a factor anymore in United States Prison. However, at one point rehabilitation or reform was the main goal up “until the mid-1970” (B, "Rehabilitate or Punish"). So why is rehabilitation no longer an objective? Is it the overabundance of prisoners in the system? Or that the public’s approach on crime has changed from understanding to tough and preventive. In this case Jonathan Wayne Nobles fate was decided based on society’s lapsed views on incarceration, lack of knowledge of mental disorders, as well as the non-apparent recognition of positive change in

Reparative therapy, is a range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression (Human Rights Campaign). These practices have been banned by many mental health doctors and practitioners. This particular therapy is mainly used on the youth of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

This therapy is a short-term and goal oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a “hands on” approach to problem-solving and helps clients to change their thinking and/or behavioral patterns. I would like to see CBT be used to help clients overcome their fear of the LGBT community. However, we must be just as open-mined and tolerant to others religious beliefs, and understand that this may interfere with their moral standards. We could, however, help them learn that just because they do not agree with homosexuality, does not mean they have to treat them any different.

Conversion disorder is a condition in which a patient shows symptoms of brain or nervous system problems, such as a stroke or seizure. However, no such problems can be found to explain the symptoms. This condition is also known as functional neurological symptom disorder. For people with conversion disorder, the symptoms may result in:

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).

(Mitchell & Ngo, 2017) “It was assumed that the psychological hardships of prison life would “shock” the offenders straight”