Tag: LGBTQ mental health

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Conversion Therapy: Legal Shifts Do Not Change Clinical Reality

conversion therapy

Recent developments at the level of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) have created confusion for many people regarding the legality and ethics of so-called conversion therapy. While legal interpretations may shift over time, one fact remains firmly grounded in decades of research and clinical consensus: conversion therapy is harmful, ineffective, and potentially life-threatening.

At the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, we believe it is essential to separate legal discourse from clinical truth. The absence of a ban, or the striking down of one, does not make a practice safe, ethical, or acceptable within professional mental health care.

What Is Conversion Therapy?

Conversion therapy refers to a range of discredited practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These approaches may include talk therapy framed around shame, aversion techniques, or spiritual coercion. Despite how they are presented, these interventions are not supported by credible psychological science.

Leading organizations such as the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers have all issued clear statements opposing conversion therapy, citing overwhelming evidence of harm and lack of efficacy.

The Evidence of Harm

Research consistently shows that individuals subjected to conversion therapy are at significantly increased risk for:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Substance use disorders
  • Self-harm
  • Suicidal ideation and attempts

A large-scale study by Ryan et al. (2020) found that exposure to conversion therapy was associated with more than double the likelihood of attempting suicide compared to those who were not exposed. Similarly, Turban et al. (2020) demonstrated that LGBTQ+ youth who underwent conversion efforts had significantly higher rates of severe psychological distress and suicidality.

These findings are not isolated. They reflect a broader pattern: attempts to suppress or alter core identity traits create profound internal conflict, shame, and psychological fragmentation. From a mindfulness and ecotherapy perspective, this represents a forced disconnection from the self. This is an outcome that is fundamentally at odds with healing.

Ethical Violations in Clinical Practice

Any licensed counselor or therapist who implements conversion therapy is violating core ethical principles, including:

  • Nonmaleficence (do no harm)
  • Beneficence (promote well-being)
  • Respect for client autonomy and dignity

Modern therapeutic approaches, including mindfulness-based therapies, trauma-informed care, and ecotherapy, emphasize acceptance, integration, and self-awareness, not suppression or eradication of identity.

Practitioners who continue to use conversion therapy are not practicing evidence-based care. They are engaging in interventions that have been widely discredited and condemned by the mental health community.

What You Can Do

If you become aware of a licensed therapist in your area practicing conversion therapy, it is important to take action:

  • Report them to their state licensing board immediately. Licensing boards exist to protect the public and uphold professional standards.
  • If someone is offering therapy services without a license, report them as well. Practicing psychotherapy without a license is illegal in most jurisdictions and may constitute a felony offense.
  • If you or someone you know has been harmed by conversion therapy, legal recourse may be available, including civil lawsuits.

Taking these steps is not punitive. It is protective. It safeguards vulnerable people from further harm and reinforces ethical standards within the profession.

A Mindful Ecotherapy Perspective

Healing involves reconnection to self, to body, to community, and to the natural world. Conversion therapy does the opposite. It fosters disconnection, self-rejection, and internalized stigma.

Mindfulness-based ecotherapy offers a radically different path:

  • Observing thoughts and feelings without judgment
  • Cultivating self-compassion
  • Reconnecting with natural rhythms and embodied experience
  • Supporting identity integration rather than suppression

From this perspective, the goal is not to change who someone is, but to help them fully inhabit and accept themselves.

Final Thoughts

Legal decisions may evolve, but the science is clear: conversion therapy is harmful. No court ruling can override decades of empirical evidence and clinical consensus. Mental health professionals have an ethical obligation to reject harmful practices and provide care that affirms and supports the whole person.

If you encounter conversion therapy in your community, do not ignore it. Speak up, report it, and advocate for safe, ethical care. Lives quite literally depend on it.

References

American Psychological Association. (2009). Report of the task force on appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation. APA.

Ryan, C., Toomey, R. B., Diaz, R. M., & Russell, S. T. (2020). Parent-initiated sexual orientation change efforts with LGBT adolescents: Implications for young adult mental health and adjustment. Journal of Homosexuality, 67(2), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1538407

Turban, J. L., Beckwith, N., Reisner, S. L., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2020). Association between recalled exposure to gender identity conversion efforts and psychological distress and suicide attempts among transgender adults. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(1), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2285

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Conversion Therapy, SCOTUS, and the Ethical Mandate to “Do No Harm”

conversion therapy

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy has reignited a critical conversation at the intersection of law, ethics, and mental health care. While the ruling reframes certain aspects of conversion therapy as protected speech under the First Amendment, it does not, and cannot, override the ethical responsibilities that govern licensed professionals.

For therapists, the takeaway is clear: just because conversion therapy may become legal again in Colorado does not mean it is ethical, safe, or professionally acceptable.

Conversion Therapy Remains a Harmful and Discredited Practice

Conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE), has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization in the United States. Decades of research consistently demonstrate that conversion therapy is ineffective and associated with significant psychological harm.

Peer-reviewed studies highlight serious risks, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth who are subjected to these practices. These harms include:

  • Increased depression and anxiety
  • Heightened substance use
  • Elevated risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts

Green et al. (2020) found that exposure to sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) was associated with significantly higher odds of lifetime suicide attempts. Similarly, Ryan et al. (2018) reported that LGBTQ youth exposed to conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to those who were not.

These findings are widely accepted across the mental health field. Conversion therapy is not a neutral intervention. It is a harmful one.

Ethical Codes Are Clear: Do No Harm

All licensed mental health professionals, whether psychologists, counselors, social workers, or marriage and family therapists, are bound by core ethical principles. Chief among them is nonmaleficence, the obligation to “do no harm.”

Practicing sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) violates this principle in multiple ways:

  • It relies on interventions lacking empirical support
  • It creates foreseeable psychological harm
  • It undermines client identity and autonomy
  • It falls outside accepted standards of care

Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Counseling Association (ACA), and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) have all explicitly condemned conversion therapy.

Even if courts limit the ability of states to ban sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE), ethical standards remain fully enforceable through licensure boards.

The Supreme Court’s ruling addresses constitutional law and not clinical best practice. This distinction is essential.

A therapist engaging in conversion therapy may not face criminal penalties under state law, but they are still accountable to their licensing board. That accountability carries real consequences.

Therapists who practice sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) risk:

  • Formal ethics complaints
  • Investigation by licensing boards
  • Suspension or revocation of their license

Licensing boards are tasked with protecting the public. When a clinician engages in a practice known to cause harm, the board has both the authority and the responsibility to intervene.

In other words, sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) can still cost a therapist their career even if it is technically legal.

Why Reporting Conversion Therapy Matters

Given this legal shift, accountability becomes even more important. If sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) begins to resurface under the protection of this ruling, harmful practices mustn’t go unchecked.

Clients, family members, and professionals should take action when they encounter conversion therapy:

  • Report practitioners to state licensing boards
  • Document harmful interventions
  • Support individuals harmed by conversion efforts
  • Advocate for affirming, evidence-based care

Reporting is not punitive. It is protective. It safeguards vulnerable individuals and upholds the integrity of the mental health profession.

The Role of Ethical Practice in Mindful Ecotherapy

At the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, we emphasize approaches that honor the whole person, including their identity, lived experience, and connection to the natural world. Conversion therapy stands in direct opposition to these values.

Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) both emphasize:

  • Acceptance rather than a change of identity
  • Compassion and psychological flexibility
  • Alignment with authentic values

These approaches are grounded in evidence and ethics, unlike conversion therapy, which attempts to suppress or alter core aspects of self.

Conclusion: Ethics Must Lead the Way

The Supreme Court’s ruling on conversion therapy may change the legal landscape, but it does not change the science. It does not change the data. And it does not change the ethical obligations of mental health professionals.

Conversion therapy remains a harmful, discredited practice that violates the foundational principle of “do no harm.”

Therapists are entrusted with our clients’ well-being. That trust demands adherence to ethical standards, even when the law creates ambiguity. If conversion therapy re-emerges, the responsibility falls on the profession and the public to ensure it is challenged, reported, and ultimately rejected.

References

Green, A. E., et al. (2020). Association of conversion therapy with depression and suicide among LGBTQ individuals. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(1), 68–76.

Ryan, C., et al. (2018). Parent-initiated sexual orientation change efforts with LGBT adolescents: Implications for young adult mental health and adjustment. Journal of Homosexuality, 65(2), 159–173.

American Psychological Association. (2015). Guidelines for psychological practice with sexual minority persons.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2015). Ending conversion therapy: Supporting and affirming LGBTQ youth.

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