Last December, Leelah Alcorn, a seventeen-year-old transgender girl, committed suicide by walking in front of a tractor-trailer in
Ohio. Before her death, she blogged that she would rather die than be forced to continue “conversion therapy.” Her suicide moved hundreds of thousands of people to sign on-line petitions against conversion therapy, also known as “ex-gay therapy” or “reorientation therapy.”
News of her death energized many of us to be more proactive in debunking conversion therapy.
We are mental health therapists from different disciplines, and we’re are aware of how conversion therapy is harmful for teens and adults, causing depression, alienation, and even suicide. We were ardent supporters of the first state law in the U.S. against conversion therapy, which passed in California in 2012. That law was groundbreaking, albeit limited in scope, and so far only one other state, New Jersey, has followed California’s lead.
Earlier this year, fourteen major medical and psychological bodies in the UK issued a joint memorandum of understanding declaring conversion therapy to be unethical. Major British organizations from the Royal College of General Practitioners to the Association of Christian Counsellors to the National Health Service of England issued a joint declaration stating that conversion therapy is unethical and harmful. The memorandum states that “Awareness of the prevalence of conversion therapy in the UK grew following the publication of research in 2009 which revealed that one in six psychological therapists had engaged clients in efforts to change their sexual orientation.”
Colleagues and I have started asking U.S. medical and psychological organizations to declare conversion therapy unethical. We see what happened in the UK as the beginning of a more comprehensive change in the U.S., and eventually around the world. We would like to see U.S. health provider associations take the next step, as the British have done, and declare with a united voice that conversion therapy is unethical.
U.S. health associations have issued guidelines for therapeutic responses that respect patients’ same-sex erotic attractions and gender identity differences. What’s needed now is a joint statement affirming that conversion therapy is unethical. It would greatly raise ethical awareness and responsibility nationally, and deeply validate that being LGBT is healthy. When professional associations unite with clear ethical guidelines on mental health issues, they have the power to change professional perspectives and public perceptions. These ethics are the ones that future students will learn in the mental health professions.
Other benefits from a joint statement could ensue. The Southern Poverty Law Center is litigating in New Jersey on the premise that conversion therapy is consumer fraud. That victory would be a major precedent, and a joint declaration would undoubtedly boost the case against this practice. The National Center for Lesbian Rights has a new national campaign underway called #BornPerfect whose aim is to protect youth in every state from conversion therapy. A joint memorandum would go very far indeed in advancing their campaign, too.
There are also worldwide benefits. Self-declared conversion therapists can be found worldwide. Several years ago health provider organizations in Uganda supported that nation’s “kill the gays” bill because they were deluded into believing that conversion therapy works. Now that a joint memorandum has been issued by fourteen associations in the UK, this myth has less credibility worldwide. Let us stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the UK organizations and reinforce that message. It might even save a life.
Jim Walker, MA, MFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco. He can be contacted at therapist@lgbtcounseling.com.
