conversion therapy
noun
plural conversion therapies
: the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birth
Note: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis and as being both ineffective and harmful.
Conversion therapy is both pointless and painful. At its best, it can inflict considerable psychological damage on a child without changing their sexual orientation or gender identity whatsoever. At its worst, it can lead to suicide …—
Samantha Allen
Samantha AllenMomentum has been building in legislative sessions this spring for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.—Susan Miller
Susan Millercalled also reparative therapy
Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Meanwhile, conversion therapy has been discredited by numerous medical associations.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 1 May 2025
Kentucky’s legislature has overridden Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill that allows conversion therapy to resume in the state and that bans Medicaid funds from being used for gender-affirming care, including for adults.
—James Factora, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
Twenty states have banned conversion therapy over the past decade since the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in Pickup v. Brown and Welch v. Brown.
—Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, 12 Mar. 2025
The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.
—Mark Sherman, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2025
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Rebecca Schneid, Time, 1 May 2025
Kentucky’s legislature has overridden Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill that allows conversion therapy to resume in the state and that bans Medicaid funds from being used for gender-affirming care, including for adults.
—James Factora, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
Twenty states have banned conversion therapy over the past decade since the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in Pickup v. Brown and Welch v. Brown.
—Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, 12 Mar. 2025
The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.
—Mark Sherman, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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