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

Momentum 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

called also reparative therapy

Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The lawsuit filed Friday seeks a jury trial, a preliminary injunction against Michigan’s conversion therapy ban, and damages and attorney fees for plaintiffs. —Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 15 July 2024

For instance, asexual people are sometimes subjected to conversion therapy, a practice aimed at changing someone's sexuality or gender identity. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2024

Starmer’s Labour manifesto includes popular positions like passing a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban and reforms to the Gender Recognition Certificate process, a requirement for legal transition in the U.K. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 5 July 2024

The report notes that the Great Lakes State, which had an impressive 4.87 increase, implemented a statewide ban on conversion therapy, protecting its LGBTQ+ population. —Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above