Conversion Therapy: Our Position

by Rina Brown Ono, MA and the OpenWorld Team

Recent legal proceedings have challenged bans on conversion therapy, with potential implications for similar protections in more than two dozen states. These developments have raised serious concerns among mental health professionals, advocacy organizations, and the communities these laws were designed to protect. We want to be direct about what the research says.

Conversion therapy is harmful. It is not effective. Historically, it was built on the false premise that homosexuality was a disorder, a view reinforced by social stigma and institutional bias rather than scientific evidence (Davidson & Walden, 2024; American Psychological Association [APA], 2025). As mental health providers, we acknowledge that our field was part of this harmful past, and we take that seriously.

Research consistently associates conversion therapy with depression, anxiety, shame, internalized stigma, loss of identity and self-worth, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Davidson & Walden, 2024). These are well-documented outcomes.

Legal scholars have argued that conversion therapy should be banned because it violates fundamental human rights (Trispiotis & Purshouse, 2022). Although individuals may appear to participate voluntarily, their consent is often shaped by social pressure, stigma, or coercion, conditions that undermine true autonomy. Conversion therapy frequently occurs in situations involving power imbalances and personal vulnerability, and many participants describe the experience as deeply distressing and harmful (Purshouse & Trispiotis, 2022).

At OpenWorld Psychology, we are heartbroken by these developments. We stand with the LGBTQ+ community. 

Professional organizations that have issued statements in response:

American Psychological Association: APA concerned about far-reaching consequences from Supreme Court decision regarding therapy as 'free speech'

American Psychiatric Association: APA Statement on the Supreme Court Decision in Chiles v. Salazar

References

American Psychological Association. (2025). The evidence against "conversion therapy": Insights from psychological research.

Davidson, G., & Walden, K. (2024). History and iatrogenic effects of conversion therapy. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 20, 333-354. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080822-052144

Purshouse, C., & Trispiotis, I. (2022). Is 'conversion therapy' tortious? The Legal Studies Journal, 42, 23-41. https://doi.org/10.1017/lst.2021.28

Trispiotis, I., & Purshouse, C. (2022). 'Conversion therapy' as degrading treatment. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 42(1), 104-132. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqab024