Planned Parenthood Research

Words: 1055
Pages: 5

According to Christy Mallory, legal director at UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, a think tank dedicated to researching sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, conversion therapy is the practice of attempting to change somebody's sexual orientation or gender identity and the act of converting one to be heterosexual (Mallory). Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that gives information about health care and sexual education, states that sexual orientation is the term used to describe who one is attracted to. Examples of different sexual orientations include lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight, and asexual (Parenthood). In the United States, approximately 400,000 homosexual adolescents have gone through conversion …show more content…
Conversion therapy has people feeling powerless, humiliated, shameful, guilty, self-disgust, and worthlessness, which can all lead to damaged mental health and personality changes (OHCHR). P1 Silva Neves, an experienced psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist and trauma psychotherapist, says conversion therapy needs to be banned and the action of banning it has been stalled. He also states that conversion therapists manipulate their clients into opening up and becoming vulnerable, just to end up torturing them into becoming heterosexual and “normal”. David Hudson, former Associate Director of Content for the White House Office of Digital Strategy, states that the White House Administration is extremely against conversion therapy. He says that there have already been many tragic effects of conversion therapy and countless individuals have ended their lives because they can’t live their lives the way that they want to and feel unwanted in society. He also states that the parents and ministers who are forcing the individuals into conversion therapy are trying to do the right thing for them but are really doing the exact opposite …show more content…
Some have been practicing a similar type of therapy, instead of conversion therapy. Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, an expert in reparative therapy since 1981 who has earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Philosophy, states that homosexuality is not a “psychological disorder”, but it goes against the human body's biological design. He performs a type of conversion therapy, called reparative therapy, which also converts LGBTQ members into heterosexuals without the physical harm. He also helps his clients understand where their homosexuality came from (childhood trauma, negative experiences with women, disempowering mothers) and how they can move forward (Nicolosi). His overall goal is to reduce his clients' same sex attractions and help them explore their heterosexual potential. Reparative therapy is different from conversion therapy in that it has nothing to do with shaming, alienating, giving electric shock or nausea inducing drugs, or forcing clients to stop. It consists of discussions and behavior modification. Reparative therapy involves coercion and the client is to discuss with the therapist to reach a desired goal. This practice has basic methods of intervention with the homosexuality; reducing sexual/romantic attractions towards the same sex, understanding that the reduction of same-sex attraction can be achieved, and finding the root in which the homosexuality may have come from (Nicolosi). Compared to what Silva Neves stated about conversion therapy, this form of therapy is not