APA Official Actions Position Statement on Conversion Therapy and

APA Official Actions

Position Statement on Conversion Therapy and LGBTQ

Patients

Approved by the Board of Trustees, December 2018

Approved by the Assembly, November 2018

“Policy documents are approved by the APA Assembly and Board of Trustees. . . These are . . . position statements that define

APA official policy on specific subjects. . .” – APA Operations Manual

Issue:

Since 1998, the American Psychiatric Association has opposed any psychiatric treatment, such as

"reparative" or conversion therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a

mental disorder or that a patient should change his/her homosexual orientation

. This position

statement updates and replaces previous position statements about conversion therapy regarding

sexual orientation, furthermore it also comments on conversion therapy with gender diverse patients in

an attempt to prevent harm to any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer person.

In the past, diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity (e.g. homosexuality, bisexuality, and

transgender identities) were seen as a mental illness. This changed in 1973 when the American

Psychiatric Association stated that homosexuality per se is not a mental disorder

. While Gender

Dysphoria remains a part of the DSM-5, there is growing social acceptance that human sexuality and

gender identity can present in a variety of ways as part of the human condition

3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13

The validity, efficacy, and ethics of clinical attempts to change an individual's sexual orientation have

been challenged

14,15,16,17,18

. The literature also consists of anecdotal reports of people who claim that

attempts to change were harmful to them, and others who claimed to have changed and then later

recanted those claims

19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31

. Along a similar vein, gender diverse patients have been

shown to benefit from gender-affirming therapies

32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39.40

, and given the documented harm of

“reparative” or conversion therapies regarding sexual orientation, it would likely be seen as unethical to

research reparative therapy outcomes with gender diverse populations.

While many might identify as questioning, queer, or a variety of other identities, “reparative” or

conversion therapy is based on the a priori assumption that diverse sexual orientations and gender

identities are mentally ill and should change.

POSITION:

1. APA reaffirms its recommendation that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change

individuals’ sexual orientation.

2. APA recommends that ethical practitioners respect the identities for those with diverse

gender expressions.

3. APA encourages psychotherapies which affirm individuals’ sexual orientations and gender

identities.

4. APA encourages legislation which would prohibit the practice of “reparative” or conversion

therapies that are based on the a priori assumption that diverse sexual orientations and

gender identities are mentally ill.

Authors:

Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities

References:

1. Position Statement on Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation (Reparative

or Conversion Therapies). (2000). Retrieved from

http://file:///C:/Users/eyarbrough/Downloads/Position-2000-Therapies-Change-Sexual-

Orientation%20(2).pdf

2. Drescher, J. (2009). Queer Diagnoses: Parallels and Contrasts in the History of Homosexuality,

Gender Variance, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Archives Of Sexual Behavior, 39(2),

427-460.

3. Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., & Martin, C. (2010). Sexual behavior in the human male. Bronx, N.Y.:

Ishi Press Int.

4. Kinsey, A. (2010). Sexual behavior in the human female. Bronx: Ishi Press International.

5. Hooker, E. (1957). The adjustment of the male overt homosexual. [Glendale, Calif.]: Society of

Projective Techniqes and Rorschach Institute.

6. Levounis, P., Drescher, J., & Barber, M. (2012). The LGBT casebook. Washington, DC: American

Psychiatric Pub.

7. Bell, A., & Weinberg, M. (1979). Homosexualities. New York: Simon and Schuster.

8. Friedman, R., & MacKinnon, R. (1988). Male homosexuality. New Haven: Yale University Press.

9. Isay, R. (2009). Being homosexual. New York: Vintage Books.

10. Magee, M., & Miller, D. (2014). Lesbian lives. New York, NY: Routledge.

11. Erickson-Schroth, L., & Boylan, J. (2014). Trans Bodies, Trans Selves. New York: Oxford University

Press.

12. Drescher, J. (2001). Psychoanalytic therapy and the gay man. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.\

13. Isay, R. (2009). Being homosexual. New York: Vintage Books.

14. Haldeman, D. (1991). Sexual orientation conversion therapy for gay men and lesbians: A

scientific examination. Homosexuality: Research Implications For Public Policy, 149-161.

15. Haldeman, D. (1994). The practice and ethics of sexual orientation conversion therapy. Journal

Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 221-227.

16. Brown, L. (1996). Ethical concerns with sexual minority patients. Textbook Of Homosexuality And

Mental Health, 897-916.

17. Drescher, J. (1997). What needs changing? Some questions raised by separative therapy

practices. New York State Psychiatric Society Bulletin, 40(1), 8-10.

18. Walker, J., & Albert, G. (2018). U.S. JOINT STATEMENT BY PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

WARNING AGAINST CONVERSION THERAPY. Gaylesta: The Psychotherapist Association for

Gender & Sexual Diversity. Retrieved 5 March 2018, from https://gaylesta.org/us-joint-

statement

19. Isay, R. (2009). Becoming gay. New York: Vintage Books.

20. Shidlo, A., Schroeder, M., & Drescher, J. (2001). Sexual Conversion Therapy: Ethical, Clinical and

Research Perspectives (pp. 51-67). New York, London, Oxford: The Haworth Medical Press.

21. Beckstead, A., & Morrow, S. (2004). Mormon Clients’ Experiences of Conversion Therapy. The

Counseling Psychologist, 32(5), 651-690.

22. Borowich, A. (2008). Failed Reparative Therapy of Orthodox Jewish Homosexuals. Journal Of Gay

& Lesbian Mental Health, 12(3), 167-177.

23. Dehlin, J., Galliher, R., Bradshaw, W., Hyde, D., & Crowell, K. (2015). Sexual orientation change

efforts among current or former LDS church members. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 62(2),

95-105.

24. Fjelstrom, J. (2013). Sexual Orientation Change Efforts and the Search for Authenticity. Journal

Of Homosexuality, 60(6), 801-827

25. Flentje, A., Heck, N., & Cochran, B. (2013). Sexual Reorientation Therapy Interventions:

Perspectives of Ex-Ex-Gay Individuals. Journal Of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 17(3), 256-277.

26. Haldeman, D. (2002). Therapeutic Antidotes: Helping Gay and Bisexual Men Recover from

Conversion Therapies. Journal Of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3-4), 117-130.

27. Maccio, E. (2011). Self-Reported Sexual Orientation and Identity Before and After Sexual

Reorientation Therapy. Journal Of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 15(3), 242-259.

28. Schroeder, M., & Shidlo, A. (2002). Ethical Issues in Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapies: An

Empirical Study of Consumers. Journal Of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3-4), 131-166.

29. Shidlo, A., & Schroeder, M. (2002). Changing sexual orientation: A consumers'

report. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 33(3), 249-259.

30. Smith, G. (2004). Treatments of homosexuality in Britain since the 1950s--an oral history: the

experience of patients. BMJ, 328(7437),

31. Weiss, E., Morehouse, J., Yeager, T., & Berry, T. (2010). A Qualitative Study of Ex-Gay and Ex-Ex-

Gay Experiences. Journal Of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 14(4), 291-319.

32. Roehr, B. (2015). Comfortable in their bodies: the rise of transgender care. BMJ, 350(jun05 6),

h3083-h3083.

33. PANDYA, A. (2014). Mental Health as an Advocacy Priority in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and

Transgender Communities. Journal Of Psychiatric Practice, 20(3), 225-227.

34. Buchholz, L. (2015). Transgender Care Moves Into the Mainstream. JAMA, 314(17), 1785.

35. Deutsch, M., Bhakri, V., & Kubicek, K. (2015). Effects of Cross-Sex Hormone Treatment on

Transgender Women and Men. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 125(3), 605-610.

36. Griffin, L. (2011). The Other Dual Role: Therapist as Advocate with Transgender Clients. Journal

Of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 15(2), 235-236.

37. Ruppin, U., & Pfäfflin, F. (2015). Long-Term Follow-Up of Adults with Gender Identity

Disorder. Archives Of Sexual Behavior, 44(5), 1321-1329.

38. WPATH. (2017). Wpath.org. Retrieved 6 May 2017, from

http://www.wpath.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=1351&pk_association_

webpage=4655

39. White Hughto, J., & Reisner, S. (2016). A Systematic Review of the Effects of Hormone Therapy

on Psychological Functioning and Quality of Life in Transgender Individuals. Transgender

Health, 1(1), 21-31.

40. Yarbrough, E. (2018). Transgender Mental Health. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric

Association Publishing.