Sexual Orientation Therapists are Operating in Legal Gray Zones
Newsweek investigation found.Those carrying out such practices reject the term "conversion therapies" and the premise that changing a person's sexuality is the purpose of their treatment, but critics say they are similar and that their continuation highlights the legal gray areas, potential loopholes and lack of enforcement in the states that have outlawed such treatments.Newsweek did not find evidence that proved any of the practitioners listed below were breaking the law."While many of these types of counselors, either licensed therapists or as a part of a faith-based organization, or both, vehemently deny that they're engaging in conversion therapy, claiming instead that they are rooting out deep-seated traumas that might have caused same-sex attraction, or just dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction, it's still conversion therapy in principle," said Wendy Via, the president and co-founder of the nonprofit group Global Project Against Hate and Extremism"Any 'treatment' that seeks to change a person's orientation or identity is effectively conversion therapy," she told Newsweek.Conversion or reparative therapy is an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity through talk therapy or other methods.Defenders of such treatments say that it is the right of everyone to choose their sexual orientation, including in cases where they believe they want to change it.However, there is debate about its potential impact on children.
Licensed therapists are banned on giving it to minors in 22 states and in more than 100 municipalities in the U.S. It is banned for adults and minors in some countries, including Canada and Iceland.The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a group that is involved in psychiatric research and the treatment of children, has said conversation therapies lack scientific credibility and could be harmful for those who receive it.
