We Need to Talk about Conversion Therapy
November 6, 2025
Today, many conversion therapists operate in secret. In the United States, most conversion therapists are religious officials, some of whom are also licensed practitioners in the medical and mental health fields. Instead of advertising “conversion” or “reparative” therapy, conservative pastors might offer counseling at their church to help people find “sexual integrity” or “wholeness.” As a result, too many Americans believe a widespread misconception that conversion therapy no longer happens. But as of 2018, almost 700,000 LGBTQ adults between the ages of 18 and 59 in the U.S. have been subjected to conversion therapy at some point in their lives, around half of whom were sent to conversion therapy during adolescence. Those who have experienced conversion therapy, which disproportionately affects Black men, are more likely to suffer from depression and to attempt suicide.
