On Conversion Therapy

Readers, my heart is incredibly heavy given yesterday’s news from the Supreme Court.

Being a therapist comes with incredibly important privilege and responsibility. We are and should be held to a higher standard. What we do in the therapy room is not free speech, it’s responsibility. It’s work, and it should be regulated. We are tasked to use evidence based treatment modalities. We are expected to keep our education and practices current, based on most recent research. While our style, our approach, our demeanor, and how we build rapport can be our personal choice, our therapeutic practices are not personal. They are the product of our training, our education, and our professional ethics.

Conversion therapy has been found to be harmful and ineffective. I will link the APA’s summary of the effects of conversion therapy below; but here is a quick summation.
- Conversion therapy has been found to be linked to increased depression and anxiety, PTSD, abuse of substances, and suicidality.
- One study found that only 3.2% of participants experienced “slight changes” to their sexuality.

To my readers, clients, and potential clients:
Please know that at Wholehearted Psychological Services, PLLC, we will continue to provide a safe and inclusive therapy environment. We will fall back on research, on our training, and our education when it comes to which therapy modalities we engage. All identities will be welcome.

To other mental health professionals:
Hold. The. Line. We and our boards can still have higher standards and expectations for ourselves and our fields. We are incredibly privileged to have the roles we have, and I am charging you to match that privilege with the responsibility owed to our clients. The evidence is clear: conversion therapy is harmful. Our ethical codes are also clear: Do no harm.

Until next time,
Dr. Riojas

APA article referred to above: https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/evidence-against-conversion-therapy