Everymajor medical and mental health organizationopposes conversion therapy becauseresearch shows it to be harmful and ineffective. Even so, its important to know what individual research studies on conversion therapy have concluded, in order to understand its many harms and the variety of people affected by it. Related SCOTUS will soon hear a conversion therapy case. Queer kids need us to fight for them. Laws banning conversion therapy do not silence religious or personal beliefs; they protect children. What is conversion therapy? Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Conversion therapy refers to any attempt to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity.The methods of so-called conversion therapists include encouraging queer people not to masturbate, redirecting their sexual energy into exercise, covert aversion (a fancy name for imagining possible negative consequences of being queer), Bible study, directing same-sex sexual desire onto opposite-sex partners, inflicting pain and humiliation anytime LGBTQ+ feelings arise, and forcing people to act out stereotypical gender roles in behavior and personal appearance. Do doctors or psychologists support conversion therapy?No. Major medical organizations like theAmerican Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry,American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,American Medical Association(AMA),American Psychiatric Association,American Psychological Association(APA), and theAmerican School Health Associationall oppose conversion therapy as a debunked form of pseudoscience that harms those subjected to it. How many states have banned conversion therapy? | ShutterstockCurrently, 22 U.S. states have banned so-called conversion therapy for minors.Some state legislative bans posit that the practice violates state licensing standards because the methods are ineffective and harm patients. Other states have said that practitioners who purport to change an individuals LGBTQ+ identity are, in essence, using false advertising to market their services, something which can violate other state regulatory business statutes. What studies on conversion therapy say:Conversion therapy is still happening in the United StatesOver 1,320 conversion therapists remain active across the U.S., including in states with bans in place, according toa report from the LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project. The report found that licensed therapists, counselors, social workers, and unlicensed practitioners advocate for and/or directly engage in conversion therapy. Many discreetly advertise their services using terms like sexual attraction fluidity exploration, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, sexual addiction, sexual wholeness, sexual integrity, and claims to help clients align their related behaviors with their faith. Conversion therapy doesnt work & harms those who undergo itIn 2009, the American Psychological Association (APA) published alandmark reportfinding no compelling evidence supporting the idea that sexual orientation can be altered with psychological interventions.The report also concluded that conversion therapy risks causing serious psychological damage to those subjected to it, including increases in depression and suicidality. Conversion therapy has multiple negative effects on young peopleA 2018 study from the Family Acceptance Project found that youth who undergo conversion therapy are twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who dont undergo it. The study found that youth are three times as likely to attempt suicide if parents involve non-therapist outsiders, like religious leaders.Researchers found that conversion therapy can also have negative effects on the socioeconomic status, self-esteem, social support systems, and education of young adults subjected to the treatment as children. About 13% of LGBTQ+ youth have undergone conversion therapyThe Trevor Projects2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, capturing the experiences of nearly 35,000 LGBTQ youth across the U.S., found that 13% of LGBTQ youth reported being subjected to conversion therapy, with 83% reporting it occurred when they were under age 18. | Shutterstock Survivors of conversion therapy say it emotionally damaged themA 2013 surveyshowed that 84% of former patients who tried ex-gay therapy said it inflicted lasting shame and emotional harm.Conversion therapy increases the likelihood of attempting suicideA June 2020 study by UCLAs Williams Institute found that 7% of LGB people in the U.S. have experienced conversion therapy: 81% received it from a religious leader, and 31% received it from a health care provider. The study also found that LGB people who have undergone conversion therapy are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to LGB people who havent undergone it. One in seven trans people has been subjected to conversion therapyA2015 surveyof more than 27,000 trans adults found that nearly 1 in 7 said that a professional like a therapist, doctor, or religious adviser had tried to change their gender identity; about half of respondents said they were minors at the time. Applying this rate to population estimates, the Williams Institute at UCLAprojectsthat more than 135,000 trans adults nationwide have experienced some form of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy threatens asexual people, tooA February 2024 study found that asexual people are 10% more likely to be offered conversion therapy in comparison to other sexual orientations. Additionally, a February 2025 survey with 400 respondents found that 25% of respondents thought that asexual people have a mental illness, and 31% thought that asexuality can be cured with therapy.Conversion therapy costs the U.S. billions of dollars annuallyThe first-of-its-kind studyfound that efforts to change a persons sexual orientation and gender identity create direct costs and, as well, indirect costs associated with anxiety, severe psychological distress, depression, alcohol or substance abuse, suicide attempts, and fatalities. The impacts are estimated to cost the United States $9.23 billion annually.The studys review of 28 published studies showed that LGBTQ+ people who participated in conversion therapy were more likely to experience negative impacts compared to those who did not, including serious psychological distress (47% vs 34%), depression (65% vs 27%), substance abuse (67% vs 50%), and attempted suicide (58% vs 39%). Conversion therapys harmful effects negatively impact people even in middle ageA June 2022 study published in the journal Gerontologist found that men above the age of 40 who had been previously exposed to conversion therapy were more likely to have long-term depressive symptoms, above-average internalized homophobia, and other negative psychosocial outcomes (like emotional distress, social difficulties, self-care, and cognitive impairment). | Shutterstock Conversion therapy increases suicide risk among transgender peopleA September 2019 study using the largest available dataset of transgender people in the United States found that conversion therapy on trans people greatly increases the risk of suicide attempts over their lifetimes.Of 27,000 transgender respondents to the studys survey, 13.5% had undergone conversion therapy. Those respondents were twice as likely as the respondents to have attempted suicide. Those who had been exposed to conversion therapy before the age of 10 were considered to have a risk of suicide attempts four times higher than the respondents who hadnt been exposed to conversion therapy. Conversion therapy increases the risk of high blood pressureA May 2025 report from researchers, led by the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University, found that young adults assigned male at birth who had been exposed to conversion therapy were nearly 2.9 times more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure than those who had not. The prevalence of conversion therapy is tied to social rights & attitudesA study published in the October 2023 edition of PLOS One the peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) found that 8% of non-white people and Indigenous North Americans reported a history of conversion therapy, compared with 5% of white people.Additionally, the study found that 12% of trans people reported a history of conversion therapy, compared with 4% of gay people. The authors theorized that this disparity was likely due to more predominant pro-gay attitudes among health professionals and a slower development of similar attitudes, social policies, and legal protections regarding transgender people. Conversion therapy often targets trans & people from conservative religious backgroundsAn evidence assessment and qualitative study of conversion therapy conducted by the U.K. government, published in October 2021, found that trans people may be more likely to be offered or receive conversion therapy than cisgender lesbian, gay, or bisexual people.The review found that exposure to conversion therapy is associated with having certain conservative religious beliefs. It also found evidence that the harm associated with conversion therapy outweighs reports of some benefits, such as diminished social support networks and a sense of belonging.It also found that a majority of people who have undergone conversion therapy view it as harmful and the source of their mental distress. Conversion therapy is more common among lower-educated, anti-LGBTQ+ racial and ethnic communitiesA Stanford Medicine study, published in September 2024 in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, found that people who experienced conversion therapy efforts to change their sexual orientation reported more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and those who experienced conversion therapy efforts to change their gender identity exhibited more symptoms of depression. Those who experienced both had more symptoms of PTSD and suicidality.The study found that 52.4% of people subjected to sexual orientation-based conversion therapy had the abuse spearheaded by a religious leader or organization, and 28.8% had the abuse facilitated by a mental health provider or organization. In contrast, 54.1% of people subjected to gender identity-based conversion therapy said the abuse was initiated by a mental health provider or organization, and 32.9% had the abuse facilitated by a religious leader or organization.The researchers also found that members of ethnic or racial minorities, people raised in communities that did not accept their identities, transgender people, and those with lower levels of education were more likely to have experienced conversion practices, the studys authors found. The prevalence of conversion therapy is tied to social rights & attitudesA study published in the October 2023 edition of PLOS One the peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) found that 8% of non-white people and Indigenous North Americans reported a history of conversion therapy, compared with 5% of white people.Additionally, the study found that 12% of trans people reported a history of conversion therapy, compared with 4% of gay people. The authors theorized that this disparity was likely due to more predominant pro-gay attitudes among health professionals and a slower development of similar attitudes, social policies, and legal protections regarding transgender people. Conversion therapy violates human rights laws against degrading treatmentA study published in the August 2021 edition of the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies found that conversion therapy violates legal concepts of liberty, equality and human dignity as well as prohibitions agains degrading treatment as outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, and various U.K. and international human rights laws. Conversion therapy remains a threat to LGBTQ+ peopleThe Supreme Court of the United States has decided to hearChiles v. Salazar a case that could overturn state bans on conversion therapy for minors. Such a case has long been sought by Republicans and conservatives who claim that conversion therapy is just a form of constitutionally protected religious speech.Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.released a rushed report on gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors, which recommended behavioral therapy to treat gender dysphoria.As such, conversion therapy remains a threat to LGBTQ+ people of all ages, making it all the more important that queer people and allies understand the research and studies proving its numerous harms.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.