As a teenager, Julie Rodgers found herself in Tuesday night group therapy sessions, where young participants would confess what they considered “same-sex transgressions.” These confessions ranged from intimate acts to simply reaching out to an ex-partner or watching a television show about lesbian lives.
These sessions often involved a deep, intrusive psychological analysis. Participants were encouraged to find underlying reasons for their perceived “lapses”—perhaps a difficult conversation with a parent, or a setback at school or work. The group leader assured them that by understanding these triggers, they could effectively “reprogram” their minds and embrace a heterosexual identity.
Ms. Rodgers’s experience highlights the core tenets of conversion therapy—a practice employing various techniques in a misguided attempt to alter an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This approach saw a significant rise in evangelical Christian communities throughout the 1980s and 1990s, often utilizing talk therapy and cognitive behavioral methods aimed at reshaping deeply ingrained thought patterns.
“I felt compelled to disclose everything to Ricky – every sexual attraction, every fleeting feeling, every crush I might develop,” recounted Ms. Rodgers, who now openly identifies as a lesbian, in the 2021 documentary “Pray Away.” She added, “I even felt obligated to report if I encountered a lesbian boss or served lesbian customers at my workplace. Any sexual interaction would, without a doubt, require a full confession.”
A 2019 study conducted by the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law revealed that approximately 698,000 adults in the United States had undergone some form of conversion therapy, with about half of these individuals experiencing it during adolescence. By the late 1990s, medical organizations began to vocally oppose the practice, citing a growing body of research demonstrating its ineffectiveness and significant potential for harm. Consequently, several states initiated bans, with California leading the way in 2012.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a crucial challenge to Colorado’s statewide ban on conversion therapy. The outcome of this case holds significant implications for over 20 other states that have enacted similar protective laws.
Despite these legislative efforts, evidence suggests that the practice persists. In 2023, researchers from The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, uncovered 1,320 counselors whose professional listings indicated they offered conversion therapy, often disguising it with terms like “sexual addiction.” Roughly half of these individuals held professional licenses, while the remainder were religious leaders.
“Regrettably, there is little to no indication that these providers have abandoned their conviction in the possibility of altering an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, or that they have ceased their attempts to do so,” stated the report.
In previous decades, psychiatrists experimented with “aversive therapies,” which involved administering electric shocks or nausea-inducing drugs to individuals experiencing same-sex arousal, aiming to suppress such attractions. However, by 1973, these more brutal methods were largely abandoned by medical organizations when the American Psychiatric Association famously announced it would no longer classify homosexuality as a mental disorder.