Ending Conversion Therapy:
Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth

Key Findings

This report and its recommendations are based on consensus statements developed by experts in the field after a careful review of existing research, professional health association reports and summaries, and expert clinical guidance. The consensus statements highlight areas of the ethical and scientific foundations most relevant to the practice of conversion therapy with minors. A full list of the consensus statements is found in the body of this report; key statements that form the underpinnings of the guidance in this report are provided here.

• Same-gender sexual orientation (including identity, behavior, and attraction) and variations in gender identity and gender expression are a part of the normal spectrum of human diversity and do not constitute a mental disorder.

• There is limited research on conversion therapy efforts among children and adolescents; however, none of the existing research supports the premise that mental or behavioral health interventions can alter gender identity or sexual orientation.

• Interventions aimed at a fixed outcome,such as gender conformity or heterosexual orientation, including those aimed at changing gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are coercive, can be harmful,and should not be part of behavioral health treatment. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013b; American Psychological Association, 2010; National Association of Social Workers, 2008).

Read and download the full report here:
Ending_Conversion_Therapy_SAMHSA Report_October 2015.pdf

The post SAMHSA Report: Ending Conversion Therapy first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Summary of the Resolution:

The proposed Resolution is to put the American Bar Association on record as recognizing that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have the right be free from attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, which have been condemned as ineffective and harmful by every major medical and mental health association in the country, and as supporting legislation, regulation, and litigation to bring an end to conversion therapy, including laws protecting minors from being subjected to conversion therapy by state-licensed mental health professionals

The three specific resolutions adopted:

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association recognizes that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have the right to be free from attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments to enact laws that prohibit state-licensed professionals from using conversion therapy on minors; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments to protect minors, particularly minors in their care, from being subjected to conversion therapy by state-licensed professionals.

Read and download the full report here:
ABA_Report_112 _Conversion_Therapy_August_2015.pdf

The post American Bar Association Report #112 – conversion therapy should be illegal first appeared on COIL Foundation.

For more information, visit the Tyler Clementi website

The post Regional Premiers of Tyler’s Suite first appeared on COIL Foundation.

NCLR’s #BornPerfect campaign is a national effort aimed at ending conversion therapy in the next five years by passing laws across the country to protect LGBT youth, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety, and raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these dangerous practices. The campaign is managed by Samantha Ames, an attorney at NCLR who focuses on conversion therapy and youth issues.

“The time is long overdue for the United States to address the severe harms inflicted on young LGBT people and their families by purveyors of these dangerous and discredited practices,” said Ames. “Persuading the Committee Against Torture to take up the issue of conversion therapy on the international stage has the potential to save the lives of countless LGBT youth in the United States and around the world. Many of the same groups who advocate in favor of conversion therapy in the United States have supported laws in other countries criminalizing LGBT people, such as the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill in Uganda. These laws are often linked with attempts to ‘cure’ sexual orientation or gender identity, whether by coercion or force. Conversion therapy is damaging our human rights record both at home and around the world and creating a crisis the United Nations can and should address this November.”

Read the full press release here: http://www.nclrights.org/press-room/press-release/nclrs-bornperfect-campaign-forms-advisory-committee/

The post Peter Drake asked to join the NCLR’s advisory committee on ending gay conversion therapy first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Gay ‘conversion therapy,’ which claims to help men overcome unwanted same-sex attractions but has been widely attacked as unscientific and harmful, is facing its first tests in the courtroom.

In New Jersey, former “conversion therapy” clients have sued a prominent therapy group charging it with deceptive practices and claiming that they were emotionally scarred.

In California, so-called ex-gay therapists are challenging a state law that bans conversion therapy for minors.

Read the full article

The post Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’ Faces Test in Courts first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Watch the video

The post Peter Drake’s back stage interview at the Dr. Oz show on Reparative Therapy first appeared on COIL Foundation.