California state capitol
Members of the California legislature want to make it more difficult for therapists to use junk science in their practices when it comes to treating gays and lesbians.
California Senate Bill 1172 or the “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts” bill would prohibit physicians and surgeons, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and licensed professional clinical counselors “from performing sexual orientation change efforts, as defined, in the absence of informed consent of the patient.”
Reparative or conversion therapy that attempts to change the sexual orientation of gay people to straight would be prohibited for minors.
Adults would have to sign a consent form acknowledging that this “therapy” is not recognized by any licensing body and could lead to depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior.
The bill is out of committee.
Truth Wins Out is a nationwide organization based in Vermont that works to expose “ex-gay” ministries and therapists as fraudulent.
There is another, more common name for “reparative therapy”. It’s called quackery.
The results of the therapy have been written about for decades but I haven’t read a thorough update on the intended and unintended results in many years. I’d like to know the specific persons who have benefited, whether personally, financially or politically, from advocating for this therapy.