SAMHSA Report Calls for End to ‘Conversion’ Therapy for Youth

The federal government is urging an end to “conversion” therapy, designed to change the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian youth in a report released last month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The report, titled “Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth,” provides an in-depth review of research and clinical expertise related to conversion therapy (also sometimes known as reparative therapy). The report concludes that conversion therapy is not an appropriate therapeutic approach based on the evidence and explores alternative ways to discuss sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression with young people. Such interventions, says the report, “are coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment.”

The report is the first to publish consensus statements developed by an expert panel brought together by the American Psychological Association in July. The expert panel included researchers and practitioners in child and adolescent mental health with a strong background in gender development, gender identity, and sexual orientation in children and adolescents. Experts with a background in family therapy, ethics, and the psychology of religion also participated. At least one psychiatrist served on the panel—Scott Leibowitz, M.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Through a collaborative process, the panel found that variations in sexual orientation and gender identity are normal and that conversion therapies or other efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity are not effective, are harmful, and are not appropriate therapeutic practices. The report provides an overview of existing efforts to eliminate the practice of conversion therapy.

“When dealing with a sensitive topic such as gender identity or sexual orientation in young people, it is essential that families, educators, caregivers, and providers seek the best available information and advice,” said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Kana Enomoto, M.A., in a statement. “SAMHSA’s report provides this information as well as resources that young people, families, and others can use to promote healthy development for all youth.”

The information and resources contained in the report include a review of the research in this area, detailed information on supportive therapeutic approaches, areas of opportunity for future research, existing strategies to end the practice of conversion therapy, and targeted guidance for various audiences.

The SAMHSA report gives three broad conclusions:

• Being attracted to a person of the same gender, along with variations in gender identity and expression, “are a part of the normal spectrum of human diversity and do not constitute a mental disorder.”

• None of the limited research shows the practice works at altering gender identity or sexual orientation.

• The interventions “are coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment.”

The White House endorsed the report. In a conference call about the release of the report, Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, said, “It’s not our job to tell parents how to raise children, but it is our responsibility to show parents the best scientific evidence when raising their children.” ■