conversion therapy
noun
plural conversion therapies
: the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birth
Note: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis and as being both ineffective and harmful.
Conversion therapy is both pointless and painful. At its best, it can inflict considerable psychological damage on a child without changing their sexual orientation or gender identity whatsoever. At its worst, it can lead to suicide …—
Samantha Allen
Samantha AllenMomentum has been building in legislative sessions this spring for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.—Susan Miller
Susan Millercalled also reparative therapy
Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Clarence Thomas urges Supreme Court to revisit 'troubling' discrimination ruling
Supreme Court to review Colorado 'conversion therapy' ban
Now, the Firearms Policy Coalition and its allies are asking the Supreme Court to affirm that decision and set a nationwide precedent.
—Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Mar. 2025
The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a challenge to Colorado's law banning conversion therapy aimed at young people — a case that also has implications for Washington.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
Language warning travelers of conversion therapy practices in some countries has been pared down, and a section for those with an X gender marker on their passports has been removed almost entirely.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
The Republican attorney general last week also teamed up with a group of Christian counselors in a federal lawsuit challenging conversion therapy bans enacted in Kansas City and Jackson County.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025
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Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Mar. 2025
The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a challenge to Colorado's law banning conversion therapy aimed at young people — a case that also has implications for Washington.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
Language warning travelers of conversion therapy practices in some countries has been pared down, and a section for those with an X gender marker on their passports has been removed almost entirely.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
The Republican attorney general last week also teamed up with a group of Christian counselors in a federal lawsuit challenging conversion therapy bans enacted in Kansas City and Jackson County.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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