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
In 2022, the European country banned conversion therapy.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 2 Dec. 2024
About half of states ban or offer some protections against conversion therapy, according to Human Rights Campaign.
—Alex Golden, Axios, 22 Nov. 2024
The Fort Thomas man, who'd been married to a woman and undergone several rounds of conversion therapy, had recently decided to embrace his LGBTQ identity.
—Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2024
More than one in 10 respondents also said they had been subjected to conversion therapy, and 20% said they had been threatened with it, both at rates several times higher than their endosex peers.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Oct. 2024
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Abby Monteil, Them, 2 Dec. 2024
About half of states ban or offer some protections against conversion therapy, according to Human Rights Campaign.
—Alex Golden, Axios, 22 Nov. 2024
The Fort Thomas man, who'd been married to a woman and undergone several rounds of conversion therapy, had recently decided to embrace his LGBTQ identity.
—Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2024
More than one in 10 respondents also said they had been subjected to conversion therapy, and 20% said they had been threatened with it, both at rates several times higher than their endosex peers.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Dictionary Entries Near conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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