Therapy on changing sexual orientation is being carried out by practitioners in multiple states that have laws against so-called conversion therapy for young people, though it is not confirmed if they are offering these services to minors, a Newsweek investigation found.
Those carrying out such practices reject the term “conversion therapies” and the premise that changing a person’s sexuality is the purpose of their treatment, but critics say they are similar and that their continuation highlights the legal gray areas, potential loopholes and lack of enforcement in the states that have outlawed such treatments.
Newsweek did not find evidence that proved any of the practitioners listed below were breaking the law.
“While many of these types of counselors, either licensed therapists or as a part of a faith-based organization, or both, vehemently deny that they’re engaging in conversion therapy, claiming instead that they are rooting out deep-seated traumas that might have caused same-sex attraction, or just dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction, it’s still conversion therapy in principle,” said Wendy Via, the president and co-founder of the nonprofit group Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
“Any ‘treatment’ that seeks to change a person’s orientation or identity is effectively conversion therapy,” she told Newsweek.
Conversion or reparative therapy is an attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through talk therapy or other methods.
Defenders of such treatments say that it is the right of everyone to choose their sexual orientation, including in cases where they believe they want to change it.
However, there is debate about its potential impact on children. Licensed therapists are banned on giving it to minors in 22 states and in more than 100 municipalities in the U.S. It is banned for adults and minors in some countries, including Canada and Iceland.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a group that is involved in psychiatric research and the treatment of children, has said conversation therapies lack scientific credibility and could be harmful for those who receive it. It “should not be part of any behavioral health treatment of children and adolescents,” the academy said in a 2018 report. The American Psychiatric Association said reparative therapy can lead to depression, anxiety and other mental-health concerns.
In states banning conversion therapies for minors, Newsweek found practitioners that offer therapies on sexual orientation and to minors, but was unable to establish whether treatments regarding sexual identity issues were being offered to the minors.
Christopher Rosik is a clinical psychologist based in California. The former president of the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity, he has argued against so-called conversion therapy bans in the context of minors in academic papers.
Writing in an article for the American College of Pediatricians in January 2016 he said: “Science does not support laws that prohibit minors with UHA [unwanted homosexual attraction] from receiving psychotherapy in accordance with their personal goals and values.”
“The college supports an adolescent’s right to psychotherapy for UHA under the care of licensed mental health professionals,” he added.
On a website advertising his services by the Christian Counselors Network, managed by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that has been in the past linked to the promotion of conversion therapy by OpenDemocracy, Rosik is listed as treating adolescents and teenagers aged 14 to 19, as well as adults and elderly people.
While his website does not specify whether he assigns different treatment plans to different age groups, his listed specialties include anger management, anxiety, homosexual issues, marriage and sexual addiction. Rosik declined Newsweek’s interview request.
Newsweek contacted California’s Attorney General’s Office via website form for comment on the legality of this practice.
Christopher Doyle is a psychotherapist in Virginia, where efforts by a licensed practitioner to change a minor’s sexual or gender identity have been illegal since 2016. He told Newsweek he works with families, including parents and their children, but rejected the term conversion therapy to describe his work.
He said: “I’m a licensed professional counselor,” and: “I do not practice conversion therapy.”
He added: “I do, however, work with clients and their families that experience sexual and gender identity conflicts.”
Doyle told Newsweek he used to identify as gay before he married a woman and had three children. Doyle has said counseling changed his sexuality. He said he worked with families experiencing conflict with their family member’s sexual identity, which he said could change as a byproduct of the therapy. He said he believed his practice was in keeping with state laws in Virginia.
Via email, he said: “Sexuality is complex, and access to diverse mental-health counseling to help people navigate through these complexities is important for everyone,” he said.
“I offer evidence-based, mainstream psychological therapeutic techniques and practices for all client populations.
“If a client is conflicted about their sexual or gender identity, therapy may help that client come to a better understanding of who they are and how they wish to live their lives.
“Everyone has the right to pursue the life they wish to live in accordance with their values and personal beliefs. No government or political body has the right to take away the life choices or desires of the individual.
“My stance is that all sexual minority populations should have the right to pursue therapy that best aligns with their goals and values, whether that person identifies as LGBT or experiences conflicts with their unwanted sexual attractions or gender identity. I work with all of these sexual minority populations,” he said.
In the past, Doyle lobbied against bans on conversion therapy, including by unsuccessfully challenging laws on it in Maryland. He is also listed as a recommended therapist on the Brothers on a Road Less Traveled website, a nonprofit group that describes itself as a peer-support group for men who wish to diminish their own same-sex attractions.
Newsweek contacted the Attorney General’s Office for Virginia, which declined to comment on the legality of this practice.
Robert L. Vazzo is a therapist based in Nevada, where conversion therapy was banned in 2018. He has previously pursued legal action against such bans.
Vazzo’s page on Psychology Today, who is the clinical division chair for The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity and is also listed as a recommended therapist on the Brothers on a Road Less Traveled website, says he treats teenagers as well as adults, though it is not clear what services he offers for each age group and whether the teenagers he treats are minors.
His website says he deals with issues including “personal identity, sexual orientation” and “sex addiction” as well as other themes including grief and anxiety. Vazzo declined to comment to Newsweek.
Newsweek contacted the State of Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors by email for comment.
Jennifer C. Pizer, chief legal officer for LGBT group Lambda Legal, said offering therapy to change a minor’s sexual identity without naming it as conversion therapy could still be in breach of state laws.
“The key principles are that the laws enacted to protect minors from harmful, deceptive practices performed with a state-issued medical license can be effective to protect a young person even if the licensed practitioner in question changes the name of the practice,” she said.
Some lawmakers are fighting to strengthen legislation surrounding conversion therapy.
In June 2023, three Democrats, Representative Ted Lieu, Senator Patty Murray and Senator Cory Booker, introduced the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, legislation to classify conversion therapy as fraudulent and prohibit it across the country.
Advocacy groups have also spoken out against non-licensed professionals who are still legally allowed to practice conversion therapy among all age groups. Some have called for bans to be extended to adult populations in the U.S. too.
Those against bans have pursued legal action to thwart the progress of conversion therapy opponents. A group of Catholic therapists associated with the nonprofit group Catholic Charities, for instance, are suing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other Michigan officials over the state’s 2023 law banning therapists from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, claiming it is unconstitutional on free speech grounds. Whitmer has said the ban protects the well-being of LGBTQ+ young people.
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