Don't pay for “sexual orientation conversion” or “homosexuality treatment,” and don't send a family member to it

Cost

Free. What you save is the money for conversion programs, psychology clinics and the “conversion” (戒同) business. The hard part is when family insist on sending someone.

What you get

A 2009 task force report of the American Psychological Association said that efforts to change sexual orientation are “unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm.” On putting minors into coercive or inpatient conversion programs, the report advised that neither parents nor children should consider it. A U.S. nationally representative survey interviewed 1518 sexual minority adults; about 7% had gone through conversion, and 80% of those were conducted by religious figures. After removing factors such as age and adverse childhood experiences, those who had gone through conversion had OR 1.92 (95% CI 1.01–3.64, about 90% higher) for suicidal thoughts at some point in life. For having planned suicide, OR 1.75 (1.01–3.06). For suicide attempts with no injury or minor injury, OR 1.88 (1.01–3.50). Another study interviewed 245 young people aged 21 to 25. Of those who were not subjected to conversion in adolescence, 22.0% had attempted suicide. Of those whose parents themselves tried to change their orientation, 48.1%. Of those whose parents also sent them to a therapist or religious figure, 62.8%. The World Health Organization's classification ICD-10 states: “sexual orientation by itself is not to be regarded as a disorder.” In 2017, the Yicheng District court in Zhumadian, Henan, heard a case in which a psychiatric hospital involuntarily admitted a man under the label “sexual preference disorder.” The court found that his “condition was ordinary, with no behavior or danger of suicide, hurting others or destroying property, and did not meet the conditions requiring compulsory treatment.” The court ordered the hospital to apologize publicly and pay 5000 CNY in compensation for emotional distress (U.S. / China)

Notes

Dispute. Sullins 2022 recalculated with the same data, removing suicidal thoughts that predated the conversion. Calculated that way, conversion and suicidal thoughts were no longer positively related (OR 0.44, 0.20–0.94). The institution where Sullins works takes a position against homosexuality, and the original authors also wrote a reply. So how large the harm is remains disputed, but for the point that it “cannot change anything,” no opposing evidence has been seen. It is rated B because the harm figures all come from surveys based on recall after the fact. Legally, inpatient treatment follows the principle of voluntariness; only a person with a serious mental disorder who is also a danger to themselves or others can be admitted involuntarily. Counseling staff may not give psychotherapy. Knowingly sending a person who does not have a mental disorder to a hospital for treatment carries liability for compensation. In 2014, a man was hypnotized and given electric shocks to “treat” homosexuality at the Chongqing Xinyu Piaoxiang Counseling Center (重庆心语飘香心理咨询中心), and sued afterward. The Haidian court in Beijing ordered the center to apologize publicly and compensate his financial losses. According to reports, the judgment states that homosexuality is not a mental illness and that the center's promise to cure it was false advertising. This case is reported only by The Paper (澎湃新闻), and the original judgment could not be found on the court's website. Someone in long-term distress over this can see a psychiatry or clinical psychology department, where the goal is to ease the distress. For what the family can do after a child comes out, see §30.15 (your child says they like the same sex). The beneficiaries are you and your family.

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation (2009). Report of the Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/therapeutic-response.pdf
2. Blosnich JR, Henderson ER, Coulter RWS, Goldbach JT, Meyer IH. (2020). Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among Sexual Minority Adults, United States, 2016–2018. American Journal of Public Health, 110(7), 1024–1030. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305637
3. Ryan C, Toomey RB, Diaz RM, Russell ST. (2020). Parent-Initiated Sexual Orientation Change Efforts With LGBT Adolescents: Implications for Young Adult Mental Health and Adjustment. Journal of Homosexuality, 67(2), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1538407
4. World Health Organization. ICD-10 Version:2019, F66 Psychological and behavioural disorders associated with sexual development and orientation. https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/F66
5. 全国人大常委会 (2018 年修正). 精神卫生法（第二十三、三十、七十八条）. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=2c909fdd678bf17901678bf7448a066d
6. 广西壮族自治区人民检察院网站转载新京报 (2017). 驻马店「同性恋强制治疗案」终审. http://www.gx.jcy.gov.cn/jblm/shgz/201709/t20170920_2068489.shtml
7. 澎湃新闻 (2014-08-02). 首例“矫正同性恋”案在京审理，诊所被指有“三大罪状”（澎湃见习记者 周辰，实习生 尹瑞涛）. https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1259405（网页存档 https://web.archive.org/web/20261005044046/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1259405）
8. 澎湃新闻 (2014-12-21). 中国进入多元性别时代：李银河“出柜”与电击中心败诉（澎湃新闻记者 周哲）. https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1287582（网页存档 https://web.archive.org/web/20261005044046/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1287582）
9. 反方：Sullins DP. (2022). Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Do Not Increase Suicide: Correcting a False Research Narrative. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 3377–3393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02408-2
10. Blosnich JR, Coulter RWS, Henderson ER, et al. (2023). Correcting a False Research Narrative: A Commentary on Sullins (2022). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(3), 885–888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02521-2

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 6, tip 28. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer