Article Summary –
Five health-related licensing boards in Pennsylvania have adopted policies opposing the use of conversion therapy for children, a scientifically discredited practice aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The boards’ condemnations of conversion therapy mean that practitioners can face disciplinary action or loss of license if they engage in such therapies. According to the Trevor Project, 16% of LGBTQ+ young people in Pennsylvania reported that they were subjected to or threatened with conversion therapy in the last year, and research indicates that those who undergo conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.
Pennsylvania State Boards Denounce Conversion Therapy for Minors
Five state health-related licensing boards in Pennsylvania have recently adopted policies condemning the discredited practice of conversion therapy for minors. The respective boards of Medicine, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors; Psychology; and Osteopathic Medicine have all voiced opposition to conversion therapy for children.
Conversion therapy, also recognized as reparative therapy or sexuality counseling, attempts to alter an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These newly adopted policies imply that professionals can face administrative discipline, or even lose their license, if they engage in such discredited therapies.
Gov. Josh Shapiro celebrated this decisive action in his administration’s announcement, stating that Pennsylvania values freedom, and that everyone should be free from harassment and discrimination, irrespective of who they are or whom they love.
The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, released a statement indicating that 16% of LGBTQ+ youth in Pennsylvania reported being subjected to or threatened with conversion therapy last year. Despite the denouncement of this practice by major medical and mental health associations, it continues to traumatize young people across the country.
According to research cited by the organization, those subjected to conversion therapy were over twice as likely to attempt suicide. With an estimated 44% of LGBTQ+ youth, including 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth, in Pennsylvania seriously considering suicide last year, these actions are critically important for the wellbeing of these young individuals.
The Trevor Project, along with other organizations, had earlier alerted the state boards to the ongoing threat of conversion therapy to LGBTQ+ youth in Pennsylvania, despite a 2022 executive order discouraging the practice. As it stands, 23 states and the District of Columbia now prohibit licensed medical providers from engaging in conversion therapy.
The new policy statements will come into effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Complaints against licensed professionals conducting conversion therapy can be lodged through the Pennsylvania Department of State website. These protections are a significant step forward, as hateful rhetoric and pseudoscience continue to dominate the clinical experiences of many LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians.
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