Study Reveals Conversion Therapy For LGBTQ Youth Is Costly And Harmful To Mental Health

Conversion therapy has long been known as a harmful practice that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Recent research has come out supporting the fact that this practice has harmful consequences for participants' mental health as well as for the economy.

Conversion therapy involves a variety of exercises intended to convert individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ) to heterosexual or cisgender norms (via WebMD). According to Good Therapy, a typical conversion therapy session may involve prayer, hypnosis, talk therapy to try to change thought patterns, and in some cases, aversion therapy. Aversion therapy is incredibly controversial because it involves physical methods, like an electric shock or hurting oneself, to try to condition the body and mind.

WebMD points out that because conversion therapy essentially tells a person that they are broken or wrong, this more often than not leads to severe consequences for participants' mental and emotional health. In fact, those who receive conversion therapy are six times more likely to experience severe depression and eight times more likely to attempt suicide.