How should we respond to conversion therapy?
Conversion therapy — also known as SOGICE, or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts — is still happening in homes, schools, churches, and therapists' offices across the United States, including right here in Michigan. Whether you're a young person being pressured into these practices, a parent trying to protect your child, or a community leader who wants to do better, you don't have to watch it happen without knowing what to do.
This guide breaks down concrete, role-specific steps you can take when conversion practices show up in your world.
What Is Conversion Therapy, and Why Does It Matter?
Conversion therapy refers to any effort designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity to fit heterosexual or cisgender norms. It includes formal "talk therapy" with a licensed provider, religious approaches like ex-gay ministries or prayer groups, behavioral modification, and aversive techniques. The research is unambiguous: these practices don't change sexual orientation or gender identity. What they do change is mental health, increasing rates of depression, PTSD, internalized shame, and suicidal ideation. Every major medical and mental health organization in the United States opposes these practices.[1]
So the question is not whether conversion therapy is harmful. It is. The question is: what do we do about it?
If You're a Young Person Being Pressured Into Conversion Practices
If your parents, a faith leader, or a counselor is telling you that being LGBTQ+ is something to fix — you are not overreacting by feeling scared or confused. The first step is finding a trusted adult. This might be a school counselor, social worker, teacher, GSA advisor, doctor, or a family friend who you know is safe. Look for signs of affirmation in their space — a rainbow flag, a "safe space" sticker, inclusive language. You don't need to explain everything at once. A simple opener works: "Someone wants me to go to therapy to change me because I'm LGBTQ. I don't feel safe with that. Can you help?" Know that you are allowed to push back. Anyone telling you that your identity is sinful, sick, or broken is not offering neutral support — they have an agenda that is not in your interest. Ethical care never starts from the premise that your identity is a problem.
Also, have a crisis resource ready. The Trevor Project offers 24/7 confidential crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people — call 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat at thetrevorproject.org. You are not betraying your family by staying alive.
If You're a Parent or Caregiver
If you're a parent who is frightened for your LGBTQ+ child's safety, future, or faith. That fear is understandable. But, it's important to understand what the research shows about your choices here.
When parents push LGBTQ+ youth toward conversion practices, those young people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and suicidality. When parents support and affirm their kids, those same young people are less likely to attempt suicide and more likely to thrive long-term. Reframe your goal. The question isn't "How do I change my child?" It's "How do I keep my child safe, loved, and alive?"
If you’re looking for mental health professional for your kids, screen for covert conversion therapy. When looking for a therapist or counselor for your child, ask directly: "Do you affirm LGBTQ+ identities as healthy? Have you ever tried to change a client's sexual orientation or gender identity?" If the answer involves language like "overcoming unwanted attractions" or "addressing gender discordance," that is a red flag. OutCenter's Medical Resource Center at outcenter.org/directory lists vetted, affirming providers in Southwest Michigan.
Get support for yourself, too. Processing your feelings is important — but that should never happen at your child's expense. Organizations like PFLAG (pflag.org) offer local and online support groups specifically for parents of LGBTQ+ youth.
If You're a Faith Leader, Therapist, or Educator
Faith leaders: If your conversations with LGBTQ+ congregants are aimed at changing or suppressing their orientation or gender identity — even if you frame it as "living biblically" or "walking away from a lifestyle" — that is a form of conversion practice. The impact is the same as clinical conversion therapy: shame, harm, and increased risk of self-harm. Pastoral care that reduces shame, publicly affirms LGBTQ+ people as fully welcome, and refers congregants to affirming mental health providers is not only more ethical, it's more effective at actually supporting wellbeing.
Therapists and counselors: Attempting to change a client's orientation or gender identity is out of line with every major professional guideline in mental health today. Evidence-based, affirming care focuses on reducing shame, supporting families toward acceptance, and helping clients cope with stigma and minority stress — never enforcing conformity. If a parent requests conversion-focused work, redirect clearly: "My ethical duty is to support your child's health and safety. What I can help with is supporting your relationship and your child's mental health."
Educators: You may be the first adult a student reaches out to when conversion therapy is threatened at home. Signs to watch for include sudden distress after coming out to family, fear of being sent to a camp or counselor, or general mental health decline. Connect them with trained school social workers, ensure they know crisis resources, and advocate for affirming spaces like GSAs in your school.
What Real, Affirming Support Looks Like
Real support means affirming identity rather than suppressing it, reducing shame rather than reinforcing it, and building safety rather than compliance. It means connecting young people to affirming community, like GSAs, LGBTQ+ centers, peer support spaces, and online communities where they can be fully themselves.
At OutCenter Southwest Michigan, that work takes many forms: the No Silly Questions education series, Teen Pride and GSA support in local schools, Pathways of Belonging trainings for workplaces and institutions, and adult and family programs like Family Chat for parents of LGBTQ+ youth. You can bring a Pathways of Belonging training to your organization at outcenter.org/pathways, or join the conversation at this year's PrideFest.