Report
Conversion “therapy” by a different name is still dangerous and damaging
Over the last five years, anti-LGBTQ activists have dramatically escalated a coordinated campaign targeting LGBTQ people and rights across virtually every aspect of life. This is especially obvious in attacks on transgender youth, which increasingly aim to not only ban best practice medical care for these youth, but by also removing existing prohibitions on conversion “therapy” and attempting to protect, and in some cases even promote or require it.
This shift is alarming, not only because of the scientific research detailing the harms of conversion “therapy,” but also because of the personal testimonies of LGBTQ people who have been subjected to this dangerous and discredited practice.
MAP’s new report, released in partnership with The Trevor Project, spotlights the many harms of this unregulated industry, details the shifting landscape of efforts to protect LGBTQ young people against this abuse, and explains why the government can and should restrict these tactics to protect its citizens.
Current Landscape
For decades, an unregulated industry masquerading as health care has used these harmful practices against LGBTQ people and their families — and they continue to do so today. While many stories and media representations of conversion practices often focus on attempts to change sexual orientation, these tactics also target transgender people’s gender identity. Current practitioners of conversion “therapy” increasingly refer to their techniques as “gender-exploratory therapy,” falsely describing it as a judgement-free, neutral treatment that does not affirm the child’s “gender confusion.” This description may sound harmless, but it is deliberately misleading.
No matter the name, these practices share the fundamental premise that being LGBTQ is wrong, undesirable, and abnormal. But both sexual orientation and gender identity are fundamental aspects of a person that cannot be changed through coercion or force. These tactics, which are effectively identical to those used by fringe actors to coerce a young person into changing their sexual orientation, all contribute to the well-documented harms and dangers of conversion practices.
Harms
Conversion “therapy” is not a recognized or evidence-based mental health practice rooted in empirical data or standard ethical practices. Instead, these practices are rooted in the belief that being transgender (or LGBTQ more broadly) is fundamentally wrong and a choice. These practices intentionally isolate and psychologically abuse kids, scapegoat parents, and divide families through blame and rejection.
Scientific research and personal testimonies of LGBTQ people who have been subjected to conversion “therapy” make it clear: it is a dangerous and discredited practice.
Furthermore, conversion “therapy” not only harms the people subjected to it but also has a clear social and economic cost — an estimated $9.23 billion annually — due to the long-lasting physical, mental, and emotional health impacts on its survivors, among other costs.
Because the prevalence of these practices is difficult to study — given their varying names over time, diversity of techniques, and the secrecy around them — estimates of how many LGBTQ people have been subjected to them are likely minimums. Recent research shows that active practitioners exist across at least 48 states and the District of Columbia. However, history also shows that safeguards exist and that the government can and should restrict these practices to protect its citizens.
Bipartisan Support, But Backsliding Protections
Because of these well-documented harms, historically, there has been widespread public support for protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion “therapy” across the political spectrum. A new 2025 Data for Progress poll found that a majority (56%) of voters think efforts to change sexual orientation and gender identity should be banned. In addition, laws protecting LGBTQ children from conversion “therapy” have helped raise awareness and ensure that state-licensed therapists and medical providers provide competent, evidence-based care and are not causing harm to those entrusted to their care.
As discussed in MAP’s new report, to date, 28 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and at least 118 municipalities have ever restricted the use of these practices on minors — and the map further below shows which states’ policies remain in effect today. Many of these protections were enacted under leaders of both major parties, demonstrating a broad and bipartisan consensus around protecting youth from these dangerous practices.
However, progress on newly enacted laws protecting youth against conversion “therapy” is slowing. This backsliding is due, at least in part, to the dramatic escalation of attacks over the past five years on LGBTQ people, especially youth.
As the new presidential administration continues to reshape the political landscape for LGBTQ youth and their families, extremist lawmakers are exploiting parents’ concerns about their children’s health, wellbeing, and education — and manipulating those concerns to advance their anti-LGBTQ agenda.
Despite being out of step with the general public, there have been renewed efforts to challenge laws protecting youth from conversion “therapy,” in service of opponents’ broader anti-LGBTQ strategy. In fall 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case brought by a Colorado-licensed therapist who claims the state’s law on conversion “therapy” violates her First Amendment right to free speech. She is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent organization behind anti-LGBTQ policies nationwide for decades. This case will have important implications, not only for efforts to protect young people from these practices in Colorado and across the country, but also for the broader policy landscape.
Recommendations
Regardless of the name, practitioners of the dangerous and damaging practice of conversion “therapy” share the fundamental premise that being LGBTQ is wrong, undesirable, and abnormal. Official safeguards are especially needed to protect minors, whose age and legal status makes them more vulnerable to being subjected to these practices through force or coercion. In addition, well-intentioned parents, who genuinely want to support their child — or who may also be on their own journey of accepting their child — may unknowingly find themselves misled by state-licensed mental health care providers that conduct these harmful practices.
States and municipalities should fight against efforts to protect or promote conversion “therapy,” including attempted repeals of existing protections.
All youth deserve love, support, and acceptance. While the law cannot ensure that all youth have these vital needs met, our government can and should protect them from the practice of conversion “therapy” — and promote an environment in which every young person knows they are safe, supported, and exactly who they were meant to be.
