About conversion 'therapy'
Many young people, when they discover that they are attracted to their own sex, become anxious:
"What will they say about me? What will I do from now on?"
"What does this say about me?"
In many cases, the immediate environment is not supportive, or worse, acts deliberately to 'get the child back on track'.
All of this naturally arouses a desire to know if it is possible to change, if it is possible to 'get out of this', and how to do so.
Into the uncertainty, the question marks, the fears and concerns, "conversion" agents try to enter.
A search on the Internet reveals that there are indeed organizations that are attempting to do this. Under neutral names and a false representation of concern for the "patient", archaic and delusional "treatments" are offered, and sometimes even the use of seemingly religious practices.
This is, of course, suitable for those people who are looking for the same "way out". On their websites, one can read about a multitude of treatments whose function is the same:
to change a person's sexual orientation.
The goal is similar, but the methods are diverse: some offer male workshops, others treat sexual trauma, and others generally focus on the 'addiction' that exists in the tendency.
Of course, many of the 'therapists' are not licensed to treat, and do so in violation of the law and accepted ethics.
As a reminder the Ministry of Health of the State of Israel expressed itself twice on that subject, for more information click here.
Usually, on those sites, one can only read about the 'successes' of the treatment, and the risks involved in the treatment are ignored. The risks are varied. First, the very attempt to change one's sexual orientation deepens the alienation between the person and himself. In addition, due to the charlatanism of some therapists, the methods they use can endanger the patient (you can read more about it in our testimony page). Finally, today it is already known that this 'discreet' framework invites many harms to patients from the therapists, harms that exploit the patients' weakness.
The dangers and harms proven from previous cases (suicide, anxiety, depression, self-hatred) are well hidden from the "patients".
All of this is only a small part of the phenomena that emerge in the testimonies of participants in conversion "treatments".
So, what exactly is conversion therapy? How do I know that I am in one of these? What do Halacha and Judaism think about these treatments? If you would like to read more, a variety of content, including blogs and articles on the subject, is available to you.